1993 Brisbane Broncos season

The 1993 Brisbane Broncos season was the sixth in the club's history. They competed in the NSWRL's 1993 Winfield Cup premiership, finishing the regular season 5th (out of 16) before going on to play in a re-match of the previous year's grand final against the St George Dragons and again win, claiming consecutive premierships. In doing so they also became the first team in history to win the premiership from fifth position.[1]

Season summary

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. For the 1993 season the Broncos moved to the Council-owned ANZ Stadium, in suburban Nathan.[2]

Signs of a hangover existed with the club losing two of its first three matches, including their debut at the new home ground against the struggling Parramatta Eels. But the Broncos bounced back, beating the Balmain Tigers 50-0, (the highest winning margin for the club at the time) to establish themselves solidly in the upper echelons of the competition. A last round lapse against St George relegated the Broncos to fifth spot, meaning they had to win four straight elimination games to defend their title. This match also set the club's highest home ground attendance figure with over 58,000 at ANZ Stadium.

In the finals, Brisbane went on to demolish the Manly Sea Eagles' defence in a 36-10 romp. Canberra dropped dead with the loss of Ricky Stuart and the Broncos ran roughshod over them with a 30-12 win. Against the Canterbury Bulldogs in the preliminary final, Brisbane were trailing 16-10 at half time, but Allan Langer scored immediately in the second half to level, then potted a field goal to break the dead lock late in the game with Allan Cann sealing the win scoring under the posts winning the match for the Broncos 23-16.

In the grand final, again against the Dragons, the Broncos were victorious once more, this time 14-6. This win was significant because it was the only time a team which had finished 5th in the minor premiership had gone on to win the competition. It was Glenn Lazarus' fifth consecutive grand final appearance, having already played in the previous year's for Brisbane and the three years' before that for Canberra.

Match results

Round Opponent Result Bro. Opp. Date Venue Crowd Position
1 Cronulla Sharks Win 19 10 14 Mar Endeavour Field8,200 5/16
2 Canterbury Bulldogs Loss 10 20 19 Mar Carlaw Park 16,2369/16
3 Parramatta Eels Loss 8 12 28 Mar ANZ Stadium51,51710/16
4 Canberra Raiders Win 12 8 4 Apr ANZ Stadium46,0019/16
5 Balmain Tigers Win 12 6 10 Apr Leichhardt Oval 7,522 8/16
6 Penrith Panthers Win 34 8 18 Apr ANZ Stadium35,904 6/16
7 St George Dragons Win 20 14 25 Apr Kogarah Oval 17,025 6/16
8* Illawarra Steelers Win 24 22 9 MayANZ Stadium28,126 4/16
9* North Sydney Bears Loss 20 40 23 May North Sydney Oval 20,378 5/16
10* Wests Magpies Win 36 16 6 JuneANZ Stadium40,733 5/16
11 Easts Roosters Win 26 22 12 JunSydney Football Stadium10,450 5/16
12 Gold Coast Seagulls Win 14 6 18 JunANZ Stadium57,212 4/16
13 Manly Sea Eagles Loss 8 24 26 JunBrookvale Oval12,203 5/16
14 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 54 8 2 JulANZ Stadium31,8965/16
15 Newcastle Knights Win 31 2 11 JulNewcastle ISC 12,6044/16
16 Cronulla Sharks Win 38 34 18 Jul ANZ Stadium31,270 4/16
17 Canterbury Bulldogs Win 38 18 25 Jul ANZ Stadium54,7514/16
18 Parramatta Eels Win 15 8 30 Jul Parramatta Stadium10,0472/16
19 Canberra Raiders Loss 4 20 6 Aug Bruce Stadium24,801 4/16
20 Balmain Tigers Win 50 0 13 AugANZ Stadium39,1933/16
21 Penrith Panthers Win 34 14 21 AugPenrith Football Stadium16,8102/16
22 St George Dragons Loss 10 16 27 AugANZ Stadium58,5935/16
Prelim. Semi Final Manly Sea EaglesWin36105 SepSydney Football Stadium38,432
Semi Final Canberra Raiders Win 30 12 11 SepSydney Football Stadium 33,893
Prelim. Final Canterbury Bulldogs Win 23 16 19 SepSydney Football Stadium34,821
GRAND FINALSt George Dragons Win 14 6 26 SepSydney Football Stadium42,329

*Game following a State of Origin match

Scorers

Player Tries Goals FG Points
Terry Matterson 7 58/89 0 144
Julian O'Neill 9 28/41 3 95
Willie Carne 17 0 0 68
Steve Renouf 16 0 0 64
Michael Hancock 12 0 0 48
Allan Langer 11 0 1 45
Chris Johns 9 0 0 36
Alan Cann 6 0 0 24
Kevin Walters 6 0 0 24
Glenn Lazarus 3 0 0 12
John Plath 3 0 0 12
Wendell Sailor 3 0 0 12
Kerrod Walters 3 0 0 12
Peter Ryan 2 0 0 8
Trevor Gillmeister 1 0 0 4
Mark Hohn 1 0 0 4
Keiren Meyer 1 0 0 4
Brett Plowman 1 0 0 4

Grand final

                                Brisbane Broncos vs. St George Dragons
Brisbane Position St George
Julian O'Neill Fullback Mick Potter (C)
Michael Hancock Wing Ricky Walford
Steve Renouf Centre Mark Coyne
Chris Johns Centre Graeme Bradley
Willie Carne Wing Ian Herron
Kevin Walters Five-eighth Tony Smith
Allan Langer (C) Halfback Noel Goldthorpe
Glenn Lazarus Prop Tony Priddle
Kerrod Walters Hooker Wayne Collins
Mark Hohn Prop Jason Stevens
Trevor Gillmeister Second Row Scott Gourley
Alan Cann Second Row David Barnhill
Terry Matterson Lock Brad Mackay
Andrew Gee Interchange Jeff Hardy
John Plath Interchange Phil Blake
Peter Ryan Interchange Gorden Tallis
Gavin Allen Interchange Nathan Brown
Wayne Bennett COACH Brian Smith

Brisbane 14 (TRIES: Johns, Matterson, Carne; GOALS: O'Neill 1/3)

defeated

St George 6 (GOALS: Herron 3/3)

Halftime: Brisbane 10-2

Referee: Greg McCallum

Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium

Crowd: 42,329

Clive Churchill Medal: Brad Mackay (St George)

Honours

League

Club

References

  1. ↑ Pramberg, Bernie (2006-09-26). "Broncos beat critics". The Courier-Mail (Australia: Queensland Newspapers). Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  2. ↑ Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-7022-3536-8.
  3. ↑ "Honour Board". broncos.com.au. Brisbane Broncos. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

Coordinates: 27°33′30″S 153°03′44″E / 27.558333°S 153.062222°E