1998 Brisbane Broncos season

The 1998 Brisbane Broncos season was the eleventh in the history of Brisbane's National Rugby League premiership team, the Brisbane Broncos. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Allan Langer, they participated in the newly formed National Rugby League's 1998 premiership and posted their three biggest ever wins in rounds 5, 7 and 15 before finishing the regular season as minor premiers. The Broncos then won the 1998 NRL Grand Final, capturing their fourth premiership in seven seasons.

1998 Brisbane Broncos season

Season summary

For the 1998 season the Broncos were joined by future Melbourne Storm coach, Craig Bellamy who would work under head coach Wayne Bennett as performance co-ordinator and assistant coach.

As could be expected by their finish to the 1997 season, Brisbane were solid in their first five matches of 1998, snatching five victories. In rounds five and seven, the Broncos won by a margin of 54 points, which was the club's record at the time. This was followed by shock losses to the Sydney City Roosters and Cronulla, but Langer led them to a big win over Canterbury only to see two more club losses. But the Broncos recovered to post huge wins over Penrith and the Western Suburbs Magpies. The Broncos finished the remainder of the regular season undefeated finishing with 10 wins and 1 draw in their last 11 games. The top try-scorer from the NRL season was Brisbane's Darren Smith.

After a week off granted by winning the minor premiership, the Broncos were smothered out of the game by Parramatta 15-10 in their opening finals match. But they lifted and provided some miracle spark against the Melbourne Storm 30-6 a week later, resurrecting their premiership hopes. A huge win over Sydney City 46-18 in the preliminary final installed them at near unbackable odds against Canterbury in the first NRL Grand Final. The Broncos came back from a 12-10 half time deficit to again win consecutive premierships for the second time, and their fourth in seven seasons with a 38-12 Grand Final victory.[1]

The Broncos were also named "Queensland Sport Team of the Year" at the Queensland Sport Awards.[2]

Match results
RoundOpponentResultBro.Opp.DateVenueCrowdPosition
1Manly Sea EaglesWin22613 MarANZ Stadium39,1094/20
2Canterbury BulldogsWin201222 MarBelmore Oval10,9623/20
3Penrith PanthersWin261828 MarANZ Stadium18,5703/20
4Gold Coast ChargersWin40185 AprCarrara Stadium13,1262/20
5North Queensland CowboysWin58412 AprANZ Stadium20,9041/20
6Manly Sea EaglesLoss42817 AprBrