The Brisbane Broncos have booked themselves a preliminary finals birth with the Melbourne Storm after defeating the Penrith Panthers at Suncorp Stadium 13-6.

It was an even sweeter win for the home side who were again without their captain Darius Boyd.

Brisbane hung tight throughout the 80 minutes as the Panthers continued to press.

But the Broncos were too good hanging on for a much-deserved victory.

“I was proud,” Coach Wayne Bennett said post-match.

“There’s two or three times that Penrith could have scored but they didn’t, that’s paying the price. There are a lot of exhausted players in the change room.”

Boyd is expected to return from a hamstring injury for the showdown in Melbourne.