Brisbane Broncos
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| Brisbane Broncos | |
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| Full name | Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Limited |
| Nickname(s) | Broncos |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Ground | Suncorp Stadium Milton, Brisbane |
| Capacity | 52,500 |
| CEO |  Bruno Cullen |
| Coach | Wayne Bennett |
| League | National Rugby League |
| 2006 | National Rugby League, 1st |
The Brisbane Broncos are a professional rugby league football team that are Brisbane based in Queensland, Australia. The Broncos play in the National Rugby League and are one of the most successful clubs of the modern era, having won 6 premierships in the 19 seasons they have played.
The club was founded in 1988, and was the first club from outside New South Wales to participate in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. They have a strong rivalry against fellow Queensland club North Queensland. The Broncos are the only publicly listed sporting club on the Australian Stock Exchange, trading as Brisbane Broncos Limited (ASX: BBL). Brisbane Broncos Ltd. is currently (as of 30 June, 2006) 68.87% owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
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[edit] History
For more details on this topic, see Brisbane Broncos history.
In the mid-1980s, the New South Wales Rugby League decided to expand the Sydney competition outside of its traditional areas. This began in 1982 with the introduction of the Canberra Raiders and the Illawarra Steelers, and continued with the entrance of the Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast - Tweed Giants in 1988. After tough competition between the various syndicates for the Brisbane license, the Queensland Rugby League chose the bid that belonged to former Brisbane Rugby League players Barry Maranta and Paul "Porky" Morgan.
The Broncos made their first grade debut in 1988 against Manly-Warringah, defeating the reigning NSWRL premiers 44-10. Although they made a promising start to their maiden season, they failed to make the finals, something that would also happen in 1989, although in their second year they won the National Panasonic Cup, the midweek knockout competition.
They first tasted premiership success in 1992, and again in 1993, both against the St. George Dragons. In 1995, the Super League war broke out, with many perseeving the Brisbane Broncos as the orchestrators, however they won the inaugural (and only) Super League premiership in 1997, before winning the maiden National Rugby League trophy in 1998.
1999 saw a disappointing year, which included club legend Allan Langer retiring mid-season before making a comeback with the Warrington Wolves in the English Super League. The Broncos' fifth premiership came in 2000, when the club defeated the Sydney Roosters in the last day-time NRL Grand Final, and it also saw the retirement of Kevin Walters and stalwart Michael Hancock.
2002 saw the return of Allan Langer for a one year stint, before retiring for the final time. It also the beginning of Brisbane's "post origin slump", which was to haunt Brisbane for the next four years. In 2003, they were in the upper echelons of the ladder, before losing their last eight games and falling to eighth place, nearly missing the finals for the first time since 1992. 2004 was more successful, in that the club finsished third, however they quickly bowed out of the finals series after losing to the Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys. In 2005 the Broncos lead for much of the season, before the form slump hit again, with them quickly drop out of the finals.
But in 2006, it changed. Again, Brisbane weas leading for most of the season, and again they were quick to enter the post-Origin slump. However in mid-August, after mounting speculation regarding coach Wayne Bennett's future at the club, the Broncos appeared to turn the corner in their 18-12 loss to the Melbourne Storm. The following week they comprehensively beat the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0, before defeating the Parramatta Eels 23-0 and the New Zealand Warriors 36-12. The first week of the finals saw them lose to the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-4, however they defeated Newcastle Knights 50-6 and the Canterbury Bulldogs 37-20 to qualify for their sixth Grand Final, which they won 15-8.
