Brothers demolish Wests 51-14 to seal one of Queensland rugby's biggest Grand Final wins

Brothers produced one of the most dominant performances in Queensland Premier Rugby Grand Final history, crushing Wests 51-14 at Ballymore Stadium on Sunday to claim the 2026 Hospital Cup. The 37-point winning margin is the third largest in Grand Final history, behind Sunnybank’s 66-point victory over Gold Coast in 2007 and Canberra’s 42-point win over Easts in the early 2000s.

The result capped a near-perfect season for the Brethren, who lost just one match during the regular season and topped the ladder with a series of commanding performances — including a 76-12 thrashing of the very same Wests side back on May 23. It was Brothers’ fourth consecutive Grand Final appearance, having lost last season’s decider to Bond University before back-to-back titles over Wests in 2023 and 2024.

Queensland Reds winger Tim Ryan was among the game’s standout performers, crossing for the first of his tries in the first half after fullback Benn Dalle Cort’s wide pass sent him over in front of the Brothers supporters on the famous Ballymore hill. Ryan continued to influence proceedings as the match wore on.

The tone was set inside 80 seconds, when inside centre Henry Smith’s grubber kick into the Wests’ 22 was chased down by Wallabies centre Josh Flook, who bundled over for the opening score. Dalle Cort converted from near the right touchline to make it 7-0.

Western Force recruit Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, impressive in the previous week’s semi-final win over Norths, was again a constant threat. The playmaker beat five defenders during a 50-metre break that led directly to points, and he added the extras after tighthead prop Timma Faingaanuku crossed for Wests’ first score in the 11th minute to make it 14-7.

From that point, Brothers were largely unchallenged. Wallabies and Reds hooker Matt Faessler went close from a maul before openside flanker Brad Hemopo peeled off to extend the lead. Dalle Cort and Urayasu D-Rocks-bound fly-half Finn Prass — who had earlier landed a decisive 50/22 kick — both added tries before half-time to give Brothers a commanding advantage at the break.

Smith crossed for his fifth try of the season in the 60th minute, with Ryan again involved in the build-up, as Brothers continued to pull clear in the second half and ultimately ran out comfortable 51-14 winners.