Complete history of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and NRLW
The Broncos swept into the national rugby league in 1988 and have barely been out of the spotlight since. These are the stories of the superstars and scandals of a NRL giant. SPECIAL REPORT
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Brisbane’s NRL men’s side has been the envy – or enemy – of the rugby league world since its inception in 1988.
However that lustre, constructed by powerful backers and polished by footballing superstars, has been in constant need to upkeep thanks to a range of on and off-field issues, self-inflicted or otherwise.
From drunken fights between teammates to a war of words invovling club bosses, and even biffs over stadiums and sponsors, these are the stories – as told at the time – of how the club was shaped and reshaped, and the scandals and sensations it has endured.
Jump to: 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
NSW KEEN ON BRISBANE SIDE
August 5, 1986
The business consortium bidding to bankroll a Brisbane team into next year’s Sydney rugby league premiership moved a step towards success.
Financial representatives of the consortium, Darryl and Marcel Van de Velde, received an enthusiastic response from the NSWRL and will attempt to convince the Brisbane Division board of delegates of the strength of their proposal.
NSWRL general manager John Quayle said the financial strength of the submission was surprising, but the consent of the Brisbane Division and the QRL was needed if the NSWRL was to admit a team.
The consortium has agreed to underwrite losses in the first three years.
QRL chairman Bill Hunter admitted a Brisbane team in the Sydney competition was now inevitable.
BENNETT BACK TO BRISBANE
June 7, 1987
Queensland rugby league coach Wayne Bennett is coming home to Brisbane.
No matter what the outcome of a crisis meeting between Canberra officials, the NSWRL, the ARL and the Maranta consortium, he will return to Queensland at the end of this season.
It now seems probable he will be permitted to accept a contract with Barry Maranta’s Brisbane side next season.
But even if the meeting decides he cannot coach Brisbane, Canberra officials have conceded it would be pointless for Bennett to continue with the Raiders against his wishes for the three remaining years of his contract.
Bennett’s star pupils Mal Meninga, Peter Jackson, Kevin Walters and Gary Belcher are contracted to Canberra next season and are certain to stay with the Raiders.
Walters’ older brother Steve, however, is a free agent next year and is keen to return to Brisbane. Walters said the players were told of the dispute over Bennett’s services at training.
“If Wayne leaves, a few of the players, like my brother Kevin who signed because he was there, would be disappointed,” he said.
BRONCOS TO HIT SYDNEY TRAIL
July 14, 1987
Brisbane’s worst-kept secret has been confirmed: its rugby league team in the Sydney competition next year will be the Broncos.
The name has been the subject of debate and derision since the Maranta consortium won the licence to manage the team in April.
But apparently nothing had more appeal.
The Broncos will wear the most distinctive colours in the expanded 16-team competition next year – maroon, white and gold.
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Atkinson, revealed the team’s name, colours and logo on the Kookaburra Queen, the Brisbane River paddlewheeler owned by hotelier Gary Balkin.
BRONCOS FACE LEAN SEASON
December 18, 1987
Broncos chairman Barry Maranta indicated his consortium had little chance of finishing in the black in 1988 – the club’s first season in the Sydney rugby league premiership.
Maranta was speaking after a four-hour crisis meeting between the Broncos’ management and the Lang Park Trust – a meeting called to discuss areas of dispute between the two organisations.
The meeting cleared the way for the Broncos to build 31 corporate boxes in the Burke grandstand and compromises were reached in most areas – except the contentious issue of ground advertising.
Trust chairman Ron McAuliffe admitted the ground advertising issue had been “the only discordant note’’ at the meeting which he hailed as “highly successful’’.
QUAYLE TELLS BRONCOS TO TOE THE LINE
November 19, 1987
The New South Wales Rugby League spelled out the facts of life to the Brisbane Broncos.
In the first showdown between the game’s hierarchy and the Sydney competition newcomers, NSWRL general manager John Quayle threatened fines for Bronco officials who stepped out of line.
Quayle’s ultimatum followed an outburst by Broncos chairman Barry Maranta at the scheduling of the Brisbane team’s opening premiership fixture in 1988.
“We designed the draw in the interests of running the Winfield Cup, not in the interests of the Brisbane Broncos,’’ Quayle said.
In defending the NSWRL’s decision to schedule the Broncos’ 1988 debut match against premiers Manly-Warringah on a Sunday evening at Lang Park, Quayle said he believed the timeslot was beneficial to the club.
BETTING ON BRONCOS
October 7, 1987
The Brisbane Broncos, under Test skipper Wally Lewis, have been installed a shock second favourite to win the premiership in their Sydney Winfield Cup debut season next year.
But their Queensland counterparts, the Gold Coast Giants, were quoted as 150/1 longshots.
Sydney’s leading league bookie rated Lewis’ Broncos as 9/2 chances to win the premiership in their first year.
The bookie has premiers Manly as 7/2 favourites to retain their title in the first market listed on the 1988 season.
Beaten grand finalists Canberra are a 12/1 chance, along with 1984-85 premiers Canterbury.
The bookmaker stipulated Brisbane needed the likes of Lewis, Dowling and Miles on the paddock.
SEA EAGLES SENT HOME WITH BRONCO-ITIS
March 7, 1988
Brisbane Broncos’ debut into the Sydney rugby league competition at Lang Park went off as though it was scripted in Hollywood.
The Brisbane new boys showed Sydney premiers Manly-Warringah that they were not about to be broken on their home turf as they trampled the Sea Eagles 44-10.
Despite the fears of electric horseman and pre-game country and western entertainer Greg Anderson that he would “go up in smoke’’ because of an early downpour – the skies cleared and the match was not further affected by rain.
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Atkinson, the Broncos’ No.1 supporter, lost a shoe as she booted the ball downfield in front of the 17,451 fans who attended the Broncos’ “breaking-in’’ ceremony.
While the fans got a giggle out of the Lord Mayor’s kick-off, they went wild after Broncos captain Wally Lewis and his men wove their magic.
O’CONNOR WON’T BE A BRONCO
May 22, 1988
Broncos chairman Barry Maranta defended the club’s decision to withdraw from the six-figure contract war to sign Manly international Michael O’Connor.
Maranta, who ironically is O’Connor’s manager, said the Broncos could sign 10 or 12 young Queenslanders with the money it would have taken to snare O’Connor, who signed a three-year contract reportedly worth more than $400,000 with Manly.
Rumours swept Brisbane league circles earlier this year that O’Connor, because of his close association with Maranta, had agreed to return to Brisbane next season.
Maranta said he was so keen to lure O’Connor back to Queensland he was prepared to go outside the club’s budget to do so.
BRONCOS STAYED WELL OUT OF ROUGH
August 22, 1988
Look at the Broncos first season this way. In golfing parlance, it was a well-struck tee shot which hooked a bit late, but stayed out of the rough.
It opened up the green to allow an attack at the flagstick in 1989. On September 23 next year, the approach shot might even rattle directly into the hole.
Brought into the rugby league world and reared at a cost of $4 million, the Broncos were born instant adults and performed accordingly.
Under the coaching insistence of Wayne Bennett, the 1988 Broncos established a team discipline and philosophy which has set the standard for their successors.
“I’m about skills. We’re effective with the football,’’ was his line of defence.
With seventh place, Brisbane received the consolation prize of being competitive and winning more matches than they lost. But over a season which promised so much, it was a lukewarm result.
BRONCOS BARRED FROM STATE LEAGUE
September 11, 1988
The Queensland Rugby League has rejected an application by the Brisbane Broncos to field a team in the 1989 Winfield State League.
And in what amounts to a further deterioration in relations between the two bodies the QRL has issued a lengthy statement disputing claims by the Broncos that they have injected more than $1.6 million into rugby league in Queensland.
The QRL statement said some of the Bronco claims were incorrect and others misleading.
QRL managing director Ross Livermore said the finalisation of the 1989 WSL draw could not be delayed any longer while the Broncos made a submission in support of their application.
Livermore said the Broncos application was delivered just 15 minutes before Friday night’s Board meeting at Lang Park.
RIBOT SLATES SAINTS
December 1, 1988
The Brisbane Broncos criticised St George for trying to “drag the club down to their level’’ in proposing a 50 per cent split of gates for the 1989 rugby league season.
Broncos’ general manager John Ribot said he could understand a battling club like Illawarra making such a proposal but coming from St George – premiers for 11 years in a row from 1956 – he found it pathetic.
“All the Sydney clubs should be striving to better themselves instead of looking for a handout,” he said.
More than half the Broncos’ income in 1988 came from gate receipts whereas clubs like St George and Canterbury-Bankstown relied heavily on grants from their huge licensed clubs.
Premiers Canterbury generated $244,000 from 1988 home games compared with more than $1 million taken at Lang Park by the Broncos.
WALLY MAY LEAVE, SAYS FATTY
October 16, 1989
Paul Vautin claimed Australian rugby league skipper Wally Lewis was considering leaving the Broncos after being sacked as club captain.
Vautin, one of Lewis’ closest friends, said Lewis had not ruled out moving to Sydney to finish his career. But Broncos general manager John Ribot said the three-year contract Lewis signed with the club in 1987 was watertight.
“Wally was shattered,’’ Vautin said. “If the Broncos go ahead with this decision he could leave them and join a Sydney club. I know he won’t retire because he wants to go on the Kangaroo tour.
“He told me he was very upset by what had happened and was going to Hawaii to get away from it all. He just didn’t understand the decision.’’
The club will replace Lewis with a skipper whose season will not be interrupted by representative commitments, but that reasoning has been questioned by several observers, including Australian coach Bob Fulton.
BIG LEAGUE, BIG BUCKS
February 5, 1989
Broncos’ rugby league coach Wayne Bennett dreams about all his players coming to training in BMW or Mercedes Benz cars.
Bennett wants nothing to do with the tired old image of rugby league as the working man’s game, the game for the battler.
A former Australian and Queensland representative as a player, Bennett has seen a lot of his former teammates miss out on opportunities to better themselves at the end of their playing days.
“One of the things that impressed me greatly last year was the Broncos players’ attitude to bettering themselves financially,’’ Bennett said.
“I remember Ray Price wrote an article about Bob Lindner going to training in a BMW and how it didn’t suit the image of the Parramatta club. I can’t get over that remark.
“I want to see my players coming to training in BMWs and Mercedes.”
Bennett, a non-drinker and non-smoker, has no reservations about the Broncos being sponsored by Power Brewery and playing in a competition sponsored by a cigarette company.
FOUR MORE JOIN HIT LIST
May 7, 1989
The Broncos will determine their 1990 recruiting plans in the next fortnight with four Queenslanders to be squarely in their sights.
After completing a successful re-signing campaign of current first graders, Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and general manager John Ribot will sort through their priorities under the club’s new salary cap of about $1.5 million.
The Broncos are in the sound position of not needing to enter an uncertain payments market on a large scale, especially as forward leaders Gene Miles and Greg Dowling are currently intending to play in 1990. The club also has the cream of Queensland’s youth talent on their books.
High in the Broncos recruiting drive will be: Canberra’s Queensland fullback Gary Belcher. A Bennett protege who would relish a return to Brisbane.
State of Origin prop Martin Bella, who has his North Sydney contract expire this season.
Canterbury winger Robin Thorne, who has made great strides since leaving Redcliffe in 1987 and expressed interest in returning to Queensland despite the Bulldogs’ premiership win.
Canberra’s utility back Kevin Walters looks the most likely of the quartet to join the Broncos, due to his ties with Bennett and the success of his twin Kerrod.
MATCH PAY, LITTLE ELSE FOR VAUTIN
July 30, 1989
Match payments and little else is what the Broncos are offering Paul Vautin to play with the club in 1990.
Broncos general manager John Ribot gave Vautin the cold hard facts, emphasising to the Australian Rugby League vice-captain that the club was not in a position to offer any more.
Ribot said the enthusiasm of the general public was the only reason the Broncos were entertaining the idea of adding the 31-year-old to their playing staff.
“Paul would be the fifth player over 30 on our books, and that’s a dangerous position for a club to be in,’’ Ribot said.
The Broncos might not have included Vautin in their plans for the 1990s but they will not deny the enthusiasm of their fans.
If they had turned their back on Vautin they would have been as unpopular as Vautin’s club Manly, which offered the Queenslander only half his current contract for the 1990 season.
Ribot said that if the public appeal fell short of the amount needed to sign Vautin the Broncos could be prepared to give “a small amount.’’
“It would be $15,000 tops,’’ he said. “We will offer Paul less than we pay our current players because we want to look after blokes like Andrew Gee, Brett Le Man and Scott Tronc, who have been so good to us.”
FINALS FLING FALLS FLAT
August 30, 1989
The real Cronulla stood up, sending the star-studded Brisbane Broncos crashing out of the Winfield Cup Rugby League finals with a 38-14 demolition.
The Sharks, who set themselves up for the Parramatta Stadium playoff for fifth place with their own patchy form in recent weeks, were simply awesome in their six-tries-to-two triumph.
The humiliation of Wally Lewis’ men incredibly reversed a 42-10 thrashing at Lang Park earlier in the year.
Brisbane, quoted as 2-5 favourites, blew all pre-match assessments out the window after the break when its already strained floodgates opened.
Cronulla’s super keen tacklers were matched by a blistering attack, highlighted by slicing runs from Docking and line-breaking charges from Miller and Stains while the Sharks’ underrated pack proved its worth against the likes of internationals Sam Backo and Gene Miles.
SEAGULLS BID $400,000 FOR KING
January 21, 1990
The Gold Coast Seagulls have given Wally Lewis an open-cheque offer to join them.
The club is understood to have approached Lewis last week with a $400,000 package to lure him from the Brisbane Broncos.
News of the move sent shockwaves through Brisbane rugby league circles, raising the possibility of the “king’’ of Lang Park changing teams in what will probably be his swan song season.
Seagulls chief executive, Mr Larry Maloney, confirmed he spoke with Lewis, dumped late last year as Broncos captain, and his manager Billy J. Smith, at the request of the club’s major sponsor, Gold Coast businessman Mr Reuben Pelerman.
Lewis did not close the door on a possible move, although he is under contract to the Broncos until the end of this year.
News of the surprise offer came hot on the heels of a warning from Broncos coach Wayne Bennett that Lewis should retire if he couldn’t produce the goods this season.
Broncos general manager John Ribot yesterday said Lewis was not for sale, no matter how much money the Broncos were offered.
JOE HOPES TO DO COMMUNITY WORK
February 11, 1990
Brisbane rugby league star Smokin’ Joe Kilroy, jailed for three years for trafficking in marijuana, reckons he has let his kids down badly.
Kilroy has spoken for the first time, to his former Broncos captain Wally Lewis, of his life inside Sir David Longland Correctional Centre at Wacol.
He said: “Living in jail makes you appreciate the little things a lot more because, although I feel for myself, I feel most disappointed for my kids. I have let them down badly and I don’t want them to go through this again.’’
The former Brisbane Broncos winger has two children: Jody, 12 and Josh, 3.
Kilroy’s wife Deborah May Kilroy, 28, was jailed for six years for drug trafficking.
Kilroy told Lewis, who is a sports reporter with Channel 9 in Brisbane, the things he missed most were the things he hated on the outside – including training with the Broncos.
