Brisbane Broncos 2006

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This article details the 2006 season of the Brisbane Broncos. It was the Broncos' 19th season since their inception in 1988. They competed in the National Rugby League season 2006 and won their 6th Premiership.

Contents

[edit] Season summary

The Broncos did not start their 2006 season well, with a big 36-4 defeat by the previous year's runners-up, the North Queensland Cowboys in the first round. This was the 8th consecutive loss for the club and equalled the record for longest losing streak set in 2003. Round 2 saw the Broncos get their first win for the season and their first win since round 21, 2005 with a 16-12 victory over the Cronulla Sharks (This game is the third game in a row that the Brisbane Broncos beat Cronulla Sharks 16-12 at Toyota Park). The Broncos then went on to have a strong first half of the season, winning 11 of their first 17 games. Round 8 saw Brisbane produce their biggest comeback in the club's history when they came from 18-0 down at halftime to win 30-28 over the Canberra Raiders. But the year's biggest upset came when the team lost to the last-placed and previously winless South Sydney Rabbitohs 34-14 in Round 14.

After the 2006 State of Origin series finished, Brisbane once again entered their "Post-Origin Slump" losing 5 games straight from Round 18 - Round 23. However strong performances against the competition leaders Melbourne Storm (only losing 18-12) and a resounding victory against the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0 the following week saw a return to form. The Broncos then defeated the injury-struck Parramatta Eels 23-0 in Round 25 and in round 26 the New Zealand Warriors 36-12.

Brisbane was heading into the finals with momentum not seen since 2000, but lost to the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-4 in what was the highest attended Broncos game ever played at Suncorp Stadium at the time. The Broncos bounced back in the semi-final defeating the Newcastle Knights 50-6 and captain Darren Lockyer became the Broncos highest point-scorer with 1,077 (breaking Michael De Vere's record of 1,062 points). After trailing 20-6 at half time against the 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.

2006 NRL Grand Final
2006 NRL Grand Final

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. The win enabled the Broncos to maintain their perfect record in grand final matches and made Wayne Bennett the most successful coach in grand final history with 6 from 6.

[edit] Match results

Round Opponent Result Bro. Opp. Date Venue Crowd Position
Trial Match Canberra Raiders Win 28 20 18 Feb Port Macquarie Sports Stadium
Trial Match Melbourne Storm Loss 10 58 25 Feb Stadium Toowoomba
1 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 4 36 12 Mar Suncorp Stadium 46,229 14/15
2 Cronulla Sharks Win 16 12 18 Mar Toyota Park 14,221 12/15
3 Parramatta Eels Win 30 10 26 Mar Suncorp Stadium 25,525 5/15
4 St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 12 26 2 Apr WIN Stadium 13,708 9/15
5 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 30 12 8 Apr Suncorp Stadium 20,816 7/15
6 Sydney Roosters Win 24 6 14 Apr Aussie Stadium 21,246 4/15
7 Penrith Panthers Win 30 6 23 Apr Suncorp Stadium 25,133 3/15
8 Canberra Raiders Win 30 28 29 Apr Suncorp Stadium 23,582 3/15
9 Newcastle Knights Loss 30 32 7 May EnergyAustralia Stadium 21,252 5/15
10 Manly Sea Eagles Win 32 10 13 May Suncorp Stadium 24,991 4/15
11 Bye 4/15
12* Canterbury Bulldogs Win 25 6 27 May Suncorp Stadium 30,589 1/15
13 New Zealand Warriors Win 23 18 4 Jun Mt Smart Stadium 7,746 1/15
14 South Sydney Rabbitohs Loss 14 34 10 Jun Telstra Stadium 6,537 2/15
15* St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 16 18 16 Jun Suncorp Stadium 32,914 2/15
16 Manly Sea Eagles Win 16 10 25 Jun Brookvale Oval 16,084 2/15
17 Cronulla Sharks Win 26 12 2 Jul Suncorp Stadium 25,863 2/15
18* Melbourne Storm Loss 4 10 7 Jul Olympic Park 15,479 3/15
19 Bye 3/15
20 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 10 26 22 Jul Dairy Farmers Stadium 24,658 3/15
21 West Tigers Loss 6 20 30 Jul Suncorp Stadium 31,500 3/15
22 Canberra Raiders Loss 18 30 6 Aug Canberra Stadium 13,137 3/15
23 Melbourne Storm Loss 12 18 13 Aug Suncorp Stadium 40,195 5/15
24 Canterbury Bulldogs Win 30 0 18 Aug Telstra Stadium 26,111 5/15
25 Parramatta Eels Win 23 0 27 Aug Parramatta Stadium 20,253 4/15
26 New Zealand Warriors Win 36 12 3 Sep Suncorp Stadium 47,193 3/15
Qualif. Final St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 4 20 9 Sep Suncorp Stadium 50,387
Semi Final Newcastle Knights Win 50 6 16 Sep Aussie Stadium 20,081
Prelim. Final Canterbury Bulldogs Win 37 20 22 Sep Aussie Stadium 29,511
GRAND FINAL Melbourne Storm Win 15 8 1 Oct Telstra Stadium 79,609 
*Game following a State of Origin match

