League: Broncos advance to NRL grand final

Justin Hodges of the Broncos and team mates celebrate victory after the NRL First Preliminary...
Justin Hodges of the Broncos and team mates celebrate victory after the NRL First Preliminary Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Photo by Getty

The Brisbane Broncos thrashed the Sydney City Roosters 31-12 to advance to next weekend's Australian National Rugby League (NRL) grand final.

The Broncos, who won the last of their six premierships in 2006, completely overran the Roosters, scoring six tries to two in their romp at Lang Park.

Brisbane will play the winner of tomorrow's second preliminary final between the Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys in the grand final, at Sydney's Olympic Stadium on October 4.

The Broncos captain Justin Hodges faces an anxious wait to know whether he will be allowed to play after he was placed on report for lifting in a tackle.

"I'll be fine," he told Channel Nine television. "He jumped in the tackle and I couldn't do anything about it."

It was a disappointing end to the year for the Roosters, who won the grand final in 2013 and were favourites to win again after stringing together 12 straight victories to end the regular season as the best-performed team.

"It's a bad result for us, a sad way to finish up," said Roosters' five-eighth James Maloney.

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