Brisbane Broncos History
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This article shows the history of the Brisbane Broncos
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Formative years
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 BRL players Barry Maranta and Paul "Porky" Morgan. After deliberating over such names as Bulls, Bombers and Kookaburras, the club eventually decided on the name Broncos. Queensland State of Origin legend Wally Lewis was the first player to sign on with the fledgling club, and was the inaugural Broncos captain. Wayne Bennett was the inaugural coach for the Broncos, and is today still the team's coach.
[edit] Early results
On March 6, 1988, Brisbane defeated the 1987 Winfield Cup Premiers Manly-Warringah 44-10 in their first premiership game. Although the Broncos won their first six games in their inaugural season, they failed to make the finals. The following year they won the midweek knockout Panasonic Cup competition, but again failed to make the finals. In order to increase the Broncos' success in the Winfield Cup, Wayne Bennett controversially sacked Wally Lewis as club captain and gave the role to centre Gene Miles. Miles had retired from representative football, and Bennett hoped he could remove the teams reliance on Lewis. In another blow for the man known as the King, Lewis was moved to lock to make way for Ipswich product Kevin Walters, who later became the club captain in 1999. It largely worked, as Brisbane finished in third place, even though Lewis was out unavailable for much of the season due to injuries and representative duties. Controversy reared in the semi-final victory over Manly-Warringah when Bennett left Lewis on the bench, even though Lewis was desperate to prove his fitness before the upcoming Kangaroo Tour, which he was eventually ruled out of, thus bringing his Australian career to a sad close. Lewis later joined the (soon to be defunct) Gold Coast Seagulls for the next season.
[edit] Success at last
After the retirement of Gene Miles, the captaincy role fell onto half-back Allan Langer, in 1992, the Winfield Cup was transported to Queensland for the first time, when the Broncos comprehensively defeated the St. George Dragons 28-8 at the Sydney Football Stadium in their first premiership victory. A month later they won the World Club Challenge, defeating Wigan 22-8. After years of dispute with the Lang Park Trust over brewery advertising Fourex had pouring rights for Lang Park, while Powers Brewing was major sponsor of the Broncos), the Broncos moved to the Council-owned ANZ Stadium, in suburban Nathan. That year they won their second consecutive premiership, again defeating the Dragons, this time 14-6. This victory was significant because it was the only time a team which had finished 5th in the minor premiership had gone on to win the premiership. In 1994 they again played Wigan in the World Club Challenge, this time losing 20-14 at ANZ Stadium.
[edit] 1994-1996
The years 1994-1996 were characterised by on-field disappointments for the Broncos. In 1994, after a mediocre result in the minor premiership which saw then barely qualify for the finals series, the Broncos won their opening match of the finals against Manly 16-4. The following match saw them eliminated by North Sydney, after trailing 14-4 and staging a comeback to level at 14-14. In the end, a Jason Taylor field goal to win the game for North Sydney 15-14 shortly before fulltime. The following season saw the Broncos perform strongly in the minor premiership and enter the finals with good form. However the Broncos suffered close defeats at the hands of defending Premiers Canberra and eventual 1995 winners the Canterbury Bulldogs. An injury to Allan Langer resulted in crucial missed tackles in both matches by the Brisbane skipper, and played a contributing factor in the Broncos failure to win. In 1996 the Broncos again performed well in the minor premiership, only to play disapointingly in the finals, losing against both North Sydney and the Cronulla Sharks. At the end of the 1996 season players Kerrod Walters, Alan Cann, Willie Carne and Michael Hancock were asked to leave the club, as they could no longer be guaranteed regular places in the Broncos first grade team.
