2007 Brisbane Broncos season

The 2007 Brisbane Broncos season was the twentieth in the club's history and they competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Darren Lockyer, the Broncos made the finals by just scraping into the top 8, but were knocked out in the first week by eventual premiers, Melbourne Storm. Two and a half years later the Storm would be found to have been cheating the salary cap over the previous four seasons and their 2007 premiership was stripped.

Contents

Pre-season

The Broncos' pre-season involved two matches in England and two more trial matches upon their return to Australia.

World Club Challenge

Main article: 2007 World Club Challenge

As reigning NRL premiers, on 23 February 2007 The Brisbane Broncos played against English Super League champions St Helens RLFC in the 2007 World Club Challenge. St Helens took the match 18-14 in the last minutes.

23 February 2007
20:00 UTC+0		 St Helens 18 - 14 Brisbane Broncos Reebok Stadium, Bolton, United Kingdom
Attendance: 23,207
Referee/s: Steve Clark
Tries: Gardner (2)
Sculthorpe
Goals: Sculthorpe (3)		 Report Tries: Parker
Boyd
Goals: Parker (3)

Telstra Premiership

For more details on this topic, see 2007 NRL season.

The World Club Challenge loss was followed by a poor start to the 2007 NRL season by the Broncos, who lost their captain and five-eighth Darren Lockyer to an ankle injury after the first match against the North Queensland Cowboys. Lockyer returned to the field in Round 3 against the Penrith Panthers, but Brisbane had lost their first three games in a row for the first time since 1999. They racked up their first win against the Sydney Roosters in the traditional Good Friday match played by the two clubs. Another loss followed by a win in the Andrew Johns farewell against Newcastle in Round 6.

When, in the Round 7 replay of last year's grand-final, Brisbane were unable to defeat Melbourne, they had managed to win just 2 of their first seven games, compared to their strong starts in 2006 and 2005. Having not yet played an NRL game in 2007, Tame Tupou, the Broncos' top try-scorer for the previous season, left the club in round 7 for England. In round 11 Brisbane were at the bottom of the ladder before racking up their biggest ever win, defeating an under-strength Newcastle Knights 71-6. It was also the Knights' biggest ever loss and the most points the Broncos had ever scored in a game. This was followed up with a loss to an understrength St George Illawarra Dragons.

As a result of the team's form, coach Wayne Bennett gave the players time off during the Broncos' bye. This strategy appeared to be successful, with the team winning five successive games. However, in their Round 18 win against the Cowboys, Lockyer tore his anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Lockyer's injury, combined with injuries to big-name players Karmichael Hunt, Justin Hodges, Brent Tate and Shaun Berrigan, played a role in Brisbane winning just two of their last eight games of the season.

In the last round of the 2007 regular season, the Broncos suffered an embarrassing 68-22 loss to Parramatta, equalling their worst ever defeat and most points conceded in a match. However, the club still finished eighth after the regular season, thus making the finals for the sixteenth straight year. Brisbane's efforts did not improve the following Sunday when they played their 500th game ever and their last of the season, being defeated soundly by eventual premiers the Melbourne Storm 40-0. Only one year after winning the premiership, 2007 saw the second time ever that the Broncos lost more games than they won in a season of football.

At the end of the season the Brisbane Broncos hed a gala ball at which coach Wayne Bennett was made a life member of the club. His refusal to make an acceptance speech at the club's presentation ball showed the strain in his relationship with the Broncos.[1] On 9 October 2007, the club announced the termination of the contracts of squad members Ian Lacey and John Te Reo, after they were involved in the assault of a man after the ball.[2]

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne 24 21 0 3 1 627 277 +350 44
2 Manly-Warringah 24 18 0 6 1 597 377 +220 38
3 North Queensland 24 15 0 9 1 547 618 -71 32
4 Warriors 24 13 1 10 1 593 434 +159 29
5 Parramatta 24 13 0 11 1 573 481 +92 28
6 Bulldogs 24 12 0 12 1 575 528 +47 26
7 South Sydney 24 12 0 12 1 408 399 +9 26
8 Brisbane Broncos 24 11 0 13 1 511 476 +35 24
9 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 1 541 561 -20 24
10 Sydney 24 10 1 13 1 445 610 -165 23
11 Cronulla-Sutherland 24 10 0 14 1 463 403 +60 22
12 Gold Coast 24 10 0 14 1 409 559 -150 22
13 St George Illawarra 24 9 0 15 1 431 509 -78 20
14 Canberra 24 9 0 15 1 522 650 -128 20
15 Newcastle 24 9 0 15 1 418 708 -290 20
16 Penrith 24 8 0 16 1 539 607 -68 18

Scorers (After Round 25)

For NRL first-grade matches only.

Player Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Corey Parker 4 45/54 0 106
Darren Lockyer 2 23/33 3 57
Justin Hodges 12 0 0 48
Steve Michaels 10 0 0 40
Karmichael Hunt 8 0 0 32
Tonie Carroll 7 0 0 28
Darius Boyd 6 0 0 24
Brent Tate 5 0 0 20
Greg Eastwood 5 0 0 20
Michael Ennis 1 7/8 0 18
Shaun Berrigan 4 0 0 16
Dane Carlaw 3 0 0 12
Dave Taylor 3 0 0 12
David Stagg 2 0 0 8
Petero Civoniceva 2 0 0 8
Ben Hannant 2 0 0 8
Craig Frawley 2 0 0 8
Joel Moon 2 0/1 0 8
Shane Perry 2 0 0 8
Brad Thorn 2 0 0 8
Sam Thaiday 1 1/2 0 6
Denan Kemp 1 0 0 4
Nick Emmett 1 0 0 4
TOTAL 89 77/99 3 511

