Brisbane Broncos

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Brisbane Broncos

Full name	Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Limited
Emblem	Bronco
Colours	Maroon, gold, white and blue
Founded	1988
Sport	Rugby league
League	National Rugby League
Ground	Suncorp Stadium
Capacity	52,500
CEO	Bruno Cullen
Captain	Darren Lockyer
Coach	Wayne Bennett
2004	5th of 15
Premierships	5 - 1992, 1993 (NSWRL), 1997 (Super League), 1998, 2000 (NRL)
Runners-Up	Nil
Minor Premierships	4 - 1992, 1997 (Super League), 1998, 2000
Wooden_spoon_%28award%29>Wooden Spoons	Nil
Biggest win	60 - 6 vs. Norths,April 26 1998
Worst defeat	4 - 50 vs. Melbourne, April 2 2005

The Brisbane Broncos are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australia.

Based in Brisbane, Queensland, the Broncos were admitted in 1988 to the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition, predecessor of the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the current NRL competition.

The Broncos are the only publicly listed sporting club on the Australian Stock Exchange, trading under the ASX: [BBL].

History

Wayne Bennett was the coach for this first season, and remains in that role today. Although the Broncos started well, winning the first six games in their inaugural season, they failed to make the finals. In 1989 the Broncos won the midweek Panasonic Cup competition, but once more failed to make the semi-finals in the season proper. In the 1990 season, searching for solutions, Wayne Bennett controversially sacked Wally Lewis as club captain and gave the captain role to Gene Miles. Miles had retired from rep football and Wayne Bennett hoping he can remove the team's reliance on Lewis. It largely worked as Brisbane finished in 3rd place without Lewis for much of the season due to injuries and rep duties.

Controversy reared in the semi-final victory over Manly when Bennett left Lewis on the bench. Lewis was desperate to play to prove his fitness for the upcoming Kangaroo tour. Lewis got on the field in the Final against Canberra, but not before the Raiders had the game won (32-4). Lewis soon signed with the Gold Coast.

Brisbane won their first premiership in 1992 when they defeated the St. George Dragons 28-8. A month later they won the World Club Challenge, defeating Wigan 22-8.

The Brisbane Broncos played their final match at ANZ Stadium against the Melbourne Storm on 18 May 2003.

In 1993 the Broncos relocated from Lang Park to ANZ Stadium, after years of dispute with the Lang Park Trust about brewery advertising. That year they beat St George 14-6 again in the grand final. This victory gave them the right to contest the World Club Challenge once more. They were defeated by Wigan 20-14 in Brisbane in 1994.

From 1995 Brisbane was embroiled in the Super League War, and failed to make the grand final again until 1997, when they defeated Cronulla in the Super League Grand Final 26-8. When Super League merged with the ARL to form the National Rugby League, the Broncos were again in the Grand Final, and they defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 38-12 to take the inaugural NRL trophy.

In 2000 the Broncos once more won the NRL premiership, defeating the Sydney Roosters 14-6. After disappointing crowds at ANZ Stadium during the early 2000s, with crowds averaging around the 20,000 mark, the Broncos decided on a move back to Rugby League's spiritual home at Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park) when the Queensland Government announced a $380m redevelopment of the ground. Since then the Broncos' crowds have increased to levels not seen since 1995 before the advent of Super League. The Broncos crowd increased from the 28,000 mark in 2004 to over 30,000 in 2005. With a draw that has Brisbane playing a number of well-supported teams (Cowboys, Bulldogs & Dragons) at home in 2006, the average crowd for the season could easily pass 31,000.[link]

Currently, the Brisbane Broncos are the only team to have made every finals series since 1992 - an incredible achievement of 14 finals series in a row, of which they won the premiership 5 times in a space of 9 seasons.

Captains

Years	Captain
1988-1989	Wally Lewis
1990-1991	Gene Miles
1992-1999	Allan Langer
1999-2000	Kevin Walters
2001-2004	Gorden Tallis
2005-present	Darren Lockyer

Notable players

• Sam Backo
• Shaun Berrigan
• Andrew Gee
• Trevor Gilmeister
• Michael Hancock
• Allan Langer
• Glenn Lazarus
• Wally Lewis
• Darren Lockyer
• Gene Miles
• Steve Renouf
• Wendell Sailor
• Gorden Tallis
• Lote Tuqiri
• Kevin Walters
• Shane Webcke
• Petero Civoniceva
• Tonie Carroll
• Karmichael Hunt

The Brisbane Broncos' logo from 1988 to 1999.

