Brisbane Broncos (2nd) vs North Queensland Cowboys (3rd) – Sunday night – ANZ Stadium

Brisbane Broncos

1. Darius Boyd
2. Corey Oates
3. Jack Reed
4. Justin Hodges (c)
5. Jordan Kahu
6. Anthony Milford
7. Ben Hunt
8. Sam Thaiday 
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Adam Blair
11. Alex Glenn
12. Matt Gillett
13. Corey Parker
14. Jarrod Wallace
15. Mitchell Dodds
16. Jo Ofahengaue
17. Kodi Nikorima

Coach - Wayne Bennett

Fun Fact - Bob Bennett, brother of Wayne, coached the PNG Kumuls for ten years.

North Queensland Cowboys

1. Lachlan Coote
2. Kyle Feldt
3. Justin O'Neill
4. Kane Linnett
5. Antonio Winterstein
6. Michael Morgan
7. Jonathan Thurston (c)
8. Matt Scott (c)
9. Jake Granville
10. James Tamou
11. Gavin Cooper
12. Ethan Lowe
13. Jason Taumalolo
14. Rory Kostjasyn
15. John Asiato
16. Scott Bolton
17. Ben Hannant

Coach - Paul Green

Fun Fact: Cowboys coach Paul Green is a licensed pilot.

Throughout much of the finals series I've been using the first finals clash between the Broncos and the Cowboys as a reference point. It would be a little silly of me to stop now. Last night I watched that game again, and it was the first time I've actually watched it away from the distractions that come with the spectacle of seeing it live. What a game it was. We have two teams in the final that deserve to be there, and two teams that play an entertaining version of the game. Long may they prosper, and if more teams try to emulate their style in the seasons ahead I'll be one happy spectator.

The Cowboys scored seven tries against the Sharks, and five of them were against the Sharks left edge defence. Of the other two, one was a cross field kick and the other was through the middle (but again they were heading to the left edge defence before straightening the attack. The Cowboys scored six tries against the Storm, and three of them were against the Storms left edge defence. Of the other three, one was a cross field kick, one was from a chargedown and one was on the other side of the paddock when the game was already run and won. It's no secret they'll go their again, but will it work?

The Cowboys threw plenty at the Broncos left edge defence in the first week of the finals. They had more ball and more opportunities, but they scored just once through that corridor, and it took a grubber kick to do so. In that game they had 57% of the possession, made 400 more metres with the ball and made 50 less tackles - and with all that the Cowboys managed one solitary line break. There is nothing wrong with the Cowboys attack - they made six line breaks against the Storm and ten against the Sharks. The Cowboys are a great attacking side, but to get through the Broncos line you have to be greater than great. They can lift to another level, but they'll need to.

Wayne Bennett has made no secret of the fact that most of his time at the Broncos this season has been spent on getting their defence right. It was only after their narrow loss to the Roosters in round 24 that Bennett was satisfied that the team had their defence where he wanted it. Only then did Bennett start working on attacking structures at training. A few days later they took on the Rabbitohs in Sydney...and scored 47 points. Have another look at the Broncos third try against the Roosters last Friday night if you can. It looks spontaneous, but I'll bet my first born that's a structured play from Bennett...and it's brilliant.

The Cowboys conceded two tries to the Storm last week through the middle corridor. They conceded two tries to the Broncos in their 16-12 loss through the middle corridor. This is where the game will be won. Can those big Cowboys forwards contain those dynamic Broncos halves?

A few other important things to note - theoretically this is neutral ground, but I think we can assume the Cowboys will have the weight of support from the crowd. They haven't won a premiership yet, and the affection for Jonathan Thurston seems to cross all borders. Those in NSW that feel the need to hate clubs outside their state tend to hate the Broncos more than the Cowboys...it seems. Goal-kicking could prove the difference too, and usually I would say Thurston wins a kicking contest with Parker every day of the week. In recent times the Thurston radar has been imperfect so the edge to the Cowboys on that front has narrowed. Mind you, Thurston could come out and slot them from everywhere - we'll find out on the night.

In the end, I'm tipping the Broncos in what looks like a grand final for the ages. They haven't had to leave Brisbane for five weeks. They've had one extra days rest after the preliminary final plus they didn't have to travel home from Melbourne on the back of it. The back end of the Cowboys season has seen them play at the following locations - Auckland, Melbourne, Townsville, Brisbane, Townsville, Melbourne...and now Sydney. I suppose that means they should be used to all the travel, but I'm looking for an edge and that's where the Broncos may have an edge. It only takes one moment where Tamou, Scott or Taumalolo feel the long season in their legs and those Broncos halves will capitalise. When we call time on season 2015 that may prove to be the difference. 

Verdict – Broncos 22 to Cowboys 20

First try scorer - Michael Morgan

Clive Churchill medallist - Ben Hunt

Wally Lewis - Grand Final (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Thursday night or early Friday morning.

• BRONCOS vs Cowboys

Tipping Competition - final results

Evening football fans,

Like many Queenslanders I have spent the weekend in New South Wales, although sadly I didn't make it all the way to Sydney, where I would have witnessed one of the greatest sporting contests we've ever seen in this country. What a game. We all thought it would be good but we were lucky to get one that good.

Plenty of plaudits, and rightly so, for Jonathan Thurston, but a standing ovation for Michael Morgan with a pass to tie the match in the dying seconds...and what a pass. To get into that position and then nail the offload.....wow!

Kudos to the Broncos, who led for nearly every minute of the game. Commiserations to Ben Hunt, a man who had a breakout season but has ended the campaign in the worst way possible - three critical errors (a lifting tackle/penalty, losing possession in a one on one strip and then the fumble from the extra time kick-off). Nowhere to hide sadly.

It's worth noting the television audience for this game, which peaked at 4.4 million nationwide. That's half a million more than the AFL grand final...and most of the experts were tipping a smaller audience without a Sydney side in the contest. The experts, as they so often are in this extraordinary game, were wrong.

Now to the season tipping comp, where we had already established our first and second place getters, but third place went down to the wire. And of course Footy Chick and Nik had to tie for third, leaving poor old Thinker with the task of determining a winner. In the end I've given the prize for third to Nik, who correctly tipped the winner and margin in the grand final. Commiserations Footy Chick....hopefully you understand that I had to find a winner somehow.

Tigerholic and Mark A have claimed the footy jersey and the polo shirt as prizes. Nik you can choose a $25 bonus bet from William Hill or a club footy. Let me know what you would like by sending me an email and I shall organise.

Special thanks to the Coach Potato, whose contributions to the site have been both peerless and thought-provoking. Thank you also for running the finals comp. I suppose I better check to see who won and track them down. There's a footy in it for somebody.

And thank you to you all for being here and contributing to the success of the site. It would be pretty ordinary without you. This season we had more than 750,000 visits - nearly a quarter of a million more than in season 2014.  Not too bad at all for a humble little footy tipping site.

Thanks also to my little helper, whose tireless work behind the screens goes mostly un-noticed. Of course, not being noticed is the sign of a well-run website I say. Well done sir....let's drink scotch and celebrate shall we?

We'll be back again for season 2016 and yes, for those that are interested I will post my Melbourne Cup preview later in the spring.

Thank you all. Good night and good luck.