[edit] Ladder

*Warriors deducted 4 points for salary cap breaches

Team Pld W D L B F A P/D Pts
1 Melbourne Storm 24 20 0 4 2 605 404 +201 44
2 Canterbury Bulldogs 24 16 0 8 2 608 468 +140 36
3 Brisbane Broncos 24 14 0 10 2 497 392 +105 32
4 Newcastle Knights 24 14 0 10 2 608 538 +70 32
5 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 14 0 10 2 534 493 +41 32
6 St George Illawarra Dragons 24 14 0 10 2 519 481 +38 32
7 Canberra Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 525 573 -48 30
8 Parramatta Eels 24 12 0 12 2 506 483 +23 28
9 North Queensland Cowboys 24 11 0 13 2 450 463 -13 26
10 New Zealand Warriors 24 12 0 12 2 552 463 +89 24*
11 Wests Tigers 24 10 0 14 2 490 565 -75 24
12 Penrith Panthers 24 10 0 14 2 510 587 -77 24
13 Cronulla Sharks 24 9 0 15 2 515 544 -29 22
14 Sydney Roosters 24 8 0 16 2 528 650 -122 20
15 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 3 0 21 2 429 772 -343 10

[edit] Grand Final

Brisbane played against minor premiers the Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final and came out 15-8 winners. It was a perfect farewell for retiring prop Shane Webcke. The Broncos maintained their 100% win record in Grand Finals (1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2006). The six Premierships make Wayne Bennett the most successful club coach in Australian club football history.

           Brisbane Broncos vs. Melbourne Storm
Player Position Player
Justin Hodges Fullback Billy Slater
Darius Boyd Wing Matt Geyer
Brent Tate Centre Matt King
David Stagg Centre Greg Inglis
Karmichael Hunt Wing Steve Turner
Darren Lockyer (C) Five-eighth Scott Hill
Shane Perry Halfback Cooper Cronk
Shane Webcke Prop Antonio Kaufusi
Shaun Berrigan Hooker Cameron Smith (C)
Petero Civoniceva Prop Brett White
Sam Thaiday Second Row David Kidwell
Brad Thorn Second Row Ryan Hoffman
Tonie Carroll Lock Dallas Johnson
Corey Parker Interchange Adam Blair
Dane Carlaw Interchange Jeremy Smith
Ben Hannant Interchange Ben Cross
Casey McGuire Interchange Nathan Friend
Wayne Bennett COACH Craig Bellamy

Brisbane 15 (TRIES: Hodges, Tate; GOALS: Lockyer 2/2, Parker 1/2; FIELD GOALS: Lockyer)

defeated

Melbourne 8 (TRIES: Turner, King; GOALS: Smith 0/1, Geyer 0/1)

Halftime: Brisbane 8-4

Referee: Paul Simpkins

Stadium: Telstra Stadium (Sydney)

Crowd: 79,609

Clive Churchill Medal: Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane)

