Picking the winner seems all so much easier now.

The Brisbane Broncos, with the advantage of two weeks' preparation, playing at home on Suncorp Stadium where they have a great record and marvellous crowd support, aided by the experienced coach Wayne Bennett, who has been down this road so many times before.

It's now so obvious they were going to win. How could you not tip them?

I liked the Roosters. I thought they could lift and deal with the challenges. They couldn't. The Broncos were far too good on the night.

Sure, they got off to a flying start courtesy of some poor decisions by the Roosters at the back of the field on kick reception. However, the game was pretty much back on an even keel before half-time and both teams had their chance to win.

In the end, the Broncos simply played the better team game and the better finals football. If anything, the final score probably flattered the Roosters. An 11-0 second half to the Broncos when the game was there to be won was a fair indication of their superiority.

They were superb.

They overwhelmed the Roosters with energy and commitment on every play. The Broncos have the ability to play this game at breakneck speed without looking rushed or frazzled. As they have done all season they played the game for the skills involved and the spirit of competition.

The Roosters? They seemed hellbent on bullying the Broncos and slowing the game down as much as possible. Neither tactic was going to get them the result they desired. I will come back to this in a moment.

Let's start with the Broncos' forwards. Their experienced men in Sam Thaiday, Adam Blair, Corey Parker and Matt Gillett were absolutely tremendous. They took the fight to the Roosters and never let up at any stage.

Blair is a marvellous story. There was a time in his career where he was rated the best forward in the world. He was leading the way for the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand. He was aggressive in defence, relentless and skillful in attack. He then signed a big contract to play for the Wests Tigers and he fell off the face of the earth.

I have no idea what happened during his time in Sydney. Not only did his form dip significantly but at times people questioned whether or not he actually cared. His body language was poor. His football was even worse.

Then the Broncos reached out to offer him a new home. I won't say the transformation occurred overnight, but as the season progressed you could see this big fellow starting to rebuild his previously dominant persona.

He was absolutely outstanding on Friday night. Some of his hits in defence were brutal and sent a real message to players from both teams. He was ably supported by his Bronco buddies, but there is no denying the significance of his contribution.

Off the back of forward dominance, the Broncos playmakers got their chance. Hooker Andrew McCullough, halfback Ben Hunt, five-eighth Anthony Milford and fullback Darius Boyd have enjoyed an almost unbroken partnership for the vast majority of the season. Their combination is now as good as any in the NRL and their ability to dissect even the best of defensive systems has now been proven under the intensity of finals football. They are a lethal combination. Hunt is quite brilliant. His development over the past 12 months has been extraordinary. I believe he has elevated himself to being the No.2 halfback in the world behind Johnathan Thurston. Queensland's future will be in good hands when JT calls it a day.

Hunt's energy, skill, vision, toughness and confident nature gives the Broncos their edge. His partner Milford, at this stage of his career, doesn't have the ability to steer a team around the park like Hunt. Nor should he be expected to. However, he has the football instincts of a genius, plus the footwork and speed which will keep opposition coaches awake at night for the remainder of his career. He is a superstar.

You back up this attacking prowess with probably the best defence in the NRL and it's no surprise they find themselves in the grand final next Sunday. The Broncos don't wrestle in defence. They hit and they hit hard. They work and cover for each other as though their lives depend on it.

It's a combination of knowledge, clarity, commitment, resilience and, at times, organised desperation. They cover the inside and offer you the outside, trusting the fact that if you do get around them, they will have the desperation to save the situation.

They learn quick too. They can adapt. Roosters centre Blake Ferguson was a little too good for them on two occasions in the first half. They regrouped at half-time and didn't allow him the same opportunities in the second half. That's a thinking man's football team.

Now for a few interesting points on the Broncos.

In hindsight, Brisbane had probably been on track to make the grand final since round three. They have boasted the biggest kicking game in the NRL by 1000m since round four. They have been leading kick-chase metres by a long way and the team that leads this statistic every season makes the decider. The Broncos haven't faltered in this regard since very early in the season.

They didn't drop a game though the Origin period and had six players coming back from that monster Queensland win in game three. That's great form. Again, wise with hindsight.

Now, the Roosters. Firstly, their problems started when they didn't win their opening semi-final at home against the Melbourne Storm. It's the second year in a row they have finished minor premiers and lost that opening play-off round. All advantages are lost from that point.

Secondly, I've been really disappointed with their mindset and strategy in these big end-of-season games. They played into Melbourne's hands in their semi. The Storm strangled them.

The second final was a terrible game and still in the balance at 8-4 when a controversial try extended their narrow lead and knocked the stuffing out of their opposition.

On Friday night they seemed determined to batter the Broncos into submission. Really? At Suncorp Stadium in front of 50,000 Queenslanders? That's not going to happen. They needed more.

For example: by half-time, the Broncos little men – Hunt and Milford – had made only two tackles each. That's right, two tackles each.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but these guys should've been forced to make 20 tackles each in the first 20 minutes.

The Roosters directed little of their play at these two key Bronco targets. On this point alone I'm wondering how the Roosters expected to beat the Broncos if they weren't wearing these two guys out with defensive work?

Obviously that's not the only key to success, but it's a good start. They gave these guys a free pass and left them fresh to run their attacking game as they pleased.

My other concern was the body language of the Roosters after the disallowed try to Shaun Kenny-Dowall just after half-time.

It looked like it deflated them. Their defensive line started to fray at the edges. Their attacking game spiralled downwards into little more than a rabble. The kicking game unravelled.

Still there were some tremendous individual contributions. Youngsters Dylan Napa and Kane Evans are real players of the future. The Roosters bench had impact and dragged the team off the canvas and back into the contest just before half-time.

Winning three minor premierships in succession is an outstanding achievement in any era. The coach and players deserve great recognition. However, one premiership and only one grand final appearance in that time span will feel pretty empty.

The question now needs to be asked as to whether or not this window of opportunity to win premierships may have passed them by.

Next season they lose strike player Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and their brilliant goalkicker James Maloney. They are big losses.

The positive is that this is still a relatively young side. It's not an ageing roster by any means. Plenty of these players still have improvement to come.

Actually, what am I taking about. It's the Roosters. They will find a way. Great club.

All in all, though, the Broncos deserved their victory. They were too good. The now move on to the decider and their old coach Wayne Bennett has never lost one of those.

It will take a brave man to tip against him, and them, from here.