'The same picture': Michael Maguire proud of moment that was overshadowed by Reece Walsh

The lasting memory of Sunday night's grand final for most Brisbane fans was Reece Walsh's tackle on a blazing Ryan Papenhuyzen with around 20 seconds left in the decider.

Following in support, the Storm fullback latched onto a pass from Eliesa Katoa, who terrorised the Broncos' left edge all night, and seemed destined to find the try-line or get in close enough range for Melbourne to stage one last raid on Brisbane's tryline.

But Walsh jolted Papenhuyzen with heavy contact, stopping the Storm ace in his tracks, and in most people's minds, the Clive Churchill Medallist saved the game for the Broncos.

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Yet a wider shot of the play shows several Brisbane players chasing Papenhuyzen, which was overshadowed by the Walsh fanfare but was front of mind in the reflections of coach Michael Maguire.

Speaking to SEN on Tuesday, the Broncos mentor said it reminded him of the desperation exhibited by his players the week before, when Nathan Cleary attempted to send the game into golden point with a late two-point field goal.

"My heart rate was going towards the end of the game," Maguire said.

"When Ryan Papenhuyzen came through and Reece crunched the tackle and saved the day. It was a very special feeling.

"They have shown the belief between each other and what they wanted to achieve, the hunger amongst the players, you saw it with Nathan Cleary the week before.

"He was looking to ice the game with a field-goal kick and you had literally three quarters of the team chasing one man down to make sure he wasn't going to get that kick.

"Then at the end (of the grand final) it was the same picture with everyone chasing back. It was a special moment.

"What they wanted to achieve was to make sure they won that grand final.

"We have worked and they have worked extremely hard to get this and they got what they deserved."

The Broncos had won won five games from 12 and sat outside the eight halfway through the season, but they went on to win 13 of their last 15 games to win the premiership.

Maguire said there was no one moment that triggered their success, but argued the players were battle hardened by constant tests throughout the season.

The coach himself admitted he had pushed the players to their limits.

"We had moments through the season – I wont deny that. I want to push the players to high levels and sometimes it takes for people to adjust," he said.

"You have to take people out of their comfort zones to get them where they have never been. I've worked to push levels, that's where the belief comes from.

"Players can do a lot more than they believe they can. Fitness is just one part of that. I was really confident in what the players were moving towards.

"The leaders jumped on board and now they're the champions of the comp. It's nice to be able to see it. Sometimes people can't see it because they're not inside the walls. We all knew, the staff all knew."