[edit] Crowds

The Brisbane Broncos had the biggest NRL season crowd average for 2006. The average crowd (including the Qualifying Final) for 2006 was 32,681

*=includes finals matches played at home or away
Games Played Crowd Total Average
All Games 28 754,550 26,948
Home Games* 13 424,917 32,685
Away Games* 15 329,633 21,976
Finals 4 179,588 44,897

All Games*: Played:28 Total: 754,550 Average: 26,948
Home Games: Played: 13 Total: 424,917 Average: 32,685
Away Games: Played:15 Total: 329,633 Average: 21,976
Finals*: Played: 4 Total: 179,588 Average: 44,897

[edit] Players

Bold Players Reperesentive Players for International or State in any year.

Full Backs
New Zealander Karmichael Hunt (also played wing)
Wingers
New Zealander Frazer Anderson
Australian Scott Minto
New Zealander Tame Tupou
Australian Darius Boyd (also played fullback)
Centres
Australian Shaun Berrigan (also played hooker)
Australian Justin Hodges (also played fullback)
Australian Stephen Michaels
Australian Brent Tate (also played wing)
Halves
Australian Darren Lockyer (c)
Australian Casey McGuire
Australian Shane Perry
Australian Brett Seymour (contract terminated after Round 22)
Hookers
Australian Barry Berrigan
Australian Michael Ennis
Props
Fijian Petero Civoniceva
Australian Ben Hannant
Australian Nick Kenny
Australian Corey Parker
Australian Sam Thaiday
Australian Shane Webcke
Second Rowers
Australian Dane Carlaw
Australian David Stagg
Australian Brad Thorn
Papua New Guinean Neville Costigan (contract terminated after Round 22)
Locks
New Zealander Tonie Carroll
New Zealander Greg Eastwood

[edit] Scorers

Player Tries Goals FG Points
Corey Parker 4 63/89 0 142
Darren Lockyer 13 19/24 5 95
Tame Tupou 13 0 0 52
Darius Boyd 11 0 0 44
Justin Hodges 10 1/1 0 42
Shaun Berrigan 9 0 0 36
Karmichael Hunt 7 0 0 28
Greg Eastwood 6 0 0 24
Brent Tate 5 0 0 20
Shane Webcke 4 0 0 16
Brad Thorn 4 0 0 16
Michael Ennis 0 6/11 0 12
Brett Seymour 3 0/3 0 12
Petero Civoniceva 3 0 0 12
David Stagg 3 0 0 12
Sam Thaiday 2 0 0 8
Dane Carlaw 2 0 0 8
Frazer Anderson 1 0 0 4
Leon Bott 1 0 0 4
Casey McGuire 1 0 0 4
Tonie Carroll 1 0 0 4
Stephen Michaels 1 0 0 4
Shane Perry 1 0 0 4
TOTAL 104 603

[edit] 2006/2007 Player Signings/Transfers

[edit] Gains

Player Notes
Brent McConnell from North Queensland Cowboys
Nathan Strudwick from John Paul College (Brisbane)
Thomas Bradford

[edit] Losses

Player Notes
Casey McGuire Contract with Catalans Dragons (Super League (Europe))
Shane Webcke Retired at end of season
Leon Bott Contract with Cronulla Sharks
Neville Costigan Contract Terminated for player misconduct, contract with Canberra Raiders
Brett Seymour Contract Terminated for player misconduct, contract with Cronulla Sharks
Frazer Anderson Contract with Cronulla Sharks
Scott Minto Contract with North Queensland Cowboys
Ben Vaeau Contract with North Queensland Cowboys
Joe Clarke Contract with North Queensland Cowboys

[edit] Re-Signings

Player Years Signed Until the End of
Karmichael Hunt 3 Years 2009
Michael Ennis 1 Year 2007
Ben Hannant 2 Years 2008
David Stagg 3 Years 2009
Ian Lacey 2 Years 2008
Joel Moon 2 Years 2008

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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
2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017
Stadiums
Lang Park/Suncorp Stadium • QSAC (formerly 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 (2005-2008)
Coaches
Wayne Bennett (1988-2008) • Ivan Henjak (2009-)