First Grade

Year	Premiership	Result	Venue	Attendance
1992	World Club Challenge	def. Wigan Warriors 22-8	Central Park	17,460
1997	World Club Challenge	def. Hunter Mariners 36-12	Ericsson Stadium	12,000

Panasonic Cup midweek competition

Sponsors

Jersey Manufacturers

• Peerless (1988-91)
• M Sport (1992-1996)
• Nike (1997-now)

Major Sponsors

• Powers Brewing (1988-1993)
• Traveland (1994-1996)
• Ansett Australia (1997-1998)
• 131 Shop (1999-2000)
• Ergon Energy (2000-now)

Sleeve Sponsors

• TR Auscel (1990-1991)
• TDK (1992-1994)
• MMI (1995)
• Ansett Australia (1996-2001)
• Keno (2002-2003)
• Mortgage House (2004)
• Q.L.D. Group (2005-now)

Shorts Sponsors

• Captain mTrans real eState (1988-1991)
• Powers Brewing (1992-93)
• Joey Broey Pty. Ltd (1994-1996)
• J Bizzle to the Tizzle (1996-1997)
• Ansett Australia (1997-1998)
• J-Borg Services (1999-2001)
• Minhs Thunder Corp. (2002)
• NRMA Insurance (2003-now)

Record Crowds

Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park)

• 49,571 (v Canterbury Bulldogs, Round 23, 2004)
• 48,995 (v St George Illawarra Dragons, Round 23, 2005)
• 46,337 (v Newcastle Knights, Round 12, 2003)
• 46,229 (v North Queensland Cowboys, Round 1, 2006)
• 43,438 (v North Queensland Cowboys, Round 1, 2005)
• 37,745 (v Penrith Panthers, Round 7, 2004)
• 35,597 (v St George Illawarra Dragons, Round 26, 2003)
• 35,592 (v Sydney Roosters, Round 25, 2005)

ANZ Stadium

• 58,912 (v Cronulla Sharks, Super League Grand Final 1997)
• 58,593 (v St George Illawarra Dragons, 27/8/93)
• 51,517 (v Parramatta Eels, 28/3/93)

Club Records

Coaches

• Wayne Bennett (1988-now)

Most First Grade Games for the Broncos

• 279- Michael Hancock (1988-2000)
• 265- Allan Langer (1988-1999, 2002)
• 265- Andrew Gee (1989-1999, 2002-2003)
• 252- Kevin Walters (1990-2001)

Most Tries in a Match

• 4- Steve Renouf (v North Sydney Bears, Lang Park. Round 20, 1991) (Brisbane won 44-6)
• 4- Steve Renouf (v Bulldogs, ANZ Stadium. Round 17, 1993) (Brisbane won 38-18)
• 4- Steve Renouf (v Balmain Tigers, Optus Oval. Round 7, 1994) (Brisbane won 36-14)
• 4- Steve Renouf (v Auckland Warriors, ANZ Stadium. Round 22, 1995) (Brisbane won 44-6)
• 4- Steve Renouf (v Penrith Panthers, ANZ Stadium. Round 3, 1998) (Brisbane won 26-18)
• 4- Wendell Sailor (v St George Illawarra Dragons, Aussie Stadium. Round 28, 2001) (Brisbane won 44-28)
• 4- Karmichael Hunt (v South Sydney Rabbitohs, Suncorp Stadium. Round 17, 2004) (Brisbane won 48-28)

Most Tries in a Season

• 23- Steve Renouf (in 21 games, 1994)
• 23- Darren Smith (in 27 games, 1998)
• 21- Lote Tuqiri (in 29 games, 2001)

Most Tries for the Broncos

• 142- Steve Renouf (in 183 games)
• 120- Michael Hancock (in 274 games)
• 110- Wendell Sailor (in 189 games)
• 100- Allan Langer (in 258 games)

Most Goals in a Match

• 9- Michael De Vere (v North Queensland Cowboys, ANZ Stadium. Round 14, 2001) (Brisbane won 50-6)
• 9- Darren Lockyer (v North Queensland Cowboys, ANZ Stadium. Round 5, 1998) (Brisbane won 58-4)

Most Points in a Season

• 272- Darren Lockyer (in 26 games, 1998. 19 tries, 98 goals)
• 206- Michael De Vere (in 25 games, 2001. 2 tries, 99 goals)
• 196- Michael De Vere (in 27 games, 2000. 12 tries, 74 goals)