Kilroy, 29, told Lewis he would be surprised at his new attitude to training.
TWO PLAYERS RETURN POSITIVE DRUG TESTS
July 31, 1990
Two Brisbane Broncos have returned positive tests to a drug, believed to be marijuana.
The New South Wales Rugby League chairman, Mr Ken Arthurson, would not name the players or the banned substance.
He said a “”category two’’ drug was detected in urine tests taken on July 1.
“Category one’’ substances are performance-enhancing drugs.
Broncos officials were angered by Mr Arthurson’s confirmation of earlier reports of the positive test.
The officials said it was contrary to accepted NSWRL protocol that it would confirm only offences relating to performance-enhancing drugs.
Broncos spokesman Mr Kevin Keliher said the club had not been advised in writing of the positive tests from two players before Mr Arthurson’s announcement.
“We fail to see why he has been involved in a club matter,’’ Mr Keliher said.
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said he would welcome in the club players who were taking steps towards rehabilitation. Earlier this month, Bennett said the NSWRL should not test for marijuana.
LEWIS’ LEAVING SHOCK
September 2, 1990
The Broncos have been rocked by allegations that Wally Lewis intended to lure four of their players to the Gold Coast with him next season.
Lewis is expected to be called before Broncos management to explain allegations that he had approached at least three Sydney first graders on behalf of the Gold Coast, and told one of them up to four Broncos players would be joining him there next season.
Broncos chief executive John Ribot said a meeting would be set up with Lewis as soon as possible to discuss the claims.
“I have to talk to Wally to find out what the hell is going on,’’ Ribot said. “If this is true it doesn’t put us in a good position.”
Asked if such actions could be in breach of Lewis’ contract, Ribot replied: “Well, you’ve got me thinking.’’
Western Suburbs chief executive Gordon Allen said he was aware that Lewis had tried to lure Wests first graders Danny Peacock, Jason Stafford and Pat O’Doherty to the Gold Coast.
BRONCOS SET TO CALL QEII HOME
September 4, 1990
The Brisbane Broncos are poised to move their rugby league home matches to QEII Stadium next year.
Broncos general manager Mr John Ribot said a feasibility study to be tabled later this month would determine whether the club would lobby league authorities for permission to vacate Lang Park, their present home ground.
Talks are progressing with Brisbane City Council on hurried improvements to QEII in time for a March kick-off.
The Royal National Association president, Sir Walter Burnett, is also being consulted about an alternative move to the Exhibition Ground.
But Mr Ribot said QEII, twice the capacity of Lang Park with a safety limit of 62,000, was the only venue option which would allow the Broncos to move for the 1991 season.
Mr Ribot said one option for floodlighting the ground would be to buy and relocate the $4 million lighting towers at Carrara, home of the Brisbane Bears Australian Football club.
There is a growing impatience at the delay in building a multipurpose “”super stadium’’ in Brisbane catering for league and Australian football.
CHEERS FOR BRISBANE’S 16-MINUTE KING
September 17, 1990
Sydney called a truce in its seven-year war with Wally Lewis.
Queensland’s rugby league legend split with the Brisbane Broncos on the sour note of a 32-4 preliminary final thrashing by Canberra.
The Sydney Football Stadium crowd held out an olive branch to their former No.1 enemy before and during Lewis’ short, emotional but irrelevant appearance as a second-half replacement.
Many of the same voices which had shouted abuse at Lewis in his turbulent reign with the Broncos chanted “We want Wally’’ as coach Wayne Bennett delayed Lewis’ comeback from a 13-week recovery from a broken arm.
Lewis was satisfied that his 16-minute stint, as Brisbane’s season entered its death throes.
Lewis was sacked last Thursday by the Broncos for 1991.
North Sydney officials confided that their confidence was building that he would join the Bears rather than the lowly Gold Coast.
Gold Coast had been widely tipped as certain to recruit Lewis, but he is as full of surprises as the Sydney crowd which lavished him with support.
“When they cheered as I came to the sideline I looked around because I thought a Canberra player must have been coming on as well,’’ Lewis said.
GILLY SHARPENS HIS ACT
February 10, 1991
New Broncos hitman Trevor Gillmeister has cooled on the nickname he earned as one of the toughest tacklers in Sydney rugby league.
The former Easts second rower, who once posed for a photograph carrying an axe and wearing an executioner’s hood, now believes the Axe label may have been a hindrance to his career.
“I don’t think referees deliberately go out to spot a player, but the name (Axe) may have been in the back of their minds,’’ said Gillmeister.
Gillmeister’s decision to place himself in this year’s draft, where he was the Broncos’ first round pick, was made on the spur of the moment.
But while his was a draft success story, Gillmeister is 100 per cent against the newly-introduced player market.
“It worked out OK for me, but I really feel sorry for the 100 or so other blokes who lost their positions,’’ he said.
BRONCOS CONTRACT FOR KILROY
March 24, 1991
The Brisbane Broncos have a “responsibility to rehabilitate’’ former State of Origin winger Joe Kilroy by offering him a contract for this season.
Those words from Broncos general manager John Ribot have probably kickstarted Kilroy’s league career which had been curtailed by his three-year jail sentence for drug trafficking.
Queensland correctional authorities cleared the way for Kilroy’s league comeback when a parole condition was added to allow him to play for the Broncos in NSW.
Ribot will negotiate with Kilroy, 30, and he is likely to be offered a one-year contract.
“Joe has served his time in jail and paid his debt to society,’’ Ribot said.
BEER DISPUTE OUT OF HAND
May 1, 1991
Seven Brisbane Broncos players face the sack from the Queensland State of Origin side because of a dispute over beer sponsors logos.
They also run the risk of being drummed out of the Australian team.
The players, Michael Hancock, Willy Carne, Allan Langer, Andrew Gee, Steve Renouf, Gavin Allen and Kevin Walters will be replaced in a new Queensland team already chosen by the state selectors.
The likely replacement players are headed by unknown Brisbane Valleys rookie Trevor Schodel for Allan Langer.
Others are Allan McIndoe, Gary Coyne, Michael Hagan, Darren Smith, Chris Close and Jeff Doyle.
Broncos boss John Ribot told the Queensland league that his players would not wear the QRL sponsors XXXX logos on their maroon jumpers in the opening Origin game against NSW at Lang Park.
Ribot said the players had a commitment to their club sponsor Powers beer and would not wear playing or training gear featuring the XXXX logo.
QRL general manager Ross Livermore sent an ultimatum to the Broncos.
BENNETT PRAISE FOR COWBOYS
September 22, 1991
Broncos rugby league coach Wayne Bennett gave a ringing endorsement to the North Queensland Cowboys entry into the NSW Rugby League after his side won a testimonial match 36-14 at the Townsville Sports Ground.
Players with their roots in the far north scored eight of the 10 tries in the testimonial game against an NQ Emus selection for Broncos, Queensland and Australian veterans Gene Miles and Greg Dowling.
“North Queensland, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide – that’s expansion,’’ said Bennett who, not surprisingly, gave the thumbs down to a second Brisbane team in the Sydney competition.
“I don’t know how they can even justify talking about a third team in southeast Queensland,’’ he said.
THINK OF THE FANS, ALFIE TELLS NINE
March 8, 1992
Broncos skipper Allan Langer blasted Channel 9 over its rugby league coverage.
The quietly-spoken Queensland football hero said the trimmed-down telecasts were putting fans off the game.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people who have been really disappointed with the coverage,’’ said “Alfie’’.
Langer, 25, is the most celebrated rugby league personality yet to get stuck into Channel 9 over the simmering issue.
Nine’s decision to show just 60-minute highlights on Sunday nights instead of the full 80 minutes’ play has proved a major disappointment to thousands of fans.
New South Wales Rugby League manager John Quayle said Broncos fans were getting a better deal than their southern counterparts after Channel 9 announced it would show Broncos fixtures in full – when they were played on Friday nights.
BRONCOS IN MOVE TO NEW-LOOK QE2
June 22, 1992
The Brisbane Broncos will quit Lang Park for a redeveloped QE2 Stadium next season, club chairman Paul Morgan said.
The Broncos unveiled their plans to redevelop the 1982 Commonwealth Games venue, but Australian Rugby League chairman Ken Arthurson has given the club just nine days to find the $13 million needed for the move.
Mr Morgan said the decision to leave Lang Park was irreversible.
He said the club faced financial ruin if it stayed at Lang Park beyond this season.
“We will be at QE2 even if we can only put up goalposts and lay turf to be there in 1993,’’ said Mr Morgan. “It has everything going for it.’’
LANGER TIPS LONG BRONCOS DYNASTY
September 28, 1992
Allan Langer defiantly forecast a Broncos dynasty after his team had stripped Sydney of its last vestige of Australian rugby league supremacy.
The Winfield Cup left Sydney on Ansett flight AN4002 at 7 o’clock – and it could well be a long time before it catches a return flight.
Brisbane’s crushing 28-8 grand final defeat of a brave but outclassed St George left the Sydney Football Stadium as an echo-chamber resounding only with the sound of Broncos supporters proclaiming the burying of the NSW capital’s league superiority.
Glamour teams Penrith and Canberra, to name two threats, can be expected back with a vengeance after missing the finals, but Brisbane’s poise, strength and strikepower over their eight-match winning streak to the title will have given all clubs something to ponder over the long off-season ahead.
BRONCOS TAKE WORLD CROWN
November 1, 1992
The Brisbane Broncos capped a perfect year by becoming the first Australian side to win the rugby league World Club Challenge in Britain when they beat Wigan 22-8 at Wigan.
The Winfield Cup winners, who only lost four matches all season, ran in four tries to Wigan’s one and always looked to have the measure of the English champion.
“We played some good football, although Wigan are a great side and the luck went our way a bit,” said Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett.
An all-in brawl erupted in the third minute of a bruising encounter that saw several incidents of foul or rough play.
O’NEILL HITS STRIFE
March 7, 1993
Don’t bet on Julian O’Neill to be in Broncos colours next year.
O’Neill is on a collision course with club management. His much-publicised arrival for a bus trip to Roma live and direct from a toga party is only the latest occasion he has caused the Broncos heavies a headache.
The talented utility back’s position for 1994 is not yet completely unsalvageable. But he will have to do everything right off the field and plenty right on it for the rest of the season to receive an attractive offer from Brisbane.
Coach Wayne Bennett stunned Australian league by stripping Wally Lewis of the club captaincy in September, 1989, and the Broncos made only a token bid to keep his services 12 months later.
Despite the rumours, the falling-out was basically a culmination of a number of instances in which Lewis was perceived to have failed in his responsibilities as club skipper.
FLOOD OF ABUSE FOR QEII SNAGS
March 30, 1993
The Brisbane Broncos switchboard jammed as complaints poured in after Sunday’s inaugural rugby league premiership match at QEII Stadium.
Broncos general manager John Ribot said people started telephoning on Sunday night abusing staff about problems at the venue – including long delays in queues for food and drinks and exorbitant food prices.
He said they had received a lot of calls and facsimiles but not all were complaints – some had called to praise them for a job well done.
More than 51,000 people packed the stadium to see the Broncos go down to the Parramatta Eels.
Many spectators began queuing at the entrance gates at 11am.
Mr Ribot said the premiership-winning Broncos never imagined they would even get 45,000 to the game.
BRONCOS’ GRAND REVENGE
September 27, 1993
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett unleashed four weeks of pent-up animosity at St George and watched as it netted him the premiership lap of honour he had denied himself last year.
Bennett kept Brisbane’s sense of injustice against perceived slurs from St George on a slow burn throughout the semi-final series, only to turn to high-flame minutes before their 14-6 grand final win to clinch successive titles.
“Wayne reminded us just before the kick-off that we had been waiting for a crack at St George and we now had the chance. He knew exactly what to say,’’ said prop Glenn Lazarus.
In a contest where the dislike both teams harbour for each other was frequently evident, Brisbane squared up the account which had been making life a misery for the premiers since their defeat by St George four weeks ago to condemn them to their sudden-death march.
BRONCOS’ BOOST FOR BRITAIN
November 24, 1993
Plans by Australia’s rugby league premier, the Brisbane Broncos, to set up a London-based team would be a welcome boost to the sport in Britain, Rugby Football League chief executive Maurice Lindsay said.
But Lindsay, who spoke with Broncos chief executive John Ribot about the issue, said he could not comment on details until a proposal was worked out.
The Australian club started talks with the British rugby league chief after the Broncos beat English club Wigan late last year to win the world championship.
Lindsay said he welcomed another team to join the present London Crusaders in the competition.
“I think it would stimulate rugby league in London,” Lindsay said.
HANCOCK WEIGHS UP HIS FUTURE
April 10, 1994
Australian rugby league winger Michael Hancock will have to follow Trevor Gillmeister’s path out of the Broncos or pass up his chance at getting among the expansion club riches for 1995.
Broncos general manager John Ribot last night admitted he had lost some of his former confidence that Hancock, one of the foundation Broncos, would be staying with the club.
Hancock, who declined to comment on his plans, left negotiations with Ribot without signing a contract and can undoubtedly earn more money at South Queensland Crushers or other bidding clubs.
Next week will prove pivotal in the recruiting plans of the Crushers, who can expect answers from Hancock and Canterbury’s Queensland State of Origin utility Darren Smith.
“I hope Michael doesn’t leave the club, but I’m not overly confident anymore,’’ Ribot said.
BRONCOS ON ‘DEATH ROW’
May 27, 1994
Broncos general manager John Ribot says the premiers are on “death row’’ as their fears escalate about the NSWRL’s restructuring of the salary cap system.
Ribot said Canterbury and Souths were leading a power base of Sydney clubs pushing to have the NSWRL board bring in a set valuations system which does not allow clubs to claim discounts on representative players who have played for many years with them.
Ribot and coach Wayne Bennett pleaded the Broncos’ case with NSWRL chairman Ken Arthurson in Sydney and emerged with no guarantees.
WIGAN BURST BRONCOS WORLD BUBBLE
June 2, 1994
The Brisbane Broncos’ miserable season continued as they surrendered their status as world champions to English club Wigan at ANZ stadium.
Wigan regained the world crown lost at home in 1992 with a dramatic and richly-entertaining 20-14 win over a Brisbane team which this season has frustrated the army of supporters they have enchanted with their glittering football over their two premiership-winning years.
Brisbane’s loss came at a heavy price for the Queensland State of Origin team, with Broncos five-eighth Kevin Walters (ankle) and centre Steve Renouf (hamstring) injured.
NO EXCUSES OVER TITLE FAILURE
September 11, 1994
Proud Broncos coach Wayne Bennett refused to blame the chaos surrounding his team’s field goal organisation for the dramatic loss of their NSW rugby league premiership.
North Sydney halfback Jason Taylor, who insists on daily field goal practice, kicked the Broncos out of the chase for a hat-trick of premierships with a nerveless snap which proved the mathematical difference in their 15-14 win in the minor semi-final.
Brisbane attempted two rushed field goal attempts by Kevin Walters and Allan Langer in the last two minutes, but failed to take the match into extra time.
But Bennett retraced the steps of the premiers back through the match and earlier through a season of tumult to find other reasons why their premiership defence has been terminated.
