NRL: Warriors crushed by Broncos

Jack Reed of the Broncos scores against the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

Farewells for Darren Lockyer will last at least another week after the Broncos downed New Zealand Warriors 40-10 in their NRL finals clash at Suncorp Stadium.

Judging by Brisbane's dominance, Lockyer's swansong season looks like lasting a few more weeks yet.

In a confidence-boosting performance led by their young generation, the Broncos downed the Warriors seven tries to two in front of a near capacity 48,943-strong crowd.

For a side that arrived on a six-game winning run, the odds still seemed to be stacked against the Broncos on Saturday night.

They were reeling from the loss of barnstorming backrower Sam Thaiday (suspension) and livewire fullback Josh Hoffman (knee).

Oh, and then there was their shocking 1-6 finals record at hometown Suncorp Stadium.

But it mattered little to a young Broncos outfit seemingly hellbent on sending their inspirational skipper out a winner.

The Broncos were wary of the Warriors after escaping with a last gasp 21-20 win over the Kiwi outfit at the same Brisbane venue barely five weeks ago.

However, the rest of the competition is now officially on notice after the Broncos' young guns fired on Saturday night.

Man-of-the-moment Lockyer helped himself to a try as Brisbane jumped to a 18-0 halftime lead.

But it was the Broncos' Department of Youth that came of age in the second stanza.

A sublime Jack Reed offload set up Corey Parker in the 51st minute before the Warriors kept things interesting when impressive backrower Feleti Mateo crossed in the 59th.

And New Zealand cut the deficit to 24-10 by the 67th minute when hulking winger Manu Vatuvei did his best to turn around an otherwise butter-fingered display by scoring.

Instead of panicking, the Broncos cantered home, scoring three tries in five minutes.

Hooker Andrew McCullough burrowed over in the 71st and Justin Hodges - back from a hamstring strain - crashed over two minutes later before fullback Gerard Beale capped an impressive game when he fed off clever hands from Alex Glenn and Reed to score in the 76th.

Adding insult to injury, Warriors prop Sam Rapira was placed on report for a driving tackle on McCullough.

One week after a sold out Suncorp Stadium bid farewell to Lockyer in his regular season finale at the ground, Brisbane may yet provide one last hurrah to the veteran pivot next weekend depending on other finals results.

Match recap:

- AAP