They gathered in the hundreds to welcome their boys home. Not to mourn what ultimately proved a heartbreaking defeat, but celebrate the return to prominence of the Brisbane Broncos.
Fans stormed Riverstage on Monday morning to rejoice as the team arrived home from a 26-24 defeat to the Penrith Panthers.
Even with proceedings held up as flight delays kept the team in Sydney, under scorching skies the supporters only strengthened in numbers.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters addressed the hysterical audience passionately, declaring this was not the end of the club’s resurgence.
“It is just the start, we started a couple of years back and the progress has been great,” Walters said.
“We’ve got to be there again next year, and the year after, and the year after.
We’re certainly building, and we learnt a lot last night too, certainly I did as a coach, and I’m sure the players learnt a lot as well. It just makes us steely and harder for next year now.
Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam already posed the potential to send the NRL’s player market into a frenzy should he make himself available from November 1.
His near-heroics on Sunday night will only have enhanced his worth. The 20-year-old was a late Nathan Cleary try away from helping himself to a remarkable Clive Churchill Medal.