A shattered Langer blamed himself for missing a field goal with 50 seconds remaining of a match which ended an era, to the delight of southerners who can welcome back the Winfield Cup south of the border.
SUPER LEAGUE ‘INEVITABLE’
November 7, 1994
Brisbane Broncos chairman Paul Morgan claimed a new Super League would give Winfield Cup clubs much-needed democracy.
Morgan said Brisbane was the only club to have the “guts” to come forward and claim interest in an elite Super League.
“If something came along and it was good for the game, we’d consider it,” Morgan said.
“I think every club would. It’s just that we’re the only club with the guts to say that. But first we’d have to make a decision on its commercial realities.
“I think a Super League is inevitable. But if there was to be a premier league, we’d want more democracy.”
Morgan did, however, deny his club was behind the proposed Super League.
WARRIORS JUST MISS ON DEBUT
March 11, 1995
Brisbane captain Allan Langer used his “magic wand’’ to put a hex on Auckland’s Australian rugby league debut as the Broncos scored a spellbinding 25-22 victory over the Warriors in Auckland.
In a sensational start to the 1995 season the Warriors nearly pulled off a major upset but a two-try effort from Langer spoiled any fairytale finish for the home side.
The Warriors led 22-10 just after halftime but Langer’s two touchdowns in the 54th and 62nd minutes broke Auckland’s spirit.
The former Test halfback said he took it upon himself to spark the Brisbane revival after the powerful Queensland club blew a 10-0 lead early in the game.
KEY BRONCOS DENY SUPER LEAGUE DEAL
April 1, 1995
Key Broncos players and officials denied they had signed secret contracts to join a super league run by media company News Ltd.
About 40 players from the Broncos, Canberra, Cronulla and Sydney Bulldogs rugby league clubs were among those understood to have signed with News Ltd for a minimum $250,000 a season.
The reports indicated that Brisbane Broncos chief executive John Ribot, coach Wayne Bennett and key players had signed with News Ltd.
Broncos Allan Langer, Glenn Lazarus, Wendell Sailor, Kevin Walters and Kerrod Walters all said they had not been approached to play for a super league.
In a two-day swoop, it is understood News Ltd targeted individuals in the second effort to launch a super league.
News Ltd served writs on the Australian Rugby League, the NSWRL and six clubs – Canberra, the Western Reds, Newcastle, Sydney Bulldogs, Cronulla and Brisbane – to break what the company considers to be an unfair monopoly by the ARL.
SAM WANTS TO PLAY WITH THE BRONCOS
May 18, 1995
Rugby union international Sam Scott-Young is hoping to grab a rugby league contract with the Broncos after a secret fitness check and skill assessment by the club’s coach Wayne Bennett and head trainer Kelvin Giles.
Scott-Young, the former Australian loose forward, bruised Bennett’s ribs during a secret session at Marist Brothers, Ashgrove. He subsequently trained with the Broncos this week.
The session was designed by Bennett and Giles to assess Scott-Young’s ability to make a successful transition to league.
“Wayne was holding the tackling pads and I was as nervous as anything,’’ Scott-Young said.
The Broncos will consider asking Scott-Young to play with their London club between August and January.
LOCKYER READY FOR LAMB
September 9, 1995
When Terry Lamb made his first grade debut for Western Suburbs back in 1980, Darren Lockyer was just three years old.
And as he grew up, young Lockyer watched admiringly as Lamb’s career went from strength to strength as he moved from the Magpies to Canterbury.
Tomorrow, 18-year-old Lockyer, now a rising star with the Brisbane Broncos, is set to cap an amazing climb to prominence by opposing Lamb in the elimination semi-final at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Broncos skipper Allan Langer will start the match but there is some doubt whether he will be able to go the distance because of an injury to his quadriceps.
If he goes off, Kevin Walters will move to halfback and Lockyer will fill in at five-eighth as he did in last week’s quarter-final loss to Canberra.
“He is a player I have watched over the years and learnt from,” Lockyer said of Lamb last night.
SACKED BRONCO O’NEILL OFFERED REFUGE IN WEST
November 11, 1995
The Western Reds will offer similar sanctuary to Julian O’Neill as the fledgling rugby league club did to Mark Geyer in a bid to lure the dumped Brisbane Broncos fullback.
O’Neill, 22, was cut by the Broncos after exhausting the patience of coach Wayne Bennett, who saved him from an earlier dismissal 12 months ago.
Reds’ new chief executive, Brad Mellen, said his club was anxious to sign O’Neill for the first season of the Super League.
“Julian’s an outstanding player and we’re always in the market place for outstanding players,” he said.
Former firebrand Geyer proved to be the success buy for the Reds last season when he resurrected his controversial career.
But the Reds will have to fight off high-profile Sydney clubs, including Winfield Cup premiers Sydney Bulldogs or Cronulla, to get O’Neill’s signature.
His manager, Barry Collins, confirmed that O’Neill would stay in the Super League player pool.
Broncos chief executive, Shane Edwards, announced O’Neill’s sacking at a press conference but refused to elaborate.
WALKER WAITING FOR CHANGE IN FORTUNES
February 18, 1996
Ben Walker is willing to play a waiting game at the Broncos if the club’s other young gun Darren Lockyer gets the first shot at a Super League backline place.
Walker saw Lockyer grab the spotlight when the duo made their first grade debuts against Parramatta last year.
A former Australian schoolboy captain, Walker was regarded as the heir apparent to five-eighth Kevin Walters, but Lockyer came from nowhere to grab the inside running.
Still only 19, Walker is approaching his third season with the Brisbane Broncos after an 18-match stint with the London Broncos.
“Darren and I can play different positions, so there could be openings for both of us this year,’’ Walker said.
THE LEAGUE CLUB WITH NO TEAM
February 28, 1996
The Brisbane Broncos will not be able to field a side in the ARL competition against Penrith at ANZ Stadium because all 91 players on their books have refused to play.
Speaking through their players’ representative Chris Johns, the 91 Broncos say they’ll remain loyal to Super League despite the Federal Court orders preventing the rebel competition from starting this year.
The Broncos are not the only players in revolt against the court’s rulings as support for Super League from the majority of their players remained solid last night.
However, the question of how long that support can be maintained after the ARL competition kicks off is hard to answer.
There are some Super League players who will be tempted to cross back to the ARL ranks even with other clubs if they can’t get a game of football.
ST GEORGE CONFIRM LOSS OF MUNDINE
May 21, 1996
St George confirmed they have lost gifted utility back Anthony Mundine to the Broncos on a rich three-year deal.
Mundine is in Brisbane and confirmed reports he would be joining former Saints teammate Gorden Tallis at the Broncos next year on a deal worth more than $250,000 a season.
North Queensland chief executive Rabieh Krayem could not be contacted over speculation that the Cowboys figure in the Mundine move.
The Cowboys are linked with a move to Townsville by Brisbane five-eighth Kevin Walters in 1997, the year Mundine joins the Broncos.
Mundine, 21, will apply pressure to Brisbane backs Kevin Walters and Darren Smith next year. Centre is his favoured position and he only switched to five-eighth for Saints when Andrew Walker departed for Sydney City last year.
TALLIS WAVES YEAR GOODBYE
June 30, 1996
A Supreme Court ruling will see Gorden Tallis become the first league player to sit out a season in more than 25 years.
Not since Dennis Tutty took on the league’s ruling body, refusing to play in 1969 and 1970, has a player stood down for such a length of time.
Tutty fought for a noble cause, ultimately winning his battle to overturn the archaic transfer system in a victory for all players.
Tallis’ motives appear somewhat more clouded, but the rampaging forward is adamant he will never again play for St George.
The talented forward has already moved to Brisbane and will resume his career with the Broncos in 1997.
The Broncos have adopted Tallis as one of their own, with the giant forward training with the club.
BRONCOS ON THE OUTER
October 11, 1996
The Brisbane Broncos are clearing the decks for next season with Kerrod Walters and Willie Carne certain to leave and Michael Hancock considering his options.
Hooker Walters, who has been with the club for nine years, is expected to join the Adelaide Rams and Carne’s likely destination is either the Rams or the Western Reds.
Hancock may stay with the club and fight for his position without being certain of a first grade spot.
The future of tough second-rower Alan Cann is still up in the air.
ARL sources said Carne might switch from Super League to an ARL club but he could not be contacted to confirm or deny the story.
Five-eighth Kevin Walters will remain with the Broncos, finally putting to rest claims he will join the North Queensland Cowboys.
It was no surprise to see Bennett make those moves following the Broncos’ inglorious exit from this year’s finals series – a 22-16 loss to the Sharks.
SUPER LEAGUE SET FOR ‘100 YEARS’
November 16, 1996
Super League chief executive John Ribot declared the breakaway organisation now hoped to be around for the next 100 years after a court hearing cleared the final hurdle to rival rugby league competitions operating in Australia.
After 21 months of legal battle, it took three High Court judges just a few minutes to throw out the Australian Rugby League’s application for special leave to appeal against News Limited’s recent Federal Court victory.
That decision, by the Full Bench of the Federal Court, paved the way for Super League to start next season and the ruling closed the ARL’s last avenue of appeal, allowing two – or even more – competitions to operate indefinitely.
“It’s a huge relief, we’ve finally been able to vindicate what we said from day one,” Ribot said.
“We wanted to be able to get out there in the market and compete like everyone else can in normal society. That was taken away from us for some time, but now we can just put all that behind us and get on with Super League for the next 100 years, hopefully.”
The upholding of the three Federal Court appeal judges’ findings on October 4 now enables News Limited to proceed with Super League, which has been almost three years in the planning and already has cost more than $300 million.
ALF ALMOST A RAM
August 15, 1997
Champion halfback Allan Langer almost quit the Brisbane Broncos to move to the fledgling Adelaide Rams.
Disenchanted with Brisbane’s early finish to 1995 and frustrated by the haughty attitudes of a couple of Bronco teammates, Langer fronted club boss John Ribot and asked for a release.
In his book -The Allan Langer Story – “Alf” confesses he and his wife Janine decided to make a clean break from Brisbane and start afresh in Adelaide.
“I spoke to Janine about it and we were seriously looking at going somewhere else,” Langer said.
“I was mentally stale playing for the Broncos and starting off in another city like Adelaide was looking good.”
Ribot, as expected, was apoplectic and the possibility of losing the little general was later diffused by coach Wayne Bennett.
A TRIPLE TREAT FOR RENOUF
September 21, 1997
A hat-trick from Brisbane thoroughbred Steve Renouf ended a Cronulla dream which – for a while anyway – looked very possible.
Before 58,912 fans, a Queensland league record and the biggest grand final attendance in 20 years, Renouf finished with a hat-trick in Brisbane’s 20-8 win.
But events during, and immediately after, halftime were enough to convince followers of the Sharks that the first Australasian Super League title was within sight.
As the two teams left the field at halftime, Cronulla players showed they were not intimidated by the 10-2 scoreline as they became involved in a shoving match with some Broncos.
But when Renouf, who had scored his side’s first try after 34 minutes, latched onto the end of the Broncos’ back line to bag his second in the 55th minute, it gave Brisbane the premiership they had been destined for since the birth of Super League in late 1994.
FOOTY PAY RESTRAINTS
March 5, 1998
Brisbane Broncos players are set to learn the harsh realities of wage restraint in the next few months as their managers attempt to negotiate contracts beyond 1998.
Michael Hancock, Andrew Gee, John Plath and Darren Smith are among a host of players off contract at the end of this season who will be seeking new deals with the Broncos.
With NRL clubs committed to a $3 million salary cap, clubs such as Brisbane, Canberra, Manly and Parramatta, all with player budgets considerably over that figure, already have been forced to curb spending.
Young stars such as Tonie Carroll, Brad Thorn, Darren Lockyer and Shane Webcke have in the past two seasons been locked into lucrative long-term contracts.
Internationals Steve Renouf, Allan Langer and Gorden Tallis are others who account for a large slice of Brisbane’s annual wages bill.
Other players off contract this year include Peter Ryan, John Driscoll, Shane Walker and Petero Civoniceva, but it is senior players such as, Smith, 29, Plath and Hancock, both 28, and Gee, 27, who are most likely to feel the impact of the end of the ARL/Super League-inspired wages blowout.
BRONCOS UNLEASH NEW TEEN TALENT
April 5, 1998
The Broncos are not in the habit of signing 15-year-olds, but they made an exception with Danny Bampton.
Bampton, another football graduate of St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon, makes his first grade premiership debut in the National Rugby League match against the Gold Coast Chargers at Carrara.
Bampton, 18 last month, has been named on the interchange bench, with Michael Hancock and Michael Devere unavailable because of injury and Willie Carne still undecided about his playing future.
When Bampton comes off the bench, he will be the youngest Bronco interchange player, with fullback Darren Lockyer the current holder of that distinction.
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett described Bampton as a level-headed teenager and “an obvious talent’’.
SAILOR CHASES A NEW DREAM
August 2, 1998
Broncos star Wendell Sailor has revealed his plan to play for the Wallabies in 2001.
Sailor makes it clear his stint this off-season with English second division rugby club Leeds is not merely a one-off.
He wants to pursue rugby -a game he has played on just three occasions -over the next two off-seasons until his contract with the Broncos expires.
Then, at 26, he will consider a switch of codes.
“I’m not saying I’m going to be good enough to make it, but going for the Wallabies is definitely an option,” Sailor, who has played seven Tests, said.
Sailor will pick up $200,000 for his 14-game stint with Leeds next season.
FAIRYTALE OVER IN 40 MINUTES OF REALITY
September 28, 1998
The Canterbury Bulldogs’ fairytale run at the inaugural NRL grand final crumbled before the onslaught of the Brisbane Broncos -but not before giving their fans 40 minutes of hope.
It seemed that about 38,000 of the 40,857 fans at the blue-and-whitebedecked Sydney Football Stadium were supporting “the Doggies” but hard, professional reality crushed their hopes and dreams. The Doggies led 12-10 at halftime but the Broncos ran riot in the second half to emerge 38-12 winners.
The Broncos, dubbed “a representative-class side in a club competition” by Sydney City coach Phil Gould, after they clobbered his team 46-18 last weekend, were in a class of their own during the second 40 minutes of the NRL decider.
The Broncos, fielding what was virtually a Queensland State of Origin side, scored five tries in the second half to register the highest grand final score for 23 years.
BRONCOS STILL NEGOTIATING MAJOR DEAL
March 2, 1999
Four days before the kick-off to the 1999 National Rugby League season finds the all-conquering Brisbane Broncos -the most successful team of any code in the ‘90s -are without a major sponsor.
Broncos chief executive Shane Edwards confirmed the club was “still negotiating” with prospective sponsors, but it was unlikely they would sign on before Friday night’s season opener against Canberra at Bruce Stadium.
“We’re in delicate negotiations at this stage, but it won’t matter if the deal is not done this week,” he said.
There are a number of factors impacting on the club’s search for a major sponsor, including the late decision by Ansett to downgrade from No.1 sponsor to major support sponsor and the shortage of real sponsorship dollars in the run-up to the 2000 Olympics.
It is understood Ansett’s commitment has been pared back from $1.2 million to $800,000. The Airline will be retained as a sleeve sponsor.
