Broncos most influential figures in club history: 18-13
AS PART of the Brisbane Broncos 30th anniversary, our writers weigh in on the 30 most influential figures in the club’s history. Paul Malone counts down from 18-13.
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AS PART of The Courier-Mail’s celebration of 30 years of the Brisbane Broncos, our writers have weighed in on the 30 most influential figures in the club’s history. Paul Malone counts down the third collection of names toward Friday’s top six.
MOST INFLUENTIAL BRONCOS: 24-19
18 DENNIS WATT
A FORMER journalist and general manager at Queensland Newspapers, joined the board of the Broncos in 2003 and served a four-year term as chairman ending in 2013, which lacked only a premiership on top of the cake.
The former Norths first grade forward worked with levels of government on the funding of the club’s $25 million training, administration and community facility at Red Hill.
He also concentrated more than some of his predecessors in fostering advantageous relations with the NRL, serving on key committees.
Watt stepped down last year when Karl Morris became chairman and he then agreed to become executive chairman of the Titans.
“Dennis grew up with rugby league and was able to offer a unique objective view of the game from the grassroots to the elite competition, which helped inform strategic targets across recruitment to game development,’’ CEO Paul White said.
17 GORDEN TALLIS
WHAT it meant to Tallis to be a Bronco was made clear when he played for no one in 1996, refusing to return to St George when a court decision meant he could not play for Brisbane.
“Gordie would be the most polite bloke off the field, asking you how many sugars in your tea, and when we were playing an Origin game he’d be yelling at me ‘Get off me, you fat bastard’,’’ teammate Glenn Lazarus remembered with a laugh.
“So how competitive a bloke as that could take one of the best years of his life off for a principle said a lot about him.’’
Tallis played 160 games for Brisbane before a neck injury curtailed his career in 2004.
“He is the most damaging player I’ve seen on the field, with the ball or without it,’’ Kevin Walters said.
“I loved his passion for the Broncos, the emotional side of what it meant for Gordie to play for the Broncos.’’
16 PAUL WHITE
FORMER policeman Paul White has been Broncos CEO since 2011, taking over from Bruno Cullen.
White is key to this year’s contentious coaching choice and also helped implement new revenue streams for the club to enhance its standing as the most affluent in the NRL.
White’s grooming for the role included five years in senior mining industry positions after a 20-year career in the Queensland Police Service.
A league player in regional Queensland, his football knowledge also included a coaching role at the Queensland Academy of Sport Emerging Origin Players program.
The Broncos were last year one of only two NRL clubs to turn a profit, with the club having a league-high revenue of $46 million.
White is in his sixth year at the Broncos, and last year oversaw a record year of revenues, sponsorship and membership.
15 GLENN LAZARUS
THE big, mobile prop has a place in league history as a winner of premierships at three clubs – Canberra (two), Brisbane (two) and Melbourne (one) – and believed he could not say which club he felt closest to in retirement.
Brought north from Canberra for the 1992 season to provide a greater winning attitude, Lazarus might have been the club’s most important recruit after the foundation team intake. He would have ranked higher among the club’s most influential had he played more than four full seasons with Brisbane before a bad leg injury knocked him out of the 1997 finals.
“He was the jewel in the crown because he gave us the toughness and confidence to win the premiership,’’ coach Wayne Bennett said.
Lazarus recalls television commentator Peter Sterling asking him immediately after the 1992 grand final what his main emotion was.
“It was relief,’’ he said.
“Lazo talked about the need for arrogance in a football club when he first came to us and Wayne was horrified,’’ Chris Johns recalls.
“He said he didn’t want his club to be arrogant. But then he understood there are different types of arrogance, such as when you have belief you will achieve something.’’
Lazarus played 118 of his 254 first grade games for the Broncos, the most at one of his clubs, and rejected a massive offer in 1995 to ink an ARL loyalty contract and leave Brisbane.
“He was the big body we really did need and such a great athlete too,’’ said Mark Hohn.
“He was as fast over 30m as almost any of our backs. He had a big motor.’’
14 KEVIN WALTERS
WALTERS is one of two Broncos to have played in five premiership teams. Michael Hancock is the other.
He joined the Broncos in 1990 and was picked at five-eighth by Wayne Bennett, moving Wally Lewis to lock.
Foremost in clubmate Shane Webcke’s mind about Walters’ time at the club was the 1998 season, in which he kept playing despite the death of his wife Kim through cancer.
“A day or two after Kim’s funeral in Toowoomba, he was there for training,’’ Webcke said.
“I remember seeing the emotion in him in dressingrooms and he was putting in so much for his club with everything else going on in his life.
“That’s Kevvie Walters, in everything he does. I saw it when I went into camp one day before the third Origin game this year – he gives everything of himself.’’
13 GENE MILES
FOR a couple of years in the mid-1980s, either side of a knee reconstruction, Miles was the best centre in the world.
When the Broncos were about to be granted entry into the 1988 competition, the media referred repeatedly for the owners to sign “Lewis and Miles’’ like it was the one contract, so inseparable did they seem.
Miles was captain of the Broncos for their two most contentious seasons – the 1990 season in which Wally Lewis had the captaincy stripped from him, and the 1991 season in which they first missed the finals.
Both men felt the pain of their friendship being stretched, although soon were on good terms again.
“I think it was more in the initial disappointment that Wally thought he had been sold out, but I thought Geno was really selfless,’’ Mark Hohn said.
“The club was going to do what they did regardless of whether he accepted the captaincy or not. He played in the forwards as captain to do it for the team.’’
Kevin Walters said: “Geno was an inspirational captain. He was a very aggressive, full-speed-ahead player, which helped the players around him.
“One of the reasons I went to the Broncos was to play alongside Geno, Wally and someone like Greg Dowling, as much as it was to play in the same team again as Alf and Kerrod.’’
THE LIST SO FAR
30 BERNIE DAWSON
29 ANTHONY GRIFFIN
28 ANDREW GEE
27 PETERO CIVONICEVA
26 ROSS JOHNSTON
25 WENDELL SAILOR
24 BRUNO CULLEN
23 SHANE WEBCKE
22 STEVE RENOUF
21 KELVIN GILES
20 CHRIS JOHNS
19 SHANE EDWARDS
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