The fate of every NRL premiership team since the 1992-93 Brisbane Broncos
NO team has won back-to-back premierships since the Broncos in 1992-93. We take a look at every champion who has fallen since then.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
ONE of the stats that is rolled out every pre-season is how no team has won back-to-back premierships since the 1992-93 Broncos.
It’s a measure of the parity of the NRL that dynasties don’t happen any more but some of the champion teams of the past two decades have come incredibly close to another title.
With Cronulla’s campaign for another premiership beginning with a loss, we’ve taken a look at every defending premier since the 1993 Broncos to see just how close they came to running it back.
1994: Broncos
Ladder position: 5th
After opening their season with a 16-all draw against lowly Parramatta, the Broncos’ quest for their third straight title never really got going. They were winless after three rounds, didn’t cement their place in the top five until Round 17 and, while they beat fourth-placed Manly in the first week of the finals, North Sydney ended their aspirations of a third straight title with a 15-14 win at the Sydney Football Stadium.
1995: Raiders
Ladder position: 2nd
Canberra romped to the 1994 title and were in unbelievable form for much of 1995. They downed the South Queensland Crushers 24-6 in the season opener and lost just two matches in the regular season. Everything seemed to point to a Grand Final showdown with Manly, who also had just two regular season defeats. They dispatched Brisbane in the first week of the finals but were then upset 25-6 by the Sydney Bulldogs, who went on to win the title.
1996: Bulldogs
Ladder position: 10th
The Sydney Bulldogs, as the club was then known, came from absolutely nowhere to win the 1995 title from sixth and after that glorious victory they went straight back to nowhere. A 20-16 loss to the Sydney Tigers, as Balmain were then known, precipitated an awful run of one win their first nine matches. Sitting as low as 18th on the ladder at one stage, the Dogs managed to claw their way up to 10th by winning six of their last seven.
1997: Sea Eagles
Ladder position: 1st
Manly were on a good wicket to go back to back during the year of the Super League split and dominated much of the 1997 ARL season. A 14-10 win over Balmain in the season opener started a run that resulted in the Sea Eagles losing just one of their first 11 matches and they went on the claim the minor premiership and qualify for the Grand Final against Newcastle. An upset Knights win, secured with 6sec left via a Darren Albert try, put paid to those aspirations.
1998: Knights/Broncos
Ladder position: 2nd/1st
Super League champs Brisbane beat Manly 22-6 in the first game of the united competition while Newcastle topped North Sydney 18-4. Both champions were the standout teams all year, finishing on equal competition points in first and second place respectively. A showdown seemed to be on for the Grand Final until the ninth-placed Bulldogs beat the Knights in extra time in the second week of the finals. They went on to make the decider against the Broncos, who won 38-12 to lock up back-to-back premierships ... kind of.
1999: Broncos
Ladder position: 8th
After a decade of brilliance, Brisbane fell right on their faces in 1999. A 28-20 loss to Canberra in Round 1 started a horror run of one win from their first 10 matches that had the club reeling in 17th spot and in danger of missing the finals for the first time since 1991. Wayne Bennett pulled things together and the club ripped off 11 straight wins to sneak into the finals in eighth. It was a mighty effort after an awful start but the task was too great and they were dumped out of the finals by the minor premiership-winning Sharks.
2000: Storm
Ladder position: 6th
A 14-6 loss to Auckland in the first week of the season set the tone for the Storm in 2000 — they lost their next three matches and were sitting in last place until a 70-10 victory in the Grand Final rematch against St George Illawarra. The Victorians clawed their way back into playoff contention and were third on the ladder with two matches remaining but an ill-timed form slump dropped them to sixth and Newcastle ended their season in the first week of the finals.
2001: Broncos
Ladder position: 5th
Brisbane looked like good things for the opening half of 2001 and were in typical form following an 18-17 win over the Cowboys in the season opener. They were in first place after Round 15 but the typical post-Origin slump hurt them badly. Six straight defeats dropped them from second to fifth and they were lucky to survive the first week of the finals after a 22-6 loss to Cronulla. A 44-28 win over the Dragons gave them another shot but they fell to the Parramatta juggernaut in the preliminary final, going down 24-16.
2002: Knights
Ladder position: 2nd
A 38-12 win over the Northern Eagles in the season opener was par for the course for Newcastle in 2002. They didn’t drop out of the top four all season, losing just six matches, and were only relegated to second spot due to for and against. But the finals turned into a disaster for the Novocastrians — not only did they lose 40-22 to the seventh-placed Dragons, they lost Andrew Johns to a neck injury and despite a valiant effort the next week they were beaten 38-12 by eventual premiers the Roosters.
2003: Roosters
Ladder position: 2nd
The Roosters beat Parramatta 32-14 in their first game as champions and were among the contenders all year, finishing second on the ladder and sweeping Newcastle and archrivals Canterbury aside to qualify for back-to-back grand finals. They were undone by Penrith, who capped a dream season with their second title thanks to an 18-6 win.
2004: Panthers
Ladder position: 4th
A 20-14 loss to Newcastle wasn’t the start Penrith were looking for but they soon got back to their winning ways and were ensconced in the top four for much of the season. A 31-30 win over the Dragons in the first week of the playoffs scored them a week off and the path to another title seemed clear until they were beaten in the prelim final by the Bulldogs, who went on to win the title.