LANGER CALLS IT QUITS
April 28, 1999
Champion rugby league halfback Allan Langer shocked the Brisbane Broncos and the rugby league world by announcing his retirement from the game.
He said at a press conference he had lost his motivation to play and train and his decision to resign was based on those factors alone.
Langer broke down in tears during the announcement in Brisbane and said he would continue to train with the Broncos, but not play.
He revealed the news to the club after the Broncos’ loss to North Queensland.
Coach Wayne Bennett said Langer would still have a role with the club.
“When you lose your motivation you lose everything,” Bennett said at the press conference.
“There is nothing more to it than that. There had been no suggestion from the club about his playing. He is still very much a part of our organisation.”
Langer, 32, was the face of the Broncos and Queensland rugby league for the past decade since being plucked out of Ipswich to make his State of Origin debut with Wally Lewis in 1988.
RENOUF SIGNS $1M DEAL WITH WIGAN
July 16, 1999
Dynamic centre Steve Renouf will leave the Brisbane Broncos at the end of this season for English club Wigan after a two-year deal was confirmed.
The contract is worth around $1 million.
The Brisbane international had only days earlier decided to turn his back on the lucrative deal. But last night he said being able to sort out a few logistical problems had enabled him to rethink and take up the offer.
“I didn’t want to look back in 10 years time and say: `Why didn’t I do it?’.
The Wigan offer is understood to be more than twice that of Brisbane.
Wigan were only minutes away from their next option when Renouf’s agent Barry Collins called to inform them of the retired international’s change of heart.
BRONCOS LIKELY TO RETURN TO LANG PARK IN 2001
November 9, 1999
Brisbane should know in April when they will return to play at the home of rugby league in Queensland – Lang Park – but it is likely to be 2001.
The Broncos, knocked out of the finals series by the Sharks, were anxious to return to the famous ground as early as next season, but the redevelopment of the venue as a Brisbane super stadium has thwarted those plans.
“The redevelopment time-frame should be in place by April and we will have a better idea of when we can play at Lang Park again,’’ Broncos chief executive Shane Edwards said.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact we want to play again at Lang Park and it is just a question of when.’’
The $200 million Lang Park redevelopment, which will increase capacity to 60,000 and importantly includes walkway access from the city, is expected to get government approvals – at state and council levels – in April.
The Broncos also launched their new Bronco logo at the ground.
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JOHNS BOYS READY TO WALK OUT
May 9, 2000
Andrew Johns is poised to join older brother Matthew in walking out on the Newcastle Knights at the end of the season.
The Test halfback has been linked to a possible three-year deal with the Brisbane Broncos, believed to be worth $1.5 million.
Johns is understood to be upset the Knights have refused to make an official offer to Matthew for next year.
The 25-year-old Knights star is also annoyed at what he believes is an unsatisfactory opening offer in his own contract negotiations with the club.
Brisbane have denied they are chasing Andrew Johns but sources at the Broncos have confirmed the interest.
It is unlikely, however, that Matthew will join Andrew if he signs with the Broncos.
BENNETT AGAINST CELEBRATIONS
June 10, 2000
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett fears over-the-top celebrations like the “grenade try’’ in the third Origin could lead to ugly scenes, on or off the field.
A competition by Channel 9’s Footy Show for the best try celebration has prompted players to perform all kinds of strange acts with the football.
On Wednesday night, NSW forward Bryan Fletcher pretended to pull the pin on a hand grenade, tossing it in the air as his Blues’ teammates hit the dirt while humiliated Queensland players stood by and watched. It all seems harmless fun.
But Bennett is concerned the antics, viewed by some as poor sportsmanship, could trigger an ugly reaction, either from the players or the fans.
“I encourage my players to have a bit of fun, but what’s happening is disrespectful,’’ said Bennett. “It all seem to be getting a bit out of hand.”
CLINICAL TRIUMPH, THEN THE EMOTION
August 28, 2000
Brisbane captain Kevin Walters lived the fairytale achieved by close friend Glenn Lazarus when he led the Broncos to a clinical 14-6 grand final triumph over the Sydney Roosters at Stadium Australia.
Walters, who walked into retirement at full-time, was overcome with emotion after the game, sharing a tearful embrace with coach Wayne Bennett, the man who discovered him playing in Ipswich and signed him for Canberra in 1987.
But Walters’ glory was overshadowed by a terrific performance from Brisbane fullback Darren Lockyer, who was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground with an exhilarating display.
Broncos coach Bennett made no apologies for his team’s success.
BENNETT DEFENDS NEW-LOOK BRONCOS
January 27, 2001
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett refused to criticise his players as the NRL premiers crashed to a shock 20-18 loss to English champions St Helens Saints in the World Club Challenge.
The Broncos, playing their first game together since August’s grand final win over Sydney City, were overwhelming favourites for the match.
But St Helens fought back from 18-6 down to score two tries and then win with two field goals in the final five minutes.
New Broncos’ halfback Scott Prince admitted he was lost in attack, fullback Darren Lockyer’s kicking game deserted him and the usually methodical Broncos began dropping balls, missing passes and falling off tackles which normally would have been made.
LOCKYER MAY GO GA-GA OVER RAH-RAH
February 9, 2001
Australia’s Test fullback Darren Lockyer admitted that he may be enticed to join Wendell Sailor by switching to rugby union.
Lockyer said it would be tough to resist the big money to follow in the footsteps of the World Cup-winning winger, who confirmed on Wednesday that he would quit the Brisbane Broncos at the end of this year to join the Queensland Reds.
Lockyer and Penrith’s Ryan Girdler are both being targeted by the Australian Rugby Union.
Sailor’s Brisbane teammate and Girdler are the latest high-profile league players to be linked to the 15-a-side game, and the pair said they would keep open minds if the ARU pushed for their signatures.
“When rugby union is throwing so much money around, to have my name tossed up is exciting,’’ Lockyer said.
George Mimis, who manages Lockyer and Girdler, confirmed he had been approached by the ARU.
TALLIS WANTS TIME TO HEAL
May 30, 2001
Queensland and Brisbane Broncos captain Gorden Tallis has put his long-term playing future ahead of a possible comeback this season.
The 27-year-old Australian vice-captain underwent surgery at Brisbane’s Holy Spirit Hospital where a diseased disc was removed and two of his vertebrae fused together to ease a narrowing of his spinal canal.
Before going under the surgeon’s scalpel, Tallis revealed he could possibly have been back playing this season about finals time and even in contention for the Kangaroo tour of England at the end of the year.
“I was told I could do weights in six weeks and contact after 12 weeks of having the operation,’’ said Tallis, whose congenital spinal condition was diagnosed after he suffered pins and needles in his hands following a high tackle inflicted by Northern Eagles forward Adam Muir.
ALF OFFERED NEW ROLE AT BRONCOS
July 3, 2001
Allan Langer will return for work at the Brisbane Broncos next year but the State of Origin hero insisted he had played his last professional match in Australia.
Instead, Langer is earmarked for a marketing role at the Broncos once he finishes with English club Warrington later this year.
The 34-year-old denied any thoughts of a comeback in the NRL despite his heroics in Queensland’s stirring 40-14 Origin victory over New South Wales.
“There’s no chance,’’ Langer said.
“It was a fantastic feeling and something I can live on for the rest of my life.”
Langer said his Australian career had now closed after engineering one of the most memorable farewells in sport.
Broncos chief executive Shane Edwards said Langer had been told an administrative role awaited him at the club, which he helped to four premierships.
BENNETT CHOPS ROOSTERS SIGNING
July 19, 2001
The Brisbane Broncos were left fuming when one of their brightest stars, teenager Justin Hodges, defected to the Sydney Roosters.
Sparks flew from the Broncos Red Hill headquarters after Hodges, 19, announced his decision. Broncos coach Wayne Bennett immediately dumped the young winger to the club’s feeder team, the Toowoomba Clydesdales, for the rest of the season.
Broncos managing director Shane Edwards vented his fury at Hodges’ manager Jim Banaghan, announcing the club would no longer deal with the former police officer, who manages more than 30 NRL players, including five Broncos.
Hodges signed a $600,000 three-year deal with the Roosters, leaving a devastating hole in the Broncos’ future plans as he was the man being groomed to replace rugby union-bound winger Wendell Sailor in the starting line-up in season 2002.
Several senior players and staff members were left stunned or angry at the way Hodges was dumped from the first grade squad.
Sailor, in particular, is believed to be furious with the actions of Bennett.
At least one member of the coaching staff does not agree with the hardline stance.
“The boys have been ringing me all day, saying they’re sorry about what happened in the (dressing) sheds before training,’’ Hodges said.
LOCKYER HURT AT SAILOR’S WEDDING
December 10, 2001
Broncos star Darren Lockyer was injured in a street scuffle after attending former teammate Wendell Sailor’s wedding.
The Brisbane fullback, part of the team knocked out of the NRL finals by the Eels in September, was allegedly king-hit while returning to a resort at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast after being out with other wedding guests.
A television news report said a member of the public had made an unprovoked comment to Lockyer which sparked a scuffle between the pair.
Lockyer was taken to the Noosa Hospital with cuts to his face.
A Sunshine Coast police spokesman said police had not received a complaint about the incident and were not pursuing the matter. The Broncos were not available for comment.
Earlier Sailor, who left the Broncos this year to pursue a career in rugby union, married long-term partner Tara Vernon at the Noosa Blue Resort in front of about 150 guests.
I’M READY TO PLAY: ALFIE
February 14, 2002
Allan Langer put speculation over his immediate future to rest by announcing he was a definite starter for the 2002 NRL season.
Langer said he told coach Wayne Bennett he had decided to play on with the Brisbane Broncos, and Bennett guaranteed him a start at halfback in the premiership opener against North Queensland on March 16.
Bennett said Langer could not be expected to be a saviour of the Broncos team as the NRL’s oldest player at the age of 35, but he would be delighted to utilise Langer’s leadership and organisational skills in the club’s injury-hit halves department.
As well as confirming the green light was on for the nostalgic comeback, Langer and Bennett also disclosed Langer would delay a decision on whether he would be available for State of Origin duty until he saw how he handled the week-to-week intensity of the NRL.
TUQIRI SIGNS DEAL WITH UNION
July 16, 2002
Broncos Test winger Lote Tuqiri says his father was the inspiration for his decision to become rugby league’s latest high-profile defector.
Tuqiri announced he had signed with the Australian Rugby Union for the next two seasons with an eye on being part of the Wallabies’ home World Cup defence next year.
The 22-year-old follows former Broncos teammate Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers into rugby union from rugby league with that pair already tasting Test rugby in their first seasons.
“I thought it was a good time to go especially being the World Cup next year in Australia,’’ Tuqiri told a news conference at Ballymore.
The Brisbane-raised player’s father Tuqula represented Fiji in Tests as a winger before making his name in local club rugby with GPS. Tuqiri said his father was one of the key people he consulted before making his decision.
BRONCOS’ FIRST HALF TAKES A HIT FROM AWAY GAMES
September 12, 2002
Broncos’ first-half net profit fell 68.5 per cent to $1.2 million after fewer home games this season slashed revenue.
Its $3.8 million net profit in the first half of 2000-01 had included a one-off $2.8 million net profit from the sale of the company’s Red Hill land to the Broncos Leagues Club, an unrelated entity.
Chairman Don Nissen said Australia’s only listed sporting club was continuing to consolidate its activities ahead of moving to the yet-to-be-completed Suncorp Stadium next season.
The battle for control of the Broncos between Rupert Murdoch’s BB Sports and John Singleton’s Magic Millions, also chewed into the first-half bottom line.
There was no interim dividend, while revenue for the 2001 June half fell 4 per cent to $8.9 million.
BB Sports, a wholly owned News Corp subsidiary, now controls 68.9 per cent of the Broncos.
ROOSTERS POUNCE ON LANGER ERROR
September 11, 2022
An Allan Langer error has helped the Roosters into the NRL grand final after a courageous 16-12 win over Brisbane at Aussie Stadium.
And they had to do it the hard way after losing lock Luke Ricketson in the 15th minute and hooker Simon Bonetti for 50 minutes of the match after a frightening collision with Brisbane prop Petero Civoniceva in the opening tackle of the match.
Bonetti courageously returned to the field in the 51st minute and, six minutes later, Roosters winger Brett Mullins took advantage of a wayward Langer pass to score and hand his side a 14-12 lead.
It was a lead it would not relinquish.
The match may yet turn out to be the last for Langer, who cut a forlorn image as he left the field in the 62nd minute with a quadricep injury.
NEW DRAW RULE FOOL’S GOLD, SAYS BENNETT
January 30, 2003
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has bagged the NRL’s introduction of a golden point and warned it will put referees at risk of being “lynched”.
The NRL board ratified the golden point extra-time rule but it will not necessarily prevent games ending in a draw a factor Bennett said defeated the purpose.
“I think they’ve made a rod for their backs,” Bennett said.
“What will happen during that extra-time period is players will be off-side all the time. You already see it when draws are in the making.
“Markers aren’t set properly, guys race up out of the defensive line.
“You name a referee that will be game enough to blow the whistle and give a penalty?
“If it’s (against) the home team, there’ll definitely be a lynching.”
JOEY SPOILS SUNCORP CELEBRATION
June 3, 2003
The committed Knights proved the ultimate party poopers for most of the sellout crowd of 46,337 at the revamped Broncos stronghold, coming from 10-12 down at halftime to win 32-22.
It was Newcastle’s first win over the Broncos in Brisbane in 10 attempts since the two clubs joined the ARL premiership in 1988.
NSW captain Johns, playing his 200th first grade game, delivered one of his classic playmaking efforts.
Johns had endured a difficult preparation with reports of his wrangling with NSW coach Phil Gould dominating the media.
Newcastle coach Michael Hagan said he did not think Johns had been especially motivated to prove a point about his form.
TALLIS ONLY A BRONCO
October 1, 2003
Broncos captain Gorden Tallis has announced his retirement from all representative rugby league, effective immediately.
The 30-year-old said his body could no longer handle the rigours of both club and representative footy. Tallis consulted coach Wayne Bennett and his family before announcing his decision.
The Queensland State of Origin captain was set to lead Australia on the Kangaroos tour of Britain and France but he said he’s physically unable to give his best.
“Leading Australia on a Kangaroo tour is the highest honour but my body’s told me it’s just not up to it,’’ Tallis said.
His decision comes just weeks after Brisbane’s horror end to the 2003 season was capped with a 28-18 qualifying final defeat to the Panthers.
LOCKYER SWITCH ‘TO FAIL’
February 20, 2004
The switch of Brisbane Broncos ace Darren Lockyer from fullback to five-eighth “smacks of desperation’’, former Test centre Tony Currie said.
Currie said Broncos coach Wayne Bennett’s gamble with Lockyer indicated the talent cupboard was bare at the club which finished the 2003 NRL season with eight straight defeats and the loss of five senior players to retirement or rival clubs.
“I think the Broncos are weaker than last year and they are a club under pressure to get bums on seats with the Lions winning three AFL titles in a row,’’ Currie said.
“Locky’s switch smacks of desperation. He has the ability to do a good job there and he has similar qualities to (former Test five-eighth) Brett Kenny.
