NRL Finals Series 2015: Winners and Losers from Preliminary Finals

So now we know—it is going to be an all-Queensland National Rugby League grand final on October 4.

Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys have already met once in the playoffs, with the former triumphing 16-12 on home turf in the second qualifying final.

Now, though, the Cowboys get a chance to not only exact revenge, but also claim their maiden title at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

The Broncos were the first team to book their place in the final, beating minor premiers Sydney Roosters 31-12 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Friday.

North Queensland, meanwhile, had to do it the hard way against Melbourne Storm, battling back from a 12-10 deficit on the road.

They scored 22 unanswered points to run out convincing 32-12 winners and reach the grand final for just the second time in their 20-year history.

Here, Bleacher Report picks out the stars and the duds from the two preliminary finals.

Wayne Bennett is 80 minutes away from a seventh title with Brisbane.

The experienced coach returned to the Broncos before the season after leaving his post at Newcastle Knights.

While there were promising signs after they finished eighth in 2014, even Bennett cannot have expected it to go this well.

Back in familiar surroundings, he has steered his side to yet another grand final appearance.

Bennett has never lost the season finale in seven attempts, six of them with Brisbane to go with the solitary title he won during his time at St George Illawarra Dragons.

According to Andrew Webster of the Sydney Morning Herald, this could be Bennett's greatest triumph yet: "It wasn't supposed to happen this soon. Not this year. The coach with the thousand-yard stare might even have surprised himself. If they win the premiership this year, it will be his eighth and—at the age of 65 and after the disaster in Newcastle—surely his greatest."

Shaun Kenny-Dowall was the hero for Sydney in their semi-final win over Canterbury Bulldogs, scoring a hat-trick of tries in their 38-12 triumph.

However, a week is a long time in sport.

Against Brisbane, the winger made a blunder that will haunt him for the entire offseason.

Returning a kick from inside his own half following the opening set of six in the match, Kenny-Dowall decided to launch a long, looping pass towards team-mate Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

But Broncos full-back Darius Boyd read the situation perfectly. He seized on the ball and galloped away to score the easiest of tries, which put the home side ahead inside a minute.

Johnathan Thurston doesn't have to win a grand final to be considered an all-time great.

That's the opinion of Immortal Andrew Johns, per the Daily Telegraph (h/t Australian) "Win, lose or draw, it doesn’t affect his [Thurston’s] legacy. A lot of people are saying he has to win a premiership for x, y and z to happen."

Johns is right, but most neutrals will be hoping Thurston can lead his North Queensland Cowboys to glory.

He played in their only other grand final appearance, a defeat to Wests Tigers in 2005.

The Australia international was, as ever, excellent in the win over Melbourne before coming off with 10 minutes to go due to a groin problem.

However, Thurston insisted in the aftermath he was not too concerned by the injury, telling the Nine Network (h/t the Guardian), "It’s just a little bit of a cork to the groin, nothing too serious."

Melbourne's Marika Koroibete had been a major doubt for the preliminary semi-final due to an Achilles injury.

The Storm winger recovered in time to play, though he didn't quite have the impact he would have hoped for.

He tried to leave a mark on North Queensland winger Kyle Feldt, aiming a punch at the player. The moment of madness resulted in Koroibete being sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes.

The Cowboys were already in control of proceedings, but Koroibete had to watch on as Michael Morgan scored his second try of the night to make it 26-12.

However, Storm coach Craig Bellamy said after the game, per James Smith of the Australian Associated Press (h/t NRL.com), "At the end of the day, it happened. It wasn't going to affect the result [and] I am not going to complain."

When the Fijian did return to the action, he knocked on to set up a score for Gavin Cooper that put the game well beyond Melbourne's reach.

For the first time, the NRL has an all-Queensland grand final.

Brisbane and North Queensland already produced one of the best games seen this season, with the former beating their state rivals 16-12 in a gripping qualifying final.

A crowd of 50,388 attended that game, while there were even more (51,826) at Suncorp to see Brisbane's victory over Sydney Roosters.

Considering the Maroons also won State of Origin this year, the game is in rude health in Queensland.

So, could we see a grand final staged in Brisbane in the future?

Not according to Broncos coach Wayne Bennett. He dismissed talk of moving the competition's showpiece event from Sydney, per Fox Sports, "It’s where the grand final has always been played; it’s the biggest city in Australia—why wouldn’t you play the grand final there?"

Brisbane captain Justin Hodges signed off in style at Suncorp Stadium, helping the Broncos to the grand final in his final game on home turf.

However, the centre now has to wait to find out if he will get the chance to lead his team out in the grand final.

A tackle by Hodges on Aidan Guerra in the second half resulted in the Roosters back-rower being tipped to the ground.

The incident saw the Broncos skipper placed on report, putting him in serous danger of a ban. He has since been charged with a grade-one dangerous throw.

Any suspension would see him miss out on playing Sydney, meaning he would end his career on 99 tries.

Hodges intends to fight the charge at a judiciary hearing, telling Channel 9 (h/t Paul Malone of the Courier-Mail), "It’s a little worrying, but I know myself. There was nothing in the tackle. I obviously have to go down [to Sydney] on Tuesday and fight the charge to live out my dream of playing the grand final."

The numbers are not good for Brisbane—according to Chris Garry of the Courier-Mail (h/t Fox Sports), "Just once in 14 attempts this century has a Bronco player been exonerated at the NRL judiciary."