2007 match results

^ Not a Broncos Home Game
* Game following a Test Match
** Game following a State of Origin Match
Round Opponent Result Brisbane Opponent Date Venue Crowd Position
BOCC Celtic Crusaders Win 32 6 15 Feb Brewery Field 2,000+
WCC St Helens Loss 14 18 23 Feb Reebok Stadium 23,207
Trial Match Canberra Raiders Win 18 12 24 Feb Dolphin Oval
Trial Match Melbourne Storm Loss 0 46 3 Mar Princes Park 8,273
1 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 16 23 16 Mar Suncorp Stadium 50,416 12/16
2 New Zealand Warriors Loss 14 24 25 Mar Mt Smart Stadium 16,738 12/16
3 Penrith Panthers Loss 28 29 30 Mar Suncorp Stadium 24,582 15/16
4 Sydney Roosters Win 32 10 6 Apr Aussie Stadium 11,476 12/16
5 ^ Gold Coast Titans Loss 16 28 13 Apr Suncorp Stadium 47,686 13/16
6 * Newcastle Knights Win 20 16 22 Apr EnergyAustralia Stadium 25,524 11/16
7 Melbourne Storm Loss 18 28 27 Apr Suncorp Stadium 33,750 13/16
8 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 8 4 4 May Suncorp Stadium 27,387 12/16
9 Cronulla Sharks Loss 8 16 11 May Toyota Park 12,262 13/16
10 Manly Sea Eagles Loss 6 18 21 May Brookvale Oval 13,493 14/16
11 ** Newcastle Knights Win 71 6 27 May Suncorp Stadium 27,433 12/16
12 St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 4 11 1 Jun Oki Jubilee Stadium 10,302 15/16
13 BYE 12/16
14 ** Canterbury Bulldogs Win 19 12 15 Jun Telstra Stadium 10,121 10/16
15 Wests Tigers Win 48 18 25 Jun Suncorp Stadium 29,364 9/16
16 Penrith Panthers Win 24 16 30 Jun CUA Stadium 8,553 7/16
17 ** Gold Coast Titans Win 19 18 6 Jul Suncorp Stadium 48,621 6/16
18 North Queensland Cowboys Win 24 16 13 Jul Dairy Farmers Stadium 25,126 5/16
19 Parramatta Eels Loss 16 20 23 Jul Suncorp Stadium 25,702 5/16
20 Cronulla Sharks Win 30 16 29 Jul Suncorp Stadium 24,563 5/16
21 Manly Sea Eagles Loss 8 21 5 Aug Suncorp Stadium 35,784 6/16
22 Melbourne Storm Loss 6 14 12 Aug Olympic Park 7/16
23 Canterbury Bulldogs Loss 24 25 17 Aug Suncorp Stadium 35,199 9/16
24 Canberra Raiders Win 30 19 26 Aug Suncorp Stadium 31,614 8/16
25 Parramatta Eels Loss 22 68 2 Sep Parramatta Stadium 17,112 8/16
QF Melbourne Storm Loss 0 40 9 Sep Olympic Park 15,552

Players

Bold Players have played International or State any year

Full Backs

 Karmichael Hunt
Denan Kemp

Wingers

Tame Tupou (released by the club after Round 7 without playing this season)
Darius Boyd
Stephen Michaels
   
Craig Frawley

Centres

Shaun Berrigan
  
Justin Hodges
   
Brent Tate
 
Nick Emmett

Halves

Darren Lockyer (c)
   
Shane Perry
Brent McConnell
Joel Moon

Hookers

Michael Ennis
  
Ian Lacey
  
John Te Reo
Michael Roberts

Props

Petero Civoniceva (vc)
   
Ben Hannant
   
Nick Kenny
   
Corey Parker
Sam Thaiday
 
Dave Taylor

Second Rowers

Dane Carlaw
   
David Stagg
   
Brad Thorn
   
Clifford Manua

Locks

 Tonie Carroll
   
Greg Eastwood

Player movements

Gains

Name Club Coming From Contract Details
Peter Wallace Penrith Panthers Contract until the end of 2009, will come in 2008.
Joel Clinton Penrith Panthers Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008.
Ashton Sims St. George Illawarra Dragons Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008.
Tom Hewitt St. George Illawarra Dragons Contract until the end of unknown, will come in 2008.
PJ Marsh Parramatta Eels Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008.

Losses

Name Club Going To Contract Details
Tame Tupou Bradford Bulls Contract until end of 2008, will go there mid-2007.
Brent Tate New Zealand Warriors Contract until end of 2010, will go there in 2008.
Shaun Berrigan Hull Contract until end of 2011, will go there in 2008.
Petero Civoniceva Penrith Panthers Contract until end of 2009, will go there in 2008.
Dane Carlaw Catalans Dragons Contract until end of 2010, will go there in 2008.
Brad Thorn Canterbury Crusaders Contract until end of 2008, will go there in 2008.

Re-signings

Name Contract Details
Sam Thaiday Contract until end of 2009.
Joel Moon Contract until end of 2009.
Stephen Michaels Contract until end of 2009.
Darius Boyd Contract until end of 2009.
Denan Kemp Contract until end of 2008.
Greg Eastwood Contract until end of 2009.
Michael Ennis Contract until end of 2010.
Justin Hodges Contract until end of 2011.

Off Contract at end of 2007

Name Contract Details Other
Shane Perry Contract Ends 2007 Likely to move back into Queensland Cup

See also

References

  1. ^ Clark, Laine (2008-02-05). "Statistics don't do Bennett justice". foxsport.com.au (Australia: AAP). http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/print/0,22451,23167215-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2010-01-07. 
  2. ^ "Brisbane axes Lacey and Te Reo". http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22555557-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-09.