2005: Bulldogs
Ladder position: 12th
Canterbury won their first match of the season 46-28 but were killed by injuries throughout the season. They spent just two weeks in the top eight and never really got their title defence going. After upsetting Brisbane 29-22 in Round 20 they were one spot outside the top eight but collapsed thereafter, losing their last six matches to finish the season in 12th spot.
2006: Tigers
Ladder position: 11th
The Tigers might have beaten the Dragons 24-15 in the first match of the 2006 season but things only got worse from there. They spent just one week all season in the top eight and were flat out keeping touch with the eight, let alone going back to back. They were 14th with two weeks left and only a bye and a victory in Round 26 helped them scrape up to 11th.
2007: Broncos
Ladder position: 8th
Injuries killed the 2007 Broncos and hamstrung their chances of going back to back. An awful opening half of the season had Brisbane in 15th spot after 12 rounds but the Broncos climbed off the canvas and clawed their way to fifth before every man and his dog hurt themselves. They lost five of their last six, limped into the finals in eighth spot and were euthanized by Melbourne 40-0.
2008: Storm
Ladder position: 4th
In 2007-08, premiership contention began and ended with the Storm and the Sea Eagles. Melbourne did what they do, dominating the competition as they looked to add to their 2007 title. They finished minor premiers and bounced back from a shock loss to the Warriors in the qualifying final with a last-second win over Brisbane but the suspension of Cameron Smith cruelled their chances. They shut Cronulla down 28-0 in the preliminary final but were murdered 40-0 by Manly in the decider.
2009: Sea Eagles
Ladder position: 5th
Losing Brett Stewart for all but five games put paid to Manly’s back-to-back ambitions but they did managed to rebound after a horror start to the year to finish in fifth spot. Four wins in a row to end the regular season seemed to have them in with a shot until Melbourne got some revenge in the qualifying final with a 40-12 win. The vagaries of the McIntyre system and other results meant Manly got the old heave ho in the first week of the finals.
2010: Storm
Ladder position: 16th
After beating the Sharks 14-10 in their season opener, the 2010 Melbourne Storm were the best team in the competition and could have gone back to back if it weren’t for the small matter of comprehensive and ongoing salary cap cheating that dated back to 2006. That stopped them dead.
2011: Dragons
Ladder position: 5th
A 25-16 win over the Titans in Round 1 started up what seemed to be another imperious season in 2011 — they won 11 of their first 13 matches — before a heavy Origin presence killed them. Five straight losses late in the season saw them drop all the way to seventh and, while they climbed back to fifth, a straight-sets exit in the finals at the hands of the Tigers and Broncos put paid to any hopes of another premiership.
2012: Sea Eagles
Ladder position: 4th
Manly won their opening round fixture in 2012, a 26-20 road win in a Grand Final rematch against the Warriors, and were there or thereabouts for much of the season. They finished the season in fourth spot but were beaten by the minor premiership-winning Bulldogs 16-10 in the first week of the finals. A 22-12 defeat of the Cowboys set up yet another showdown with Melbourne and Manly were blown off the park, losing 40-12. The Storm went on to win the title.
2013: Storm
Ladder position: 3rd
The 2013 Storm dominated St George Illawarra 30-10 in their first match of the season and were unbeaten after seven rounds. A slight slip after Origin meant they finished the regular season in third spot and after a controversial 20-10 defeat to the Rabbitohs in the first week of the finals they were upset 18-16 by the Knights at home.
2014: Roosters
Ladder position: 1st
A 28-8 loss to South Sydney in the season opener notwithstanding, the Roosters were title favourites for much of 2014 and stormed their way to their second consecutive minor premiership. A shock 19-18 loss to Penrith in the qualifying final pitched them into a sudden-death classic against the Cowboys, who came back from 30-0 down to level the scores before a James Maloney field goal gave them a shot at Souths in the prelim. The Rabbitohs were too good though, running out 32-22 winners.
2015: Rabbitohs
Ladder position: 7th
The Rabbitohs’ title defence got off to a flying start with a 36-6 win over Brisbane but the loss of Sam Burgess and assorted injuries proved too difficult to overcome. After hanging around the top four for much of the season, Souths lost four of their last five matches to limp into the playoffs in seventh place and they were put out of their misery by Cronulla 28-12 in the first week of the finals.
2016: Cowboys
Ladder position: 4th
North Queensland downed Cronulla 20-14 in their first match as champions and had a real shot at going back to back last year — their key players were healthy for much of the season and they had the continuity and talent to threaten anyone in the competition. Qualifying for the finals in fourth spot, they came up just short in an epic 16-10 defeat to Melbourne before they drew on every reserve of strength they had to beat Brisbane 26-20 in extra time in one of the finest games ever played. It was something of a Pyrrhic victory, though, as they had nothing left for eventual premiers Cronulla in the prelim final and were flattered by the 32-20 scoreline.
Originally published as The fate of every NRL premiership team since the 1992-93 Brisbane Broncos
CCTV, private investigator that saved icon’s career
In a new investigation, some of the biggest scandals in NRL history have been reopened, with new detail provided from those involved.
Real reason behind Broncos demise revealed
A handful of Broncos players who have gone “missing” have been urged to lift, as Brisbane look to turn their stuttering NRL season around.