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The Dragons crushed the Broncos. That much was evident in their 48-18 demolition job at Suncorp Stadium. Expectation crushed them as well, according to Wayne Bennett, who admitted his side were simply unable to deliver when it mattered in 2018.

With their season now over and fresh debate certain to turn to Bennett's future at Red Hill, he said a combination of injuries and inexperience had resulted in a squad that was still learning how to win under pressuure. In other words, a team that was simply not ready to be a factor in finals.

Retiring star: An emotional Sam Thaiday after Sunday's elimination final in Brisbane. Credit:AAP

"The injury toll has its part with that, with key players out," Bennett said. "Then the expectation builds that they should play well, they should win this game... we’ve seen it all season.

"Our best performances have been against the best teams. Teams we thought we could beat, we lost our way. All week it’s been about us and how good we were going, which we were.