“He virtually played there (five-eighth) last year in attack and Brisbane still lost eight in a row. I just don’t think it’s the right move. If he was in my team he would be fullback. Locky is a game breaker, not a game maker.”
Test selector Arthur Beetson rated Lockyer as “arguably the best fullback Australia has produced’’.
TWO POINTS UP, $75,000 DOWN
May 22, 2004
The Broncos have regained their two NRL competition points but chief executive Bruno Cullen admitted he was “shocked’’ at the imposition of a $75,000 fine for breaching the interchange rules.
Although pleased with the NRL Appeals Committee’s decision to return the points, Cullen said he thought a fine of $25,000 would have been “a fair whack’’.
The Broncos were docked two points after having 14 men on the field during their away win over Wests Tigers on March 28.
Bronco forward Corey Parker took the field against Wests Tigers while injured Shane Webcke was still on the field.
BRONCOS CAUGHT IN A SLUMP
September 20, 2004
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett admitted the Broncos had been battling a form slump for the last five weeks after they were bundled out of the finals race by North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
It was the first time since a club game against Newcastle in 2001 that the Broncos were unable to get across their opponents’ line.
The inevitable post-mortem will point to the club’s injury toll this year, but Bennett refused to use that solely as an excuse, saying the Broncos’ once-potent attack had been struggling since last month.
It was a sad exit for a club that finished third on the ladder and looked to have solved its ongoing problems with providing players for Queensland in the State of Origin series.
THORN BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER
February 18, 2005
Stand-in Brisbane Broncos skipper Petero Civoniceva rates the 2005 version of Brad Thorn a more daunting prospect for rival NRL sides than the one that left the code for rugby union in 2000.
Civoniceva said Thorn’s presence would make up for the loss of Gorden Tallis after he returned from his four-year stint across the Tasman bigger and stronger than ever.
The towering forward also issued a warning to league’s next generation of superstars, including Bulldogs sensation Sonny-Bill Williams, to be on their guard when they come up against the former All Black.
“He’s a monster of a man,” Civoniceva said. “I don’t know if he got taller or wider but he certainly hasn’t lost any strength in the gym.”
BRONCOS’ BOTT OF LIGHTNING
April 1, 2005
The early season buzz is about Brisbane Broncos’ speedster Leon “Lightning’’ Bott.
But winger Jake Webster says Melbourne Storm’s backline will be ready for him at Olympic Park.
In what shapes as a battle of sheer speed, Storm has identified Bott as a serious threat down the right flank.
But they hope Webster can cause similar problems on the opposite side.
“The Broncos have got a heap of speed, but we have got a bit as well,’’ Webster said last night.
“We have been defending pretty well out wide, so hopefully we can shut them down and then create some opportunities with the ball.’’
Matt Geyer has the job of containing the explosive Bott, touted as the fastest in rugby league.
BENNETT CONCEDES IT MAY BE TIME
September 19, 2005
Lost for answers to Brisbane’s finals malaise, coach Wayne Bennett admitted it might be time for him to step aside after 18 years in charge at the rugby league club.
Wests Tigers’ 34-6 win at Sydney’s Aussie Stadium raised more questions about whether the Broncos were too old, too slow and the game-plan was from a different era. At the very least, Bennett conceded a change in direction was necessary.
For a team that has made the finals for 14 years in a row and won five premierships since being formed in 1988, recent years have been lean.
The Broncos’ loss was their sixth in a row in finals. Their last win was over Parramatta in week two of the finals of 2002.
Bennett was asked what he would say if anyone called for a change of coaching style, or coach, in the light of the Broncos’ fourth year of failure in September.
Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen also pledged Bennett’s job was secure, although he wanted to review why the club had faded in the past few years at the back end of the season.
COACHING CLEAN-OUT ROCKS BRONCOS
October 8, 2005
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett has reacted to the Broncos’ latest end-of-season slump with the most significant clean-out in the club’s 18-year history.
While the official line from the club was that assistant coach Kevin Walters, performance director Gary Belcher and colts coach Glenn Lazarus resigned, it appears the trio were casualties of Brisbane’s fifth consecutive finals failure.
John Dixon, who coached the Broncos’ Queensland Cup feeder club, Toowoomba, is leaving to pursue coaching opportunities in Wales, leaving Bennett as the only remaining member of the 2005 coaching staff.
After leading the competition for 15 weeks, the Broncos crashed out of this year’s finals race with seven consecutive losses, prompting several former stars and fans to call for significant player and coaching moves to be made.
Bennett and Broncos managing director Bruno Cullen vowed to conduct a thorough review of the football department, but few expected such a major reshuffle.
BRONCOS BAN BARBIE RITUAL
March 8, 2006
The Brisbane Broncos have banned their regular training ground barbecues in an effort to field a leaner, meaner, fitter, faster NRL side in 2006.
The pre-game team BBQ has been as much a part of the Broncos folklore at Red Hill in Brisbane as the presence of Wayne Bennett.
Club “all-rounder” Tony “Springer” Spencer and his trusty sidekick, Brian McGrath, have been cooking up a storm for the players to scoff down after their final weekly training session for years.
PICK FOR PERRY, FLICK FOR SEYMOUR
April 12, 2006
Broncos captain Darren Lockyer believes new halfback Shane Perry will make an immediate impact after the shock axing of Brett Seymour.
Seymour was dumped to feeder club Toowoomba after a lacklustre start to the season, while Brent Tate returns from ankle surgery and former Test centre Shaun Berrigan moves to hooker.
Bennett has held his patience with Seymour for five weeks, but his lack of direction against Souths forced the coach to make the chop.
Perry, who is registered with both the Broncos and Queensland Cup club Redcliffe, played for Brisbane in the Round 1 loss to the Cowboys.
Lockyer, who must now deal with a new dummy-half and No.7, said he believed the team would benefit immediately from Perry’s presence.
PLAYERS CUT OVER DRINK OFFENCES
August 11, 2006
The Brisbane Broncos have taken the unprecedented step of sacking two of their players mid-season after a spate of alcohol-fuelled incidents.
At a press conference at the rugby league club’s Red Hill training base, chief executive Bruno Cullen announced that halfback Brett Seymour and forward Neville Costigan would no longer be with the club.
It marked the first time in the Broncos’ 19-year history that players had been sacked mid-season. It is understood that Seymour’s fate was sealed when the Broncos discovered he had been drinking with Costigan on Monday night at the Normanby Hotel, on the outskirts of Brisbane’s CBD.
“There has been a number of incidents over a period of time,’’ Cullen said.
Brisbane officials had clearly had enough, given the pair had been warned at least six times each over the previous 18 months in relation to alcohol-fuelled incidents.
WHAT A PERFECT FINALE
October 2, 2006
Brisbane gave retiring prop Shane Webcke the perfect send off and ensured its perfect grand final record was kept intact with a spirited 15-8 win over NRL minor premier Melbourne at Telstra Stadium.
Up 8-4 at the break, both sides scored a try apiece in the second stanza before a Darren Lockyer field goal with seven minutes remaining ensured victory, Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett now the coach with the best winning record in grand final history with his sixth win, all with the Broncos.
Down 14-8 with 14 minutes on the clock, the Storm thought they had levelled the match when Matt King appeared to cross for his second try of the night after cleaning up a Cooper Cronk kick, their celebrations cut short by the video referee who ruled Ryan Hoffman had knocked-on.
BEATEN BRONCOS FULL OF POSITIVES
February 25, 2007
Beaten but unbowed, Brisbane has sounded a warning to rival NRL teams that it can only improve on last year’s performance.
The Broncos lost to St Helens 18-14 in the World Club Challenge in Bolton, but such was the integrity of the performance that they leave England with a bounce in their step.
Captain Darren Lockyer made the bold prediction after the game that, given an even run with injuries, the Broncos can still improve on last year.
The Broncos were a shambles this time last year, giving an indication of how well placed they are to make good on Lockyer’s prediction.
The Broncos were all grit, but were unable to overcome the better-conditioned St Helens team.
BRONCOS ‘REVOLT’ IF BENNETT GOES
March 7, 2007
Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen has reiterated that the reigning NRL premiers will stand firm in their decision to replace Wayne Bennett in 2010 despite players reportedly threatening to “revolt” over the decision.
Last September, Bennett ended weeks of speculation linking him to a lucrative move to the Sydney Roosters when he agreed to see out his contract until the end of 2009. The Broncos then said it would use the remaining years on Bennett’s contract to find a replacement.
However, Bennett hinted that he may consider staying on.
After Cullen reaffirmed the intention to appoint a new coach, unnamed Broncos players told a News Limited newspaper that they could not rule out a “player revolt” if Bennett was forced to leave before he was ready.
But Cullen said “nothing has changed” the plan to replace Bennett in 2010.
I’LL LEAD FROM THE FRONT: PETERO
July 15, 2007
Penrith-bound Petero Civoniceva has volunteered to take over the Broncos captaincy after a shattered Darren Lockyer discovered that a knee injury will end his season.
Lockyer requires a knee reconstruction after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against North Queensland and faces a recovery period of six to nine months.
He initially only tweaked his knee during the 24-16 win against the Cowboys but, in what could have been the difference between a bad and devastating injury, he continued playing. The Brisbane, Queensland and Australia captain slumped to the ground in the 75th minute without any of the Cowboys having laid a hand on him.
“I’m disappointed but I can’t do anything about it,” Lockyer said.
“Jesus, the season? That’s terrible news,” Civoniceva said when told the extent of Lockyer’s injury.
When asked about taking over a skipper, Civoniceva said: “I would do it in a heartbeat.”
STORM’S COUP ENDS REIGN
September 10, 2007
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett said it would have taken a miracle for his injury-ravaged side to beat red-hot Melbourne in their NRL qualifying final at Olympic Park.
But that miracle never happened as the Storm thrashed the defending champions 40-0, sending them crashing out of the competition and gaining some sweet revenge for last year’s grand final defeat.
The minor premiers set up the win over the eighth-placed Broncos with a six-try haul in the first half, including a hat-trick to winger Steve Turner.
After a week’s break they will take on the winner of Saturday’s Parramatta-Bulldogs final at the larger-capacity Telstra Dome in Melbourne. The winner there will advance to the grand final.
Already missing injured stars Darren Lockyer, Karmichael Hunt and Shaun Berrigan, the scene was set for a bloodbath when Brisbane five-eighth Tonie Carroll pulled out prior to kick-off with a hamstring injury.
LOCKYER TO KICK OUT THE EELS
May 31, 2008
Darren Lockyer wrote his name on the Queensland Origin team sheet and showed why he is the best player in the game with an unbelievable cross kick after the siren to hand the Broncos an amazing 30-26 win over Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium.
Gold Coast flyer Denan Kemp capped off the majestic play, and completed a club record four tries, but it was Lockyer’s night.
He eased the fears of Maroon selectors and fans, but sent shudders through the NSW camp.
With the match destined for golden point at 26-all and the siren sounding Lockyer remarkably found space and won the match like only a true rugby league legend could.
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett eased Lockyer back into first grade.
He played for 32 minutes before he was taken from the field and did not return until the 62nd minute with the scores deadlocked at 18-all.
And return he did. Lockyer’s first kicked resulted in a line drop out. The next set he linked with Karmichael Hunt to send Kemp over in the corner.
STORM SURGES HOME IN THRILLER
September 21, 2008
The Storm sensationally kept its title defence alive with a stunning last minute try to Greg Inglis stealing a 16-14 victory over Brisbane.
Inglis’ last-gasp try, which came on the back of an Ashton Sims error, saw Melbourne edge past Brisbane and end a turbulent week for the Broncos.
After Sims dropped the ball in a strong tackle by Israel Folau and Sika Manu, the Storm launched a desperate attacking raid, which ultimately ended with Inglis crossing in the left-hand corner.
Shattered Brisbane players slumped to the ground as the reality began to sink in – the 50,466 strong crowd left shattered by the loss.
The loss ended Wayne Bennett’s 21-year reign at the Broncos.
NRL STAR CONFESSES
September 21, 2008
Broncos star Darren Lockyer backflipped on an earlier denial of bad behaviour and admitted tackling a bar manager.
Lockyer, the Broncos’ captain, had initially denied any involvement when ABC TV aired security footage taken on September 6 at the Casablanca bar, in inner Brisbane.
But new CCTV vision released clearly shows the Broncos’ leader tackling the venue’s bar manager, Terry De Gunten.
After seeing the new vision, Lockyer admitted it was him and apologised for his actions, even though he couldn’t remember doing it.
“Some more footage came out yesterday which proves I was the person that made the tackle on the manager there,’’ Lockyer said. “If that’s the case, my intentions were never to be intimidating … it was a bit of lighthearted fun. If I offended anyone, I apologise. To be perfectly honest, I don’t recall doing it. That’s why this week I didn’t believe it was me, but the footage now proves that it’s me.’’
BRONCOS IN CLEAR BUT CLUB ACTS
November 11, 2008
The Broncos have fined Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd and Sam Thaiday $20,000 each for bringing the club into disrepute, despite police finding there was insufficient evidence to charge the NRL stars with sexual assault.
A team of 12 police investigators probed allegations of sexual assault on a 24-year-old woman in a Brisbane nightclub toilet on September 13.
Police cleared the three Queensland State of Origin players over the alleged assault and also declined to lay charges over a subsequent drug allegation probe.
But Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen said the club had fined the players $20,000 each and would force them to undergo behaviour counselling.
He said their actions in relation to the sexual assault allegations breached the club’s code of conduct and also their NRL contracts by damaging the reputation of the game.
Cullen said the three players would also miss out on third-party sponsorship, costing them up to $60,000.
Cullen said the club’s internal investigation concluded that the players should not have been in that position in the first place.
Cullen said the $20,000 fines would be spent on counselling and any money left over donated to charity.
UK INTEREST IN LOCKYER
January 18, 2009
Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen declared he would not get into a bidding war over Darren Lockyer as English clubs prepare to make a big-money play for the Brisbane skipper.
The stance from Cullen came as Lockyer faces the prospect of sacrificing at least $200,000 a season by turning his back on Super League offers and remaining at Red Hill.
Off-contract at the end of 2009, Lockyer is keen to play on and will weigh up his options in the coming months, including whether to embark on a career swan-song in England.
The Broncos will ramp-up retention talks with Lockyer this week. While hopeful of securing the club’s most important player for 2010, Cullen conceded the Broncos simply do not possess the funds under the salary cap to match English clubs.
“We wouldn’t get into a bidding war and I don’t think Darren would either,’’ Cullen said.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
March 4, 2009
No matter which way you look at it, no club will go through more change this season than the Brisbane Broncos.
When Greg Inglis scored in the final minute of the semi-final at Suncorp Stadium last September to sink the Broncos’ 2008 premiership hopes, Wayne Bennett’s tenure as the only coach of Brisbane came to an end. It was 21 years of success and some controversy, but most of all the creation of a superpower in rugby league.
Bennett had a leading hand in that success for the entire 21 years, but the mantle has now been passed to Ivan Henjak – a man charged with filling the biggest coaching shoes in the NRL.
Bennett’s assistant since 2006, Henjak is taking on his first head coaching role and he admits he finds the challenge a little daunting but is determined to do things his way.