[edit] Summary By Season
| Competition | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | Ladder | P | R | M | F | W | Main Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 NSWRL Season | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 7 / 16 | Brisbane Broncos 1988 | |||||
| 1989 NSWRL Season | 22 (1) | 14 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (1) | 5 / 16 | Brisbane Broncos 1989 | |||||
| 1990 NSWRL Season | 22 (3) | 16 (1) | 1 (0) | 5 (2) | 2 / 16 | X | Brisbane Broncos 1990 | ||||
| 1991 NSWRL Season | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 7 / 16 | Brisbane Broncos 1991 | |||||
| 1992 NSWRL Season | 22 (2) | 18 (4) | 0 (0) | 4 (0) | 1 / 16 | X | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 1992 | ||
| 1993 NSWRL Season | 22 (4) | 16 (4) | 0 (0) | 6 (0) | 5 / 16 | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 1993 | |||
| 1994 NSWRL Season | 22 (2) | 13 (1) | 1 (0) | 8 (1) | 5 / 16 | X | Brisbane Broncos 1994 | ||||
| 1995 ARL Season | 22 (2) | 17 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (2) | 3 / 20 | X | Brisbane Broncos 1995 | ||||
| 1996 ARL Season | 21 (2) | 17 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (2) | 2 / 20 | X | Brisbane Broncos 1996 | ||||
| 1997 SL Season | 18 (2) | 14 (2) | 1 (0) | 3 (0) | 1 / 10 | X | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 1997 | ||
| 1998 NRL Season | 24 (4) | 18 (3) | 1 (0) | 5 (1) | 1 / 20 | X | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 1998 | ||
| 1999 NRL Season | 24 (1) | 13 (0) | 2 (0) | 9 (1) | 8 / 17 | X | Brisbane Broncos 1999 | ||||
| 2000 NRL Season | 26 (3) | 18 (3) | 2 (0) | 6 (0) | 1 / 14 | X | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 2000 | ||
| 2001 NRL Season | 26 (3) | 14 (1) | 1 (0) | 11 (2) | 5 / 14 | X | Brisbane Broncos 2001 | ||||
| 2002 NRL Season | 24 (2) | 16 (1) | 1 (0) | 7 (1) | 3 / 15 | X | Brisbane Broncos 2002 | ||||
| 2003 NRL Season | 24 (1) | 12 (0) | 0 (0) | 12 (1) | 8 / 15 | X | Brisbane Broncos 2003 | ||||
| 2004 NRL Season | 24 (2) | 16 (0) | 1 (0) | 7 (2) | 3 / 15 | X | Brisbane Broncos 2004 | ||||
| 2005 NRL Season | 24 (2) | 15 (0) | 0 (0) | 9 (2) | 3 / 15 | X | Brisbane Broncos 2005 | ||||
| 2006 NRL Season | 24 (4) | 14 (3) | 0 (0) | 10 (1) | 3 / 15 | X | X | Brisbane Broncos 2006 | |||
| 2007 NRL Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brisbane Broncos 2007 |
[edit] Crest & Colours
Initally, the moniker for the Brisbane Broncos was to be a kangaroo, as a it, along with a stylised Q, had featured as the logo for the Queensland Rugby League for many years. However as the test team was also called the Kangaroos, this was deemed inappropriate. The cooktown orchard, long used by Brisbane sides in the Bulimba Cup was also ruled out, as were other Australian animals like brumby, possum, galah and kookaburra (after Brisbane's Kookaburra Queen paddleships]].[1] Wanting to continue the alliterary trend started by the Brisbane Bullets and Brisbane Bears, the club's directors eventually went with the nickname Broncos.
The original club logo, featured left, was adopted in 1988 and used until 1999. In 2000, the club adopted the current logo, which although was branded a "chess piece" initially by those unhappy with the change, it co-incided with the club's fifth premiership
Traditionally the colours of the Brisbane Broncos are maroon, gold and white, however navy blue has also been used in recent years to complement Ergon Energy's sponsorship of the club. When the Broncos were formed, blue and gold, the colours of Brisbane were suggested, however Sydney advertiser John Singleton advised the board that "Queenslanders had been booing players wearing blue for more than three-quarters of a century" [2]. Traditionally, maroon has been the dominant colour of the jersey, although in 1997-98 the jersey was predomiantly white.
[edit] Stadium
For more details on this topic, see Brisbane Broncos Stadiums.
The Brisbane Broncos inaugural home ground was Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium), however they moved to ANZ Stadium in 1993 following ongoing conflict with the Queensland Rugby League and the Lang Park Trust. However following a severe drop in average crowds post-Super League, and the Queensland Government's $280,000,000 redevelopment of the spiritual home of rugby league in Queensland, the Broncos returned home in mid-2003. Following the Broncos' winning of the 2006 Premiership, coupled with home matches scheduled against the high-attendance rivals North Queensland, the Gold Coast and the Melbourne Storm among others for 2007, it is expected that the average attendance per game can increase again, for the sixth consecutive year. As of 2006, they are the highest attended team in the NRL, drawing 10,000 extra than their nearest rival, Newcastle, who have 21,848.
