Brisbane has concluded their disappointing NRL premiership defense with a 34-20 win over Canterbury.
Nearly a year since their championship win, the Broncos returned to Accor Stadium on Thursday, sending off Payne Haas with a victory in his final match for Brisbane before moving to South Sydney.
Haas, a key player in last year's championship run, opened the scoring but also found himself in the sin bin during a lively first half that reached a 10-10 tie.
After halftime, Brisbane, having been out of finals competition for several weeks, surged ahead, scoring 24 points in the second half.
This win marks Brisbane's eighth of the season, making it the lowest performance by any defending champions since Canterbury in 1981.
The Broncos are only the third team in the NRL era to miss the finals after winning a premiership.
"We've been through plenty throughout the year, but to watch the group have a smile on their faces after is nice to see," said Broncos coach Michael Maguire.
"We've pushed hard and one thing I know is the group moving into the next phase of where we go, they understand the highs of 12 months and then this period."
Josiah Karapani excelled for the Broncos on Thursday, scoring two tries, running for 142 meters, and breaking 13 tackles as Canterbury concluded their season without fanfare.
Many Bulldogs fans from the official crowd of 13,802 began to leave as the hour mark approached, as Canterbury fell short of making the top eight.
As has been the trend this season, the Bulldogs struggled offensively, even with 38 play-the-balls in Brisbane's 20-meter zone, failing to create significant threats.
"We wanted to finish the year really strong and 13,000 loyal fans turned up expecting us to put in the best performance of the year," commented Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo.
"We were a long way off that. That second half probably summed up the year."
Halfback Lachlan Galvin was among the Bulldogs' try-scorers, responding after Haas and Karapani had given Brisbane an early advantage, but his future pairing with Stephen Crichton will be a key offseason discussion.
Crichton assisted Canterbury's second try through winger Enari Tuala, leveling the game at halftime, but Brisbane took control in the second half.
Billy Walters, Ben Hunt, Jordan Riki, and Karapani all scored in the 20 minutes after halftime, marking Brisbane's third win since their round-eight victory over Canterbury in April.
Viliame Kikau and Galvin added two late tries for the Bulldogs, but the final score flattered them as they ended the season with an 11-13 record.