“My first day as head coach I was nervous … excited … all those things,” he said.
BRONCOS SET TO OFFER HENJAK EXTENSION
July 22, 2009
Embattled Broncos coach Ivan Henjak is set to be offered a one-year extension to his contract, despite the club’s recent horror run of form.
Brisbane managing director Bruno Cullen said the club would complete its traditional end-of-season review before making any announcement, but it is believed the board is leaning towards extending his deal, which expires next season, until at least the end of 2011.
The Broncos and Henjak have been under fire after conceding 40 points or more in four of the five losses they have had in their past six outings.
A finalist for the past 17 years in succession, Brisbane is one of four teams on 22 competition points, but finds itself in ninth spot because of a woeful for-and-against record.
Henjak revealed he had expected his side to struggle at different times this season, given the number of young guns to make their debuts for the Broncos this season.
While he refused to label 2009 a rebuilding season, there is little doubt rookies Alex Glenn, Josh McGuire, Gerard Beale, Antonio Winterstein, Andrew McCullough, Dale Copley, Josh Hoffman and Jharal Yow Yeh have been exposed to much more top-flight action than intended this season.
BOSS SAYS IT’S A DESPERATE AFL STUNT
July 30, 2009
Broncos boss Bruno Cullen believes Karmichael Hunt’s jaw-dropping defection from rugby league smacks of desperation by the fledgling Gold Coast AFL club.
He argued the Coast’s inability to lure a high-profile AFL player to the tourist strip had contributed to the stunning left-field deal.
Gold Coast failed in their well-publicised attempts to sign St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt as their foundation captain, as well as fellow Coast products Sam Gilbert – also of St Kilda – and North Melbourne’s David Hale.
The biggest switch between sports Australia has seen was sealed when 22-year-old Hunt’s three-year deal with Gold Coast was announced.
He will spend six months playing rugby overseas, then learn Aussie rules in either the VFL or QAFL, before the Gold Coast becomes the AFL’s 17th club in 2011.
NRL chief David Gallop tried to play down the impact of the defection, saying it “doesn’t mean the sky is falling” in on league.
But Cullen said Hunt’s deal single-handedly turned the publicity tide for the AFL club.
HODGES SAYS RETURN WOULD BE SELFISH
May 27, 2010
An Origin return this year has already been ruled out by Justin Hodges despite impressing Brisbane Broncos staff with his recovery from injury.
Finally cleared to start running after snapping his achilles in the pre-season, Hodges has predicted he could be back in the NRL in six weeks putting him on track for an Origin III comeback in July.
But Hodges said it would be selfish if he tried to play Origin this season.
“I think I’ll hopefully be back by then (Origin III), but playing in that arena and in that sort of competition I’d be kidding myself and my teammates,’’ Hodges said on the Broncos’ website.
“For me to play, that would be selfish. I think I’ll give it a miss. I definitely won’t be playing this year unless there are a lot of injuries.’’
Hodges said he was concentrating more on helping the Broncos secure a finals berth.
IZZY NOW A VERY BIG DEAL
June 1, 2010
Brisbane Broncos boss Bruno Cullen says he lost Israel Folau to the AFL for “a lot more than a million a year’’ as the league cops a backlash for its spending on untried players.
Folau joins new AFL franchise Greater Western Sydney on a reported three-year deal, which Cullen said could earn him up to $5 million.
Folau has joined former Broncos teammate Karmichael Hunt in a code switch, with Hunt secured on a reported $1 million a season at the Gold Coast.
Cullen said Folau would be paid more than $1.25 million a season.
“We’re not angry or dirty on Israel at all,’’ Cullen told SEN today.
“He might get a three-year deal (with GWS) so he’s looking down the barrel of five or six million over three or four years.”
Brisbane coach Michael Voss has hit out at the AFL’s spending on league stars.
BRONCOS CONFIDENT ON INGLIS
July 26, 2010
The Broncos have a verbal assurance from Greg Inglis that he will join the club next season.
Despite the Titans’ 11th-hour, $1 million bid for Inglis, the Broncos feel they are in the box seat if the salary-cap ravaged Storm agrees to release the most devastating centre in rugby league.
Inglis spoke on the phone with Brisbane operations chief Andrew Gee and outlined his desire to join the Broncos.
“Greg has told us he would love to come – you can’t get a stronger indication than that,’’ chief executive Bruno Cullen said.
RAIDERS END FINALS RUN FOR BRONCOS
September 6, 2010
The Brisbane Broncos are out of the National Rugby League playoffs for the first time since 1991 after losing 16-18 to the Canberra Raiders in the final round of the regular season.
The Raiders won for the sixth time in a row. The Broncos needed to beat the Raiders by at least 15 points in the match before 39,000 Brisbane fans.
The loss was Broncos’ star Israel Folau’s 91st and last game of rugby league – at least for the next four years.
The 21-year-old Folau is switching codes to play Australian Rules football with the new Greater Western Sydney team.
BRONCOS RETRACT DEAL FOR INGLIS
November 6, 2010
The Brisbane Broncos have sensationally pulled the pin on their offer to superstar Greg Inglis after he failed to meet the club’s ultimatum to sign a two-year NRL deal.
Brisbane put the deadline to Inglis, giving him 24 hours to sign a $1.2 million two-year contract.
The club had waited patiently for 14 weeks for Inglis to make a decision, but the Broncos withdrew the offer to the Queensland and Australian centre.
With Inglis understood to have little interest in a move to French rugby union, he could be set to join Russell Crowe at South Sydney, although the Rabbitohs might struggle to fit him under the salary cap.
Inglis, who was to replace AFL-bound Israel Folau, has been embroiled in a dispute with Melbourne over the payment of a $113,000 legal bill incurred in employing a QC to successfully defend him against assault allegations last year.
However, Inglis could still have signed Brisbane’s contract, which then could have been lodged with the NRL and registered once the dispute between Inglis and his club was resolved.
But the Broncos decided to walk away from the deal.
BRONCOS AXE COACH
February 21, 2011
Ivan Henjak’s tumultuous two-year tenure as Brisbane Broncos coach finally came to an end with the NRL club showing him the door less than three weeks before the premiership kick-off.
Despite having two years left to run on his contract, Henjak was replaced by his assistant Anthony Griffin after supposedly losing the support of several senior players.
It was alleged Henjak was given three months’ pay on the condition of strict confidentiality about the issues surrounding his departure.
Henjak battled speculation about his future almost from the day he took over from coaching legend Wayne Bennett before the start of the 2009 season.
It is believed he received an unfavourable assessment from his players in a report submitted at the end of last year when the Broncos missed the finals for the first time in 19 years.
NO FAIRYTALE FOR LOCKYER
September 24, 2011
A ruthless Manly have ensured there will be no fairytale NRL grand final finish for Brisbane skipper Darren Lockyer.
The injured five-eighth watched helplessly from the sidelines as his youthful side went down 26-14 at the Sydney Football Stadium against a disciplined Sea Eagles outfit.
Anthony Griffin refused to blame referees Shayne Hayne and Jared Maxwell for his side’s defeat despite the 7-2 penalty count against his side.
“We got beat fair and square tonight, we ain’t complaining about the penalty count, we just weren’t good enough,’’ Griffin said.
Lockyer, who sat the game out due to a shattered left cheekbone, finishes a glittering career for the Broncos on 355 games and four premierships and was sorely missed by his team.
ONE HUGE SHIRT TO FILL
February 14, 2012
Corey Norman has won the much-hyped Brisbane Broncos five-eighth fight and will begin the season in Darren Lockyer’s coveted No. 6 jersey.
Norman, a shy 21-year-old who still lives with his mum, was picked ahead of friendly rival Ben Hunt in a near full-strength Broncos team for the trial against the Melbourne Storm.
The duo has started one trial game each this pre-season after Broncos coach Anthony Griffin nominated them as Lockyer’s potential successors last October.
“This is the best team we can pick at the moment,’’ Griffin said when asked if
the Hobart squad was full strength.
Norman was earmarked as a future Broncos star two years ago when he won man of the match honours in his NRL debut, playing at fullback.
BRONCOS EXTEND GRIFFIN’S CONTRACT
July 19, 2012
Anthony Griffin might never threaten Wayne Bennett’s NRL record 21-year coaching stint at Brisbane.
But the laconic 46-year-old made it clear, after the club showed faith in him by extending his NRL contract until 2015, winning premierships is his job.
“I’m like everyone else in this game – you want to win a trophy,” Griffin said.
“That’s what you do it (coach) for. If you’re not doing it for that … then you’re not here for the right reason.”
Griffin never doubted he’d served his time and was ready to coach in the big league when handed the job in controversial circumstances in 2010.
In less than two seasons, he’s compiled a strike rate (31-13) that any coach – even Bennett – would love to own.
COWBOYS MARCH ON AS PETERO BOWS OUT
September 9, 2012
The Cowboys are primed to end Manly’s premiership reign after they braved uncharted waters to beat the Brisbane Broncos.
Halfback Michael Morgan, 20, stood up with three tries, while fullback Matt Bowen, playing his 250th game, scored the first and polished off a great performance with a field goal.
It was a sad farewell for veteran Broncos prop Petero Civoniceva, who left the field to a guard of honour.
“Whoever won tonight I though was a good chance (of beating Manly),’’ said Broncos coach Anthony Griffin.
Prop Matt Scott said there was a lot of pressure to perform against the Broncos and they fired from the word go, establishing an 18-0 lead by halftime.
DUGAN’S BRONCO CONTRACT DEAL OFF
March 31, 2013
The Brisbane Broncos have ceased negotiations with former Canberra star Josh Dugan after the troubled fullback was involved in another social media spat in which he suggested a Raiders supporter should “end themselves’’.
Dugan was sacked by the Raiders earlier this month for repeated code of conduct breaches that peaked with the 22-year-old posting a picture of himself on photo-sharing website Instagram, drinking on a rooftop and giving the finger to the camera.
Instagram was again his medium of choice on Saturday night when Dugan angrily responded to taunts from Raiders fans who remain upset about his exit from the club.
The gifted fullback unleashed a verbal tirade that included an invitation for a face-to-face confrontation with one of his antagonists.
Dugan was reportedly close to signing a deal with the Broncos but after the latest social media imbroglio the club issued a statement saying they had pulled out of talks with his manager Paul Sutton.
YOW YEH’S FIRST STEP BACK
April 29, 2013
“I am just happy to play rugby league again.’’
With those words, Jharal Yow Yeh took a step towards a return to the top flight after the Broncos star came through his first game in 13 months.
The NRL is in another stratosphere, but Yow Yeh’s cameo for Norths Devils in the FOGS Cup provided hope he is not yet finished as a Queensland and Test force.
With almost the entire Broncos squad watching on, Yow Yeh punched out 30 minutes for his junior club more than a year after suffering a shocking compound fracture of his right ankle against Souths.
During his ordeal, Yow Yeh underwent skin grafts and eight operations in 10 months.
So when Yow Yeh ran on to Bishop Park his trepidation was palpable.
Eighty minutes later, Yow Yeh was riven with relief.
BRONCOS BULK UP BY SIGNING ROOSTER
September 12, 2013
The Broncos have moved to beef up their inconsistent forward pack by signing Sydney Roosters prop Martin Kennedy on a three-year deal.
Kennedy, on the fringes of Queensland State of Origin selection this year, adds 122kg of muscle to the Broncos pack in a switch which comes three days before the Roosters’ NRL qualifying final against Manly.
Broncos coach Anthony Griffin believes Kennedy is the ideal man to add extra starch for his side after they missed the finals for just the third time in the club’s history.
“He’s a big boy, he’s 120-odd kilo, and his best football is in front of him because he is only 24 years old,’’ said Griffin.
Kennedy had a strong start to 2013 before a knee injury prevented him from being the Maroons’ 18th man in Origin game two.
BRONCOS AT MERCY OF MILFORD
October 13, 2013
The Broncos remain hopeful of securing the services of boom Raiders teenager Anthony Milford, but are adamant they can do little until the stalemate between the youngster and the Raiders is sorted.
On the same day the club was honouring its best individual performers in a disappointing 2013 campaign, the speculation on just how Brisbane planned to rebuild next season remained a central attraction.
Rumours that Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith could be headed north were downplayed by chief executive Paul White, who also sought to distance himself from the ongoing links to the future of Milford.
Milford has made it clear to the Raiders he wants a release from the final year of his contract, citing a clause that would allow him to do so to be by the side of his father, who is battling heart disease.
SURRENDER IN BATTLE FOR SMITH
February 7, 2014
The Broncos have conceded defeat in the race for Cameron Smith, after the Storm produced a club-record $4 million-plus package to keep their captain in Melbourne.
Broncos officials have waved the white flag on their ambitious bid to lure the Australian and Queensland captain north next year, with Storm’s new owners trumping them with one of the richest deals in the code’s history at the 11th hour.
It is now a formality that Smith will sign a multi-year Storm contract, with an option for a fourth year in 2018, to finish his career as a one-club player.
The Broncos went hard for Smith, and the Maroons skipper was leaning towards a big-money move back to Brisbane to be nearer his family.
BRONCOS STAND DOWN THREE PLAYERS
July 18, 2014
Brisbane has axed three players on the eve of their NRL clash with the Warriors for a breach of team protocols.
England international Jack Reed, winger Daniel Vidot and utility Corey Oates have all been dropped to the Queensland Cup for going out on the town midweek.
Lachlan Maranta and Jordan Kahu have been called up to start on the wings while Dale Copley moves into the centres against the Warriors.
Coach Anthony Griffin denied the banished trio were involved in any misbehaviour and said they were remorseful for lowering team standards.
BENNETT RETURNS TO THE BRONCOS
July 21, 2014
The return of Wayne Bennett is complete with the mastercoach agreeing to a $4 million deal to lead the resurrection of the Broncos.
Bennett has inked a three-year contract until the end of 2017, ensuring he will return to the Broncos club he led to six titles between 1992 and 2006.
The decision was made official at a press conference fronted by Broncos CEO Paul White and the sacked Anthony Griffin. White, a staunch ally of Griffin, made it clear that Griffin was axed because the team’s results did not meet expectations.
Broncos players were informed of the development at an 11am crisis meeting at Red Hill headquarters.
Griffin did an admirable job in front of the media given he had just received his marching orders from the club he had coached since 2009.
“I’m a realist and I understand these decisions will be made about you. It’s a high risk high reward industry,” Griffin said.
BRONCOS SUPPORT PLAN FOR A DRAFT
August 10, 2014
The Broncos see potential in an NRL draft as long as it incentivises clubs to invest in local juniors.
Broncos chief executive Paul White said that Brisbane was interested in the significant reform but only if it prompted clubs to continue spending money on junior rugby league.
The proposed draft has divided NRL clubs with some wary it will mirror the NBA and AFL models where clubs have no reason to develop talent in-house.
The NRL is conscious of ensuring its model still rewards league nurseries.
It is believed the Broncos spend more than $1 million annually developing teenage rugby league players, the majority of which never play a game of first grade.
Broncos juniors Ben Hunt and Josh McGuire will be chased by rival clubs this year and Brisbane will be forced to compete for a duo they developed since the age of 13 without any salary cap concessions.
