50m penalty goal seals Warriors miracle in against Broncos

Luke Metcalf was the hero for the Warriors in one of the wildest finishes of the 2025 NRL season, landing a 50-metre penalty goal in golden point to sink the Brisbane Broncos 20-18 at Go Media Stadium.

With the scores locked after 80 minutes, the Warriors were gifted the opening possession of extra time when Reece Walsh’s restart sailed over the dead ball line.

Mitch Barnett wasted no time pointing to the posts and Metcalf, who had kicked just one goal from five attempts during regulation, made no mistake from halfway, curling it over with the breeze to secure an unforgettable win as the $2.85 underdogs with the top NRL bookmakers.

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It was an extraordinary finish to a game the Warriors had largely dominated despite fielding a depleted side missing James Fisher-Harris, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

They led 18-6 with 15 minutes to go after tries to Leka Halasima, Ed Kosi, Metcalf and Marata Niukore, but let the Broncos back into the contest with two late tries and some poor execution off the tee.

Metcalf missed three conversions and a penalty in a horror night with the boot, opening the door for Brisbane to level it up through Jesse Arthars and Walsh, with Adam Reynolds flawless off the tee.

The Broncos had a chance to snatch victory late, but Ben Hunt fumbled a key opportunity in the final minute, misjudging the ball at dummy half with a field goal chance beckoning.

It was a bitter end for Brisbane, who had started brightly through a soft try to Billy Walters and appeared to have seized the momentum late.

But they were ultimately undone by errors, six set restarts, and a moment of madness from Walsh that gave the Warriors the chance to win it.

The young fullback was rattled from the opening set after a bone-rattling hit from Kurt Capewell and never looked comfortable, finishing with just 50 metres in a performance capped by his crucial golden point blunder.

The win lifts the Warriors into the NRL top four and offers a huge confidence boost after last week’s heavy defeat in Melbourne.

With a patched-up line-up that included Capewell playing centre, Taine Tuaupiki at fullback and Leka Halasima making his first start, the hosts showed enormous heart in front of a raucous Auckland crowd.

It was chaotic, it was messy, but it was also one of the most memorable victories in recent club history.

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