Brisbane Broncos 42–12 New Zealand Warriors — Preliminary Final, 2023 NRL Finals Series
23 Sep 2023 · Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD · Attendance: 52,273
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2023 NRL finals series: Brisbane Broncos 42–12 New Zealand Warriors, at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD on 23 Sep 2023.
Sourcing caveat: Try-scoring minutes come primarily from one source and were not independently cross-verified against a second minute-by-minute source. No official player-of-the-match award exists for NRL preliminary finals.
Scoring timeline
| 4′ | New Zealand Warriors — try, Watene-Zelezniak |
| 7′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Walters |
| 11′ | New Zealand Warriors — try, Watene-Zelezniak |
| 16′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Farnworth |
| 18′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Arthars |
| 23′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Walters |
| 28′ | New Zealand Warriors — try, Montoya |
| 54′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Riki |
| 59′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Mam |
| 69′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Farnworth |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Brisbane Broncos | Tries: Walters 7'; Farnworth 16'; Arthars 18'; Walters 23'; Riki 54'; Mam 59'; Farnworth 69' Goals: Reynolds (6/6 conversions); Walsh (1/1 conversions) |
| New Zealand Warriors | Tries: Watene-Zelezniak 4'; Watene-Zelezniak 11'; Montoya 28' Goals: Pompey (0/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Brisbane Broncos | New Zealand Warriors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reece Walsh | Fullback | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 1 |
| 2 | Jesse Arthars | Wing | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 2 |
| 3 | Kotoni Staggs | Centre | Rocco Berry | 3 |
| 4 | Herbie Farnworth | Centre | Adam Pompey | 4 |
| 5 | Selwyn Cobbo | Wing | Marcelo Montoya | 5 |
| 6 | Ezra Mam | Five-eighth | Te Maire Martin | 6 |
| 7 | Adam Reynolds | Halfback | Shaun Johnson | 7 |
| 8 | Thomas Flegler | Prop | Addin Fonua-Blake | 8 |
| 9 | Billy Walters | Hooker | Wayde Egan | 9 |
| 10 | Payne Haas | Prop | Mitchell Barnett | 10 |
| 11 | Kurt Capewell | Second Row | Jackson Ford | 11 |
| 12 | Jordan Riki | Second Row | Marata Niukore | 12 |
| 13 | Patrick Carrigan | Lock | Tohu Harris | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Tyson Smoothy | Dylan Walker | 14 | |
| 15 | Brendan Piakura | Jazz Tevaga | 15 | |
| 16 | Kobe Hetherington | Bayley Sironen | 16 | |
| 17 | Keenan Palasia | Josh Curran | 17 | |
| Kevin Walters | Coach | Andrew Webster | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Gerard Sutton |
Match report
Brisbane Broncos booked their spot in the 2023 NRL Grand Final with a dominant 42-12 demolition of the New Zealand Warriors in the second preliminary final at a packed Suncorp Stadium on 23 September 2023. The Warriors made the brighter start, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak crossing twice inside the opening 11 minutes to put the visitors 8-6 up. But Brisbane responded ferociously, scoring three tries in a seven-minute burst through Billy Walters, Herbie Farnworth and Jesse Arthars to seize control. Marcelo Montoya's try kept the Warriors within touch before halftime, but Walters's second try on the stroke of the break sent Brisbane to the sheds 24-12 ahead, with Adam Reynolds's boot near-perfect all night. The Broncos pulled away after the break with tries to Jordan Riki and Ezra Mam, before Farnworth's second try completed the rout. Adam Pompey's misfiring boot (0 from 3) compounded the Warriors' night, sealing a comprehensive Broncos win that sent Brisbane through to face Penrith in the Grand Final.