NRL chief executive Dave Smith flagged the NRL rookie draft as a possibility for the 2017 season.
GRIFFIN BOWS OUT IN SAD FASHION
September 13, 2014
Brisbane’s game of Russian roulette is over – and so is Anthony Griffin’s coaching career at Red Hill.
Having dodged a bullet for the past six weeks, the Broncos finally found a loaded chamber as North Queensland ran riot to pull the trigger on Brisbane’s season.
The Cowboys fired to win the Queensland elimination derby 32-20 in Townsville, leaving Griffin to digest a sloppy end to his 101-match tenure as Brisbane coach.
The hatchet job was hopelessly self-inflicted, with Brisbane woeful in the crucial opening exchanges as the Cowboys bolted to an 18-0 lead they would not surrender.
By halftime, a massacre loomed at 24-0.
And while the Broncos hit back to provide a minor tremor, shaving the deficit to 24-14 with three tries in seven minutes, they were left to rue a start as flat as week-old lemonade.
The curtain has fallen on Griffin, who will not be content with Brisbane’s eighth-placing after having his 2015 contract torn up in July.
BOYD TO BE A BRONCO AGAIN
October 31, 2014
Darius Boyd is a Bronco again, which means Wayne Bennett has just one more piece of his Brisbane roster puzzle to solve.
The troubled Newcastle star was officially released by the Knights and will be Brisbane’s fullback.
His official release from the Knights is what triggered the Broncos releasing Josh Hoffman to the Gold Coast.
It has been an exceptionally busy week at Brisbane’s headquarters.
Martin Kennedy, Dave Hala and Hoffman have all been released, prop recruit James Gavet was revealed to have a serious shoulder injury and Boyd is free to sign the contract all the roster shuffling was designed to allow.
KOUKASH EYES BRISBANE BRONCOS
October 31, 2014
English billionaire Marwan Koukash has turned his attention to the Brisbane Broncos as he attempts to buy his way into the NRL, holding talks with the club’s minority shareholder Phil Murphy with a view to potentially attempting a full takeover of the game’s flagship franchise.
Murphy confirmed to that he had been involved in discussions with Koukash over the sale of his 20 per cent stake in the Broncos, believed to be worth upwards of $5 million.
“I have had discussions with him,” Murphy said.
“From what I understand, he is interested in buying into a football club in Australia. All I can say is I love the Broncos so much but I am a businessman and if someone wants to talk to me about something I own, I will always have a yarn to them.”
DRAGONS CIRCLING JAYDEN NIKORIMA
April 4, 2015
The Broncos are facing a battle to retain one of the NRL’s hottest backline prospects with the Dragons circling Jayden Nikorima.
Nikorima’s management have met Broncos coach Wayne Bennett to gauge whether the under-20 player has a future at Red Hill amid interest from Sydney clubs.
Nikorima, the younger brother of Broncos NRL squad member Kodi, is off contract at the end of the season.
The 19-year-old utility is rated a potential star by Broncos legend Darren Lockyer, who is a key member of Brisbane’s recruitment and retention committee.
Kodi’s NRL breakthrough three weeks ago has raised fears there may be room for only one Nikorima in the Broncos’ senior team, given their similar playing styles.
Both are pint-sized dynamos at 174cm and both are capable of playing several positions putting them on a collision course for the Broncos’ No. 14 utility jumper off the bench.
Nikorima recently told he was unfazed by talk of him being the Broncos’ next big thing.
SKIPPER HODGES TO RETIRE
August 10, 2015
Justin Hodges says he’s retired because he hates the thought of being that player who stayed one season too long.
The Broncos captain and Cairns product says he knows he’s made the right decision, one he made two weeks ago.
He said he didn’t want to harm the club and if he stayed on and didn’t give his all he would be doing exactly that.
“The time is right. The club is in a great position with wonderful players,” Hodges said.
Bennett said Hodges’ final season would be in the back of his players’ minds during the finals as they attempted to win their first premiership since 2006.
BENNETT HITS OUT AFTER LOSS
October 4, 2015
Broncos coach Wayne Bennett slammed the golden-point concept, believing grand finals should not be decided by an extra-time shootout.
While Bennett praised North Queensland’s bravery, he lashed the extra-time process that enabled the Cowboys to break the Broncos’ hearts with a 17-16 triumph in the NRL grand final.
Bennett has been a long-time critic of golden-point contests and he reiterated his displeasure after Johnathan Thurston’s 82nd minute one-pointer proved the difference.
“I’ve never been a fan of golden point,” he said.
“I think it’s unfair on everyone. I still don’t see what’s wrong with a draw. The game has gone 100 years and we didn’t have golden point for a long time.
“I’m pleased for the Cowboys, the point I am making is we shouldn’t have golden point and I haven’t changed since it was introduced a decade ago.”
TALLIS RIPS INTO BENNETT
August 8, 2016
Former Broncos skipper Gorden Tallis has fired another extraordinary broadside at Wayne Bennett, declaring the master mentor has put his own interests ahead of his side’s by backflipping on Kevin Walters’ return to his coaching staff.
Tallis has again kicked off his long-running feud with Bennett, suggesting his decision to snub Walters was made out of fear a successful return by his former assistant could put Bennett’s own job in jeopardy.
The veteran coach had initially agreed to Walters resuming his consultancy role with the club before Bennett went cold on the idea when his approach to the Maroons coach hit the papers.
Walters had been due to rejoin Brisbane and work with struggling halves Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt last week, but was told by Bennett his services were no longer required.
“Is he protecting his job..?” Tallis asked.
GILLETT TO STAY, REED TO GO
August 31, 2016
Jack Reed’s season-ending and career-threatening shoulder injury will help the Broncos retain Origin forward Matt Gillett on a new deal worth almost $2 million.
The Broncos are confident Gillett will shun interest from the Warriors and Titans to sign a multi-year extension.
Gillett’s retention announcement has been held up by salary cap uncertainty surrounding his close mate Reed, who is desperately trying to keep his NRL career alive.
Reed, who is off contract after next season, is on around $400,000 annually at Red Hill.
Should he be unable to return next year, the Broncos will be entitled to salary cap concessions pending a medical submission to the NRL.
Gillett has fielded offers of more than $700,000 a season, but Reed’s likely retirement will give the Broncos additional cap space to upgrade the Maroons back-rower beyond 2018.
BRONCOS IN BID TO GET SLATER
March 15, 2017
Wayne Bennett has revealed he launched a failed bid to poach Billy Slater from Melbourne during his premiership-winning years as Broncos coach.
Slater has carved out a glittering career in Melbourne, winning three premierships and overcoming two shoulder operations.
But if Bennett had his way, Slater would have ascended to greatness at the Broncos after he met the young gun in 2002 during his embryonic years at Melbourne.
Slater was a 19-year-old Queensland Cup rookie on a $5000 deal with the Storm’s Queensland feeder club Norths when he was summoned to meet Bennett.
“I met with Billy and spoke to him on one occasion,” Bennett said.
“I wouldn’t say he was a standout in the Queensland Cup … and I don’t remember there being huge wraps on him at the time, but he was a good player.
“We made him no great offer and I don’t think Melbourne really made a great offer either, but he had an opportunity to go to the Storm and he took that rather than coming to the Broncos.”
LODGE TO TRAIN WITH BRONCOS
March 27, 2017
Matt Lodge faces an entire year of training with the Broncos before being allowed to make his return to the NRL.
Lodge was granted permission by the NRL to commence training with the Broncos under Brisbane’s affiliate arrangement with the Redcliffe Dolphins.
In 2015, Lodge was arrested in New York and faced 25 years in a US jail after being charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and assault and menace.
He was sacked by the Wests Tigers, for whom he played 12 NRL games, but escaped jail time.
The controversial forward has resurrected his career in the Intrust Super Cup with the Dolphins this season.
The Broncos have been monitoring his progress and applied to the NRL for the 21-year-old to be granted permission to train.
Lodge will train with the Broncos and they plan to sign him, however the NRL is unlikely to register him before the June 30 deadline, meaning he will have to wait until 2018 to pull on a Broncos jersey.
FUTURE STILL BRIGHT: BENNETT
September 23, 2017
The addition of Jack Bird and another year of finals experience means Brisbane are a step closer to another elusive NRL premiership, according to coach Wayne Bennett.
The Broncos fell short in their quest to break an 11-year drought when they were overrun by Melbourne, who put on 22 unanswered second half points for a 30-0 victory in the preliminary final at AAMI Park.
Brisbane’s kicking game let them down while they failed to build any pressure on the Storm in the second half with some poor attacking choices.
But Bennett said Cronulla utility Bird, who signed a four-year deal in May worth about $4 million, would be a strong addition.
“We’ve got Jack Bird coming next year, we’ve got quality players there — we’re on this journey to get ourselves in a situation where we can’t get exposed like we did (against the Storm).
BRONCOS IN WOMEN’S COMP
March 17, 2018
The Broncos are set to be granted a licence by the NRL for the upcoming women’s competition.
Brisbane will be given one of the spots for the inaugural season, with the club set to meet the NRL again this week.
While the Broncos are yet to receive official confirmation, they will be given a licence after a successful bidding process.
It is understood it could be a five-team competition but the NRL is yet to decide after six NRL clubs put forward bids.
Along with the Broncos, others to express interest for a licence are the Roosters, Dragons, Sharks, Rabbitohs and Warriors.
Brisbane had one of the strongest bids and their campaign was also buoyed by the fact the NRL wanted a geographical spread.
It is understood the Broncos are already interested in World Cup stars Ali Brigginshaw and Teuila Fotu-Moala, while Jillaroos coach Brad Donald endorsed Queensland skipper Karina Brown to be Brisbane’s first captain.
BRONCOS TAKE OVER AS FAVOURITES
September 9, 2018
The Broncos emerged as the new NRLW favourites after a thrilling debut saw them claim a commanding 30-4 win over the Dragons in their inaugural match.
With a strong crowd of 18,853 by full-time at Suncorp Stadium, the Broncos created history with the runaway victory and stamped their authority as contenders for the first women’s premiership.
Before the start of the NRLW on Saturday, the Sydney Roosters were the hot favourites.
But their upset 10-4 loss at the hands of the Warriors opened the door for another team to take that mantle and the Broncos responded.
Broncos coach Paul Dyer said the players would now have to keep a lid on those expectations.
POOR TACKLING LET SIDE DOWN
September 9, 2018
Defence wins premierships.
The Broncos found that out the hard way after watching their season go up in smoke in a 48-18 elimination final torching by the Dragons at Suncorp Stadium.
The mauling was as brutal as they come, but the writing was on the wall for Brisbane following their defensive performances in 2018.
The Broncos conceded 500 points in 24 games throughout the regular season and only three teams in the game’s history in Australia have won premierships after racking up such a tally.
BRONCOS PLAY KEY ROLE
October 5, 2018
The triumphant Brisbane Broncos NRLW players savoured a final accolade when they received the keys to the city.
Prop Heather Ballinger said the Broncos’ remarkable season, culminating in a grand final victory over the Roosters, was a big step forward for women’s league.
“It’s been an ongoing battle that we’ve had for some years and to finally be rewarded with an NRL season, let alone the premiership, it’s so rewarding, especially for the players who have been chasing their dream,” Ballinger said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “They’re champions in the eyes of every young girl who dares to dream of playing professional rugby league.”
PRESSURE ON SEIBOLD TO DELIVER
October 26, 2018
Brisbane legends have warned Wayne Bennett’s successor Anthony Seibold to brace for the brutal reality check of delivering premiership success at the Broncos.
Former Broncos Wally Lewis, Wendell Sailor and Gorden Tallis believe nothing can prepare the largely unproven Seibold for the pressure of coaching Queensland’s flagship sporting club.
The Broncos are taking a huge gamble on Seibold, who is ostensibly an NRL coaching rookie, with his 2018 campaign at South Sydney representing his maiden season in the big league.
Seibold did a superb job, steering the Rabbitohs to within one win of the grand final, but he now faces the ultimate task – turning the Broncos into a consistent title-winning force.
“He will be under the spotlight every day,” said ‘The King’ Lewis, Brisbane’s foundation captain.
“Good luck to Anthony Seibold,” Tallis said.
BRONCOS TOP, DAYLIGHT SECOND
October 6, 2019
The Broncos have asserted themselves as the benchmark club of the women’s game after claiming back-to-back NRLW premierships with a dominant 30-6 win over St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium.
Led by playmaking duo Ali Brigginshaw and former Dragon Raecene McGregor, the Broncos came out of the blocks fast and never let up in the grand final in front of 36,785 fans.
The five-tries-to-one demolition job continued the Broncos’ dominant season as they ran riot through the Dragons defence.
Brisbane have dropped just the one game since the NRLW’s inception.
“I was watching through split fingers,” Dragons coach Daniel Lacey said. “I don’t know how to explain it … the stats don’t lie. I don’t need to bring it up. They outplayed us.”
BRONCOS DENY INTEREST IN FOLAU
December 8, 2019
The Brisbane Broncos have distanced themselves from reports they are keen to bring Israel Folau back to the NRL.
The club, bundled out of the NRL finals with a 58-0 thumping by the Eels in September, was linked in media reports to a potential move to sign the former Wallabies winger after he reached an out-of-court settlement with Rugby Australia over his wrongful termination claim.
But within hours of the reports being published, the Broncos issued a brief statement saying they had no intention of bringing the 30-year-old back to Red Hill.
Folau’s sporting future is uncertain despite the settlement of his claim with RA relating to his axing over an infamous homophobic post on social media.
BRONCOS’ HEATED SCUFFLE REVEALED
December 19, 2019
Broncos stars Matt Lodge and Jack Bird were involved a heated scuffle following a team bonding session on the Gold Coast.
Lodge and Bird clashed in a physical altercation following a training and bonding day at Burleigh Heads.
The players had to be separated during the incident, with Bird and Lodge breaking bread at a dinner hosted by a Broncos employee the following night. The Broncos declined to comment on the matter.
The altercation came after the Broncos’ board vetoed the prospect of Lodge succeeding Darius Boyd as captain of the club in 2020.
The Broncos were widely criticised for signing Lodge in 2017 after the former NSW under-20s forward was banished from the game following a drunken rampage in New York.
FIFITA CLEARED OF WRONGDOING
December 19, 2019
The Broncos and David Fifita have been given the all-clear by the NRL over an incident in Bali in November that resulted in the 19-year-old boom forward spending time in a jail cell.
The NRL confirmed that it had completed its investigation into the incident and elected not to take any further action against Fifita because the evidence relating to the incident was inconclusive. The NRL also said it was satisfied with the actions of the Broncos given the circumstances. Fifita was arrested amid allegations that he hit a security guard outside La Favela nightclub in Seminyak.
The news will be a relief to Fifita and the Broncos. The club flew one of their welfare officers to Bali to broker a peace agreement with the security guard who made the allegations against Fifita.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said it was important the game made evidence-based decisions about player behaviour. “It is important that our determinations are based on the evidence before us,” Greenberg said.
BOYD NOT BITTER ABOUT CAPTAINCY
February 12, 2020
Darius Boyd has opened up about his sacking as Broncos captain, insisting he holds no grudges towards coach Anthony Seibold.