Most Points for the Broncos

• 1082- Michael De Vere (162 games, 64 tries, 413 goals)
• 1000- Darren Lockyer (248 games, 100 tries, 334 goals, 8 field goals) (AS OF APRIL 2006)
• 874- Terry Matterson (156 games, 36 tries, 365 goals)
• 568- Steve Renouf (183 games, 142 tries)

Biggest Wins

• 60-6 (v North Sydney, ANZ Stadium. April 26, 1998)
• 58-4 (v North Queensland, ANZ Stadium. April 12, 1998)
• 56-4 (v Western Suburbs Magpies, ANZ Stadium. June 21, 1998)
• 50-0 (v Western Suburbs Magpies, ANZ Stadium. May 29, 1999)
• 56-6 (v South Sydney Rabbitohs, ANZ Stadium. August 13, 1995)
• 54-4 (v Illawarra Steelers, ANZ Stadium. April 6, 1996)
• 50-0 (v Balmain Tigers, ANZ Stadium. August 13, 1993)

Biggest Losses

• 50-4 (v Melbourne Storm, Olympic Park. April 2, 2005)
• 44-0 (v Newcastle Knights, EnergyAustralia Stadium. July 6, 2001)
• 48-6 (v Melbourne Storm, ANZ Stadium. March 21, 1999)
• 40-4 (v Canterbury Bulldogs, Suncorp Stadium. July 11, 2003)
• 40-10 (v Newcastle Knights, EnergyAustralia Stadium. August 23, 2002)

Longest Winning Streaks

• 12 Matches (Round 14, 1997 to Round 5, 1998)
• 11 Matches (Round 11 to Round 23, 1999)
• 11 Matches (Round 8 to Round 18, 1990)
• 10 Matches (Round 5 to Round 15, 2005)
• 10 Matches (Round 16, 1992 to Round 1, 1993)

Longest Losing Streaks

• 8 Matches (Round 20 to Finals Week 1, 2003)
• 8 Matches (Round 22 to Round 1, 2006)
• 6 Matches (Round 20 to 25, 2001)

Players Of Note

Karmichael Hunt

Frazer Anderson

Scott Minto

Tame Tupou

Shaun Berrigan

Justin Hodges

Stephen Michaels

Brent Tate

Darren Lockyer

Casey McGuire

Brett Seymour

Barry Berrigan

Michael Ennis

Petero Civoniceva

Ben Hannant

Nick Kenny

Corey Parker

Sam Thaiday

Shane Webcke

Dane Carlaw

Neville Costigan

David Stagg

Brad Thorn

Tonie Carroll

Greg Eastwood

Australian Internationals

• Sam Backo
• Shaun Berrigan
• Dane Carlaw
• Willie Carne
• Tonie Carroll
• Petero Civoniceva
• Greg Conescu
• Tony Currie
• Michael De Vere
• Andrew Gee
• Michael Hancock
• Paul Hauff
• Mark Hohn
• Karmichael Hunt
• Peter Jackson
• Chris Johns
• Allan Langer
• Glenn Lazarus
• Wally Lewis
• Darren Lockyer
• Brad Meyers
• Gene Miles
• Steve Renouf
• Wendell Sailor
• Dale Shearer
• Darren Smith
• Gorden Tallis
• Brent Tate
• Brad Thorn
• Lote Tuqiri
• Kerrod Walters
• Kevin Walters
• Shane Webcke

Test Captains

• Wally Lewis (1988-89)
• Allan Langer (1998)
• Gorden Tallis (2002-03)
• Darren Lockyer (2003-06)

World Cup Captains

• Wally Lewis (1988-89)
• Gorden Tallis (2000)

Rothmans Medal Winners

The Rothmans Medal was awarded to the best player in the NSWRL.

• Allan Langer (1992)

The Dally M Medal took over as the Player of the Year Medal from the Rothmans Medal.

• Allan Langer (1998)

The Clive Churchill Medal is awarded to the Man of the Match in the Grand Final.

• Allan Langer (1992)
• Gorden Tallis (1998)
• Darren Lockyer (2000)

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

Sources

History

Premiership results

• ["Illawarra Steelers History"], retrieved 21 May, 2006

Records and statistics

• The Official NRL 2003 Season Guide
• The Official NRL 2005 Season Guide
• [Brisbane Broncos Club Records]
• [Brisbane Broncos Season 2005]

External links

• [Broncos official web page]
• [Brisbane Statistics Tables]
• [The 1Eyed Bronco: Brisbane Broncos news, views and blogs]

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