[edit] Success returns
From 1995 Brisbane was embroiled in the Super League war, and defected to Super League in 1997. They were by far and away the best team by securing the minor premiership with ease, and went on to defeat the Cronulla Sharks 26-8 in the inaugural Super League Grand Final at ANZ Stadium. In 1998 the National Rugby League was formed, after a merger deal was struck between the Australian Rugby League and Super League. The Broncos made it to the grand final, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs 38-12 to secure the first NRL Telstra Premiership trophy. 1999 saw the departure of one of Brisbane's favourite sons, Allan "Alfie" Langer, after the Broncos had a shocking start to the season. They recovered towards the end of the year, but were bundled out of the finals 44-22 by the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Park. In 2000, with Broncos stars Michael Hancock and Kevin Walters playing their final season, the Broncos won the final daytime Grand Final at Stadium Australia, defeating the Sydney Roosters 14-6. Currently Brisbane is the only team to have made every finals series since 1992 and the only team to have won every Grand Final they have contested. This is an incredible achievement of 15 finals series in a row, of which they won the premiership 6 times in 15 seasons.
[edit] 2006 Premiers
In 2006, The Broncos did not start the season well with a big 36-4 defeat by last years runners-up North Queensland Cowboys in the first round. The Broncos then had a good first half season winning 11 of their first 17 games. But the year's biggest upset came when the team lost to the last-placed and previously win-less South Sydney Rabbitohs 34-14 in Round 14. After the State of Origin series finished, the Broncos began a losing streak (as happened in 2005), calling it the post-Origin slump. However, strong performances against the competition leaders, Melbourne Storm only loosing 18-12 and beating the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0 saw a return to form. The Broncos defeated the injury-struck Parramatta Eels 23-0 in Round 25. The team was heading into the finals with momentum not seen since 2000, but lost to the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-4 in the qualifying final. The Broncos bounced back in the semi-final defeating the Knights 50-6 and captain Darren Lockyer became the Broncos highest point-scorer with 1, 077 (beating Michael De Vere's record of 1, 062 points). After trailing 20-6 at half time against the Canterbury Bulldogs in the grand final qualifier the team came back in the second half to earn a place in the 2006 NRL Grand Final with a 37-20 victory. It was the sixth time the Broncos made the Grand Final. Their opponents were the Melbourne Storm and the game was the first ever National Rugby League Grand Final not to feature a New South Wales-based club. Brisbane won the game 15-8. This saw a fitting farewell to the NRL's Number one prop Shane Webcke who retired at the end of the season.
[edit] Sponsorship History
| Year | Jersey Manufacturer | Major Sponsor | Sleeve Sponsor | Shorts Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Peerless | Powers Brewing | ||
| 1989 | Peerless | Powers Brewing | ||
| 1990 | Peerless | Powers Brewing | TR Auscel | |
| 1991 | Peerless | Powers Brewing | TR Auscel | |
| 1992 | M Sport | Powers Brewing | TDK | Powers Brewing |
| 1993 | M Sport | Powers Brewing | TDK | Powers Brewing |
| 1994 | M Sport | Traveland | TDK | Ansett Australia |
| 1995 | M Sport | Traveland | MMI | Ansett Australia |
| 1996 | M Sport | Traveland | Ansett Australia | Ansett Australia |
| 1997 | Nike | Ansett Australia | Ansett Australia | Ansett Australia |
| 1998 | Nike | Ansett Australia | Ansett Australia | Ansett Australia |
| 1999 | Nike | 131 Shop | Ansett Australia | Keno |
| 2000 | Nike | 131 Shop / Ergon Energy | Ansett Australia | Keno |
| 2001 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Ansett Australia | Keno |
| 2002 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Keno | |
| 2003 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Keno | |
| 2004 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Mortgage House | NRMA Insurance |
| 2005 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Q.L.D. Group | NRMA Insurance |
| 2006 | Nike | Ergon Energy | Q.L.D. Group | NRMA Insurance |
| 2007 | Nike | Ergon Energy | WOW Sight and Sound | NRMA Insurance |
Strathfield (formerly Brisbane Car Sound) took up the sponsorship of the space beneath the player's jersey number in 2006, following the National Rugby League's decision to allow this practice.
| 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) |
