The Warriors' reserve-grade side have created history by winning the New South Wales (NSW) Cup for the first time, defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 30-12 in Sydney on Sunday.

But the major talking point of the rugby league weekend action was happening all the way across the country at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

The Queensland side caught everyone by surprise after a late fightback to beat the Penrith Panthers 16-14, ending Nathan Cleary and his team's hopes of winning a fifth consecutive championship and securing the Broncos a place in the NRL Grand Final.

Back in Sydney, the young Warriors became the first team outside NSW to claim The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, after their impressive performance as Minor Premiers in August.

Both teams scored early tries but the Warriors picked up the pace before halftime, running in two more tries to lead 16-6 at the break.

The Dragons managed to score first in the second half, narrowing the gap to 16-12. But the Warriors regained control of the game to win by 18 points.

“It’s unreal, especially with the bunch of boys we’ve got,” Warriors captain Kalani Going told a post-match interview. “We got to send off a few of the old boys, what a way to send them off.

“Super proud of the effort and a great game from the Dragons as well. We’ll be celebrating tonight.

“It was unreal to look up at the clock towards the end. It was real important we still played to the whistle. But yeah, unreal. I am sort of on a bit of a buzz right now.”

Bunty Afoa tries to get away from the Dragons' defence during their NSW Cup final in Sydney. Photo/Photosport/David Neilson

The match was full of action, with the Dragons taking control early but the Warriors' skill and determination proved too strong for the hosts.

Tanah Boyd, who was named Man of the Match, played a key role in leading his team to victory with both on-point kicking and effective support plays.

While the Dragons tried to fight back, the Warriors held on to secure their win with a couple more tries, bringing the final score to 30-12 and marking a historic achievement for the club.

The final 20 minutes remained scoreless while the Dragons pushed to fight back without success. But as the clock ticked down, the Warriors soaked up what was a historic day for the Auckland-based club.

Broncos fans cheer on their team against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium. Photo/Photosport/AAP/Dave Hunt

Broncos stun Panthers to book Grand Final berth

Meanwhile, Brisbane pulled off a spectacular second-half comeback to end the Panthers' premiership reign and book the Broncos for the 2025 NRL Grand Final.

The four-time defending premiers led 14-0 at half-time and looked set to close out Sunday's preliminary final, but the Broncos had other ideas.

Kotoni Staggs scored shortly after the break to cut the deficit before the hosts produced a crucial defensive stand with 15 minutes left to remain in the contest.

Brisbane capitalised, with Xavier Willison scoring to cut the gap to four before Reece Walsh produced a spectacular offload to send Deine Mariner over in the corner.

Brisbane's Reece Walsh finds space against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium. Photo/Photosport/AAP/Dave Hunt

Up stepped veteran Adam Reynolds, who calmly slotted a challenging conversion to send a record-breaking crowd of more than 52,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium into a frenzy.

Brisbane will face the Melbourne Storm in next Sunday's decider, after the men in purple gave themselves a shot at grand-final redemption with a 22-14 win over the Cronulla Sharks in Melbourne on Friday night.

The Broncos hope history repeats itself as they chase their first title since the 2006 grand final win over the Storm.

Sunday's NRL Premiership match will be played at Accor Stadium (formerly Stadium Australia) in Sydney. Kick-off is at 9.30pm, New Zealand Time.