The record crowd for a Broncos game at Suncorp Stadium is 50,387, for the Preliminary Final in 2006 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, while the record crowd at ANZ Stadium is 58,912, for the 1997 Super League Grand Final, against Cronulla [3]
[edit] Club Records
- Biggest Win:
58-4 vs. North Queensland Cowboys, ANZ Stadium, 12 April 1998
60-6 vs. North Sydney Bears, ANZ Stadium, 26 April 1998
- Biggest Loss: 50-4 vs. Melbourne Storm, Olympic Park, 2 April 2005
- Most First Grade Games: Michael Hancock (279)
- Highest Point Scorer: Darren Lockyer (1077)
- Most Tries in a Match: 4 (Steve Renouf, Wendell Sailor, Karmichael Hunt)
- Most Goals in a Match: 9 (Darren Lockyer, Michael De Vere)
- Most Tries in a Season: 23 (Steve Renouf, Darren Smith)
- Most Points in a Season: 272 (Darren Lockyer, 1998)
[edit] Current Squad
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[edit] Notable players
The representative playing list of the Brisbane Broncos is extensive given the club has been the sole team representating Brisbane in the league, a major rugby league territory, for nineteen seasons. Listed below is the club's "Team of All Time" and features many of the club's greatest players who have all gone on to represent state or national teams.
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[edit] Honours
The Brisbane Broncos have been the most successful club in the National Rugby League, having won 3 premierships and the only team to have won more than once. This is complemented by two NSWRL premierships and a Super League trophy.
| Year | Tournament | Result | Score | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Midweek Cup Competition | def. Illawarra Steelers | 22-20 | Parramatta Stadium | 17,000 |
| 1992 | New South Wales Rugby League premiership | def. St. George Dragons | 28-8 | Sydney Football Stadium | 41,560 |
| 1992 | World Club Challenge | def. Wigan | 22-8 | Central Park | 17,460 |
| 1993 | New South Wales Rugby League premiership | def. St. George Dragons | 14-6 | Sydney Football Stadium | 42,329 |
| 1997 | Super League | def. Cronulla Sharks | 26-8 | ANZ Stadium | 58,912 |
| 1997 | World Club Challenge | def. Hunter Mariners | 36-12 | Ericsson Stadium | 12,000 |
| 1998 | National Rugby League | def. Canterbury Bulldogs | 38-12 | Sydney Football Stadium | 40,857 |
| 2000 | National Rugby League | def. Sydney Roosters | 14-6 | Stadium Australia | 94,277 |
| 2006 | National Rugby League | def. Melbourne Storm | 15-8 | Telstra Stadium | 79,609 |
[edit] Famous Fans
- Lachlan Murdoch, who is the club's No.1 Ticket Holder
- Peter Beattie, Queensland Premier
- Jim Soorley, former Lord Mayor of Brisbane & former No.1 Ticket Holder
- Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter (deceased)
- Pat Rafter, Australian Tennis Player (Retired)
- Hugh Jackman, movie star.
- James Smout, league legend
[edit] Sources
[edit] History
- Gallaway, Jack (2001). The Brisbane Broncos: The Team To Beat. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3275-0.
[edit] Premiership results
- "Illawarra Steelers History", retrieved 21 May, 2006
[edit] Records and statistics
- The Official NRL 2003 Season Guide
- The Official NRL 2005 Season Guide
- The Official NRL 2006 Season Guide
- Brisbane Broncos Club records
- Brisbane Broncos Season 2005
[edit] External links
- Broncos official web page
- Brisbane Statistics Tables
- The Online Brisbane Broncos Community
- The 1Eyed Bronco: Brisbane Broncos news, views and blogs
| Brisbane Broncos |
|---|
| The Club Representatives | History | Records | Honours | Players | Venues |
| Seasons 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Stadiums Lang Park/Suncorp Stadium | ANZ Stadium |
| Captains Wally Lewis (1988-1989) | Gene Miles (1990-1991) | Allan Langer (1992-1999) Kevin Walters (1999-2000) | Gorden Tallis (2001-2004) | Darren Lockyer (2005-present) |
| Coaches Wayne Bennett (1988-present) |
Categories: Companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange | Articles lacking sources from December 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Brisbane Broncos | National Rugby League | Sport in Brisbane | Australian rugby league clubs | Sport in Queensland | Sports clubs established in 1988 | Publicly traded sports companies