Stripped of the decorated Broncos captaincy and his beloved No.1 jumper, Boyd will start at left centre, amid speculation the 317-game icon could be pushed into retirement at season’s end.
Boyd, 32, held the captaincy for three seasons, winning 39 of 70 games, and one could argue he was made the scapegoat for Brisbane’s horror 58-0 finals debacle against the Eels.
But Boyd says he has come to terms with being dumped in favour of Alex Glenn and will now prove to Seibold he has something to offer in his new role.
“The reality is I’m at the back end of my career and if Anthony thinks the club needs to go in a different direction, then I’ll support that,” he said.
BRONCOS MAKE CUTS FOR SURVIVAL
March 24, 2020
Broncos chief executive Paul White has conceded the NRL’s glamour club will have to endure “some pain” with Brisbane’s $22 million payroll facing a savage cut to keep the franchise alive.
The Broncos will undertake a huge shake-up to the club’s 100-plus employee base while executives, including White, will accept pay cuts to help keep the $52 million powerhouse afloat during Covid.
The downside of being the NRL’s richest club is that Brisbane are facing the biggest financial blow following the game’s decision to suspend the 2020 premiership indefinitely.
While the Broncos have $14 million in the bank and will still pocket a $1.2 million grant from the NRL, the club will be without any form of game day revenue for the foreseeable future.
‘SEIBOLD’S BRONCOS MESS NOT MY FAULT’
June 30, 2020
Wayne Bennett has taken aim at Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold and chairman Karl Morris, blasting claims he left the club in need of a rebuild and questioning his successor’s ability to get the best out of Broncos players.
Breaking an 18-month silence on the state of the Broncos, Bennett vowed to defend his reputation, saying he would not be blamed for Brisbane’s free fall under Seibold, the man who replaced him at Red Hill last year.
Despite the Broncos’ poor season, Morris revealed Seibold would not be sacked, claiming the Brisbane coach needed time to rebuild the roster Bennett left behind.
Morris added: “When Anthony arrived in 2018, he brought it up as an issue that it’s going to be a tough two or three years because of the nature of our roster and the youth in the club.”
But Bennett has hit back, slamming Morris’ appraisal as “smoke and mirrors” and turning up the heat on Seibold.
“It was my intention to remain silent, but if the Brisbane chairman or any other person at the Broncos wants to make false assertions, I will set the record straight,” Bennett said.
HUGE SANCTIONS FOR HOTEL MISCHIEF
August 18, 2020
The NRL has slapped the Broncos with one of the biggest penalties in the game’s history, fining the club and 10 players a total of $140,000 for breaching Covid protocols.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has thrown the book at the Broncos, whacking the club with a $75,000 fine and issuing a separate batch of financial sanctions to Brisbane players for their role in the pub-bonding saga.
While the Broncos were cleared by Queensland police of breaching the state’s health protocols, they were ruled to have broken the NRL’s strict Covid guidelines which ban players attending pubs and clubs.
After a thorough investigation by the NRL integrity unit, the Broncos were found to have breached the guidelines with their pub visit to the Everton Park Hotel. Ten players were fined five per cent of their salaries.
The group includes Jake Turpin, Kotoni Staggs, Ethan Bullemor, David Fifita, Corey Paix, Josh James, Tyson Gamble, Keenan Palasia, Sean O’Sullivan and Corey Oates.
The club’s three development players at the venue — Bullemor, James and Gamble — had a portion of their fines suspended.
FIRST DOMINO FALLS
August 25, 2020
Anthony Seibold’s demise as coach of the Brisbane Broncos was brewing from the moment he stepped into the gym at Red Hill.
The Broncos are a club in ruin, languishing in 15th spot on the NRL ladder and in danger of collecting the wooden spoon for the first time in 32 years.
Seibold has become the first domino to fall as Broncos powerbrokers set about rebuilding Red Hill.
After one season as a head coach in the NRL, Seibold’s $3.5 million contract was extended to five years, encompassing the 2019-2023 NRL seasons.
Seibold lasted less than two years and had a winning record of 37 per cent (14 wins, 23 losses, one draw) from 38 games in charge, not including the Broncos’ past two games he has missed due to being in quarantine.
The Broncos’ brains trust of CEO Paul White, chairman Karl Morris and the board were seduced by Seibold’s Harvard University certificates and revolutionary coaching theories, which in the end contributed to his downfall.
Upon arriving at the Broncos’ $27 million headquarters, Seibold ripped down slogans in the gym.
Seibold, 45, immediately struggled to cope with the brutal pressure cooker of the Broncos which brings unrivalled focus in the NRL.
Compounding his struggles has been a multitude of personal issues and disgusting social media rumour mongering, in which Seibold has engaged police and cyber security experts to investigate.
BRONCOS CLAIM SPOON
September 25, 2020
It’s official. The mighty Broncos – the NRL’s richest club and the sporting pride of Queensland – are wooden spooners.
Brisbane’s nightmare season ended with one final hellish script with strike weapon Kotoni Staggs suffering a suspected ACL tear as the Broncos crashed to dead-last with a 32-16 derby loss to the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium.
Before 17,174 fans, the Broncos had every incentive to dispose of the Cowboys with retiring stalwart Darius Boyd playing his final game and Brisbane needing to win the XXXX derby to offload the wooden spoon to the Bulldogs.
But in the ultimate humiliation, Brisbane wake in the gutter with the first spoon in their 32-year history. They have gone from 1990s champs to NRL chumps.
Consider this: the Broncos won a paltry three games this season, lost 17 of their last 19 games, witnessed the demise of coaching dud Anthony Seibold and conceded a record 624 points with a woeful differential (-356).
CROWNED WOMEN’S CHAMPS
October 25, 2020
The Brisbane Broncos are again champions of the women’s game after beating the Sydney Roosters 20-10 at ANZ Stadium.
The title is the third straight for the Broncos, who have won every premiership since the inception of the women’s competition in 2018.
Graham Annesley, the head of football elite competitions, said the ARLC was looking at expanding the length of the regular season and the number of teams, which would increase the competitiveness of the sport. The four-week season runs concurrently with the NRL finals series, with the grand final played on the same day as the men’s decider.
“I think we will most certainly see an extended season,” Annesley said.
BRONCOS & STORM IN A CEO WAR
January 2, 2021
The Broncos and Storm are at war over the poaching of chief executive Dave Donaghy as Brisbane’s hopes of snaring super coach Craig Bellamy dwindle.
Donaghy is still locked in negotiations with Storm, which is playing hardball over his move to the Broncos to replace Paul White.
He has resigned from Storm and his contract expires at the end of January, however, it includes a non-compete clause which could prevent him from starting at the Broncos for a number of months.
Donaghy and Storm were expected to reach an agreement that would allow him to take the reins earlier.
However, a deal is yet to be struck, with White to depart the Broncos at the end of this month.
Brisbane’s pursuit of key Storm figures ignited tensions between the NRL heavyweights.
LODGE: I WANT TO STAY
February 24, 2021
Matt Lodge has broken his silence on his future to declare he wants to remain at the Broncos as he scuppered talk of a fallout with new coach Kevin Walters.
Lodge was shopped to rival NRL clubs during the off-season and fielded strong interest from the Warriors amid speculation Walters did not privately see the controversial prop in his front-row rotation plans.
Lodge said he was committed to the Broncos and stressed he was not at loggerheads with Walters.
“There‘s been a lot of talk but I want to stay here,” Lodge, 25, said.
TYCOON TO HELP LURE SMITH
February 24, 2021
The Broncos have enlisted a multi-millionaire business tycoon to hold negotiations with Cameron Smith in a desperate last-ditch bid to save the Storm champion from retirement.
The Titans are officially out of the running to sign Smith, with sources close to the Queensland great adamant he has privately drawn the curtain on his glittering NRL career.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has confirmed his interest in Smith and Brisbane have gone a step further, calling on a rich businessman who lives near Smith on the Gold Coast to help get a deal across the line.
Walters had one informal discussion with Smith last November, but the 430-game icon has sidestepped further calls from the Broncos coach and club bosses.
Broncos board member Darren Lockyer remains hopeful of snaring his former Maroons teammate.
WALSH MOVE TO NZ ON BACKBURNER
April 7, 2021
Broncos whiz-kid Reece Walsh’s hopes of an immediate $1.2 million move to the Warriors have suffered a setback after a straight-swap deal with Paul Turner has collapsed.
Warriors rookie Turner and his management have rejected the terms of a transfer deal, leaving Walsh in limbo after the 18-year-old young gun had made a formal request for an early release with Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
The Broncos gave Walsh permission to leave immediately on the proviso of a player trade and the Warriors replied in kind by offering the services of highly rated utility back Turner.
But the Broncos were unable to strike a deal that was palatable to Turner, throwing Walsh’s planned move to the Warriors in disarray.
Walsh is keen to be mentored by Warriors skipper and fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
HUNT SET FOR HISTORIC RETURN
June 8, 2021
Cross-code superstar Karmichael Hunt will create NRL history when he makes a fairytale comeback for Brisbane Broncos.
Hunt will play his first NRL game in nearly 12 years when he starts at five-eighth for the Broncos against Canberra at GIO Stadium.
At 34, Hunt will make a remarkable comeback to the NRL as Walters looks to inject some experience into the inconsistent Broncos. Hunt’s 125th and last NRL game for the Broncos was in the preliminary final loss to Melbourne on September 26, 2009.
His 4277 days between NRL games is the longest in the competition’s history.
MILFORD DIVORCE TO HELP ALL: IKIN
July 7, 2021
New Brisbane football boss Ben Ikin has opened up about his decision to axe Anthony Milford as the $1m man’s former Broncos coach Wayne Bennett came out swinging in support of the embattled playmaker.
Ikin labelled the five-eighth “super talented” but believes the underfire pivot needs a fresh start to reinvigorate his ailing NRL career.
When he signed a four-year, $4m deal in 2017, Milford became Brisbane’s highest-paid player, its first $1m-a-season signing and the marquee playmaker it was banking on to engineer its seventh premiership.
But the mega deal will expire in three months without a title to show for it.
There is a view Brisbane should have kept Milford on a cut-price, $300,000 deal but Ikin said the impending departure of their one-time golden boy, who has been dropped three times this season, is the divorce both parties had to have.
BRONCOS DEFEND STAR HAAS
April 5, 2022
Payne Haas has apologised after the Broncos star and teammate Albert Kelly were hit with NRL fines and suspensions following the infamous “Shoe-gate” scuffle.
Haas will miss the clash against premiers Penrith after copping a one-game ban and $10,000 fine from the NRL.
The injured Kelly was also banned for one match and fined $5000 after video footage emerged of the Brisbane duo fighting outside a Sydney hotel.
The teammates were involved in a physical altercation after Kelly allegedly stepped on Haas’ new white shoes. The Broncos came to the conclusion an intoxicated Kelly was the main offender in the scuffle.
HAAS BREAKS SILENCE ON REQUEST
May 28, 2022
Besieged NSW Origin enforcer Payne Haas has given Brisbane bosses hope of brokering peace in his $3.2 million contract war by revealing his preference to stay at the Broncos.
Haas opened up about his emotional struggles following his bombshell request for an immediate release from his Broncos contract just 48 hours before Brisbane’s 35-24 defeat of the Titans at Suncorp Stadium.
There is a view it is only a matter of time before Haas walks out on Brisbane as his new management turns the financial screws on the club, but the Test and Origin superstar hopes he can resolve his pay dispute to remain at the Broncos.
“I’d like to stay,” Haas said, speaking for the first time since his management rocked the Broncos with their email asking for an immediate release.
PEERS BACK ABUSED NRLW STAR
August 17, 2022
Teammates and other players have rallied around Julia Robinson after the NRLW star copped “disgusting” messages of hate from online trolls who body-shamed photos of her working out.
Robinson is one of the fittest players in the competition and regularly wins fitness tests at Broncos training.
The winger posted a photo which attracted vile comments and shared the hate to raise awareness that women are still being subjected to personal attacks after AFLW star Tayla Harris received derogatory comments in 2019 for a photo showing off her incredible kicking technique.
The Broncos condemned the online comments and praised Robinson, who has been at the club since the inaugural competition in 2018.
Fellow Bronco Chelsea Lenarduzzi said it was an ongoing issue for female athletes.
Former Bronco Millie Boyle said the abuse was “disgusting”.
KEVVIE’S FIGHT TO RETAIN JOB
September 3, 2022
Besieged Brisbane coach Kevin Walters is fighting for his job in the wake of the Broncos’ dismal top-eight capitulation.
Walters was left to digest the pain of missing the finals in back-to-back campaigns after Brisbane’s slim playoffs hopes came crashing down with a disappointing 22-12 final-round loss to the Dragons at Kogarah.
For the first time in Brisbane’s decorated 34-year history, the Broncos have missed the finals in three successive seasons, with Walters having presided over finishes of 14th and ninth since succeeding wooden-spoon failure Anthony Seibold.
To compound his misery, Walters has missed out on a $50,000 performance bonus he stood to pocket if Brisbane made the finals.
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BEN IKIN QUITS JOB
March 9, 2023
Broncos football boss Ben Ikin has resigned from Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee amid speculation over his future at Red Hill.
Ikin stood down from the high-powered panel that presides over the composition of Brisbane’s NRL roster – just 18 months after arriving at the Broncos as head of football.
Ikin declined to comment but confirmed he is no longer a member of Brisbane’s recruitment-and-retention committee.
Ikin informed Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy of his decision to quit the panel in pre-season, only a matter of months after revelations of front-office tension between Brisbane’s football boss and coach Kevin Walters.
21 MINUTES OF MADNESS
October 1, 2023
It was the 21 minutes of madness that shattered Brisbane’s premiership fairytale.
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds was left to rue his side’s stunning last-quarter implosion as the champion halfback came under fire for failing to ice a Brisbane premiership.
So magnificent all season, Reynolds conceded he wished he could hit the rewind button on the 2023 decider after watching Penrith rival Nathan Cleary outpoint him in the clutch moments to break Brisbane’s hearts at Accor Stadium.
Reynolds should have been lifting the NRL trophy. The Broncos had their foot on Penrith’s throat at 24-8 entering the 59th minute.
But Brisbane’s final quarter was littered with brain explosions, errors and low-percentage plays, opening the door for Cleary to be the ice-cool executioner Reynolds should have been — and usually is — for the Broncos.
BRAWLING BRONCOS SAY SORRY
February 13, 2024
Brawling Broncos Adam Reynolds and Pat Carrigan have spoken for the first time since their alcohol-fuelled bust-up, denying the NRL club has an issue with alcohol.
The pair fronted a media conference as the NRL integrity unit investigates wild footage, leaked on social media, showing Reynolds and Carrigan embroiled in a drunken wrestle on Sunday night in Brisbane.
“We’re embarrassed and fully take ownership of what happened,” Reynolds said. We’re a really tight group.
“We understand it’s not a good look in the public eye and we take ownership of that.”
The pair are set to be fined by the NRL after Queensland police opted not to arrest the star duo over their drunken incident.
While coach Kevin Walters said the Broncos would not be suspending the pair, this masthead understands the NRL are unlikely to stand down captain Reynolds and his deputy Carrigan for Brisbane’s premiership opener against the Roosters in Las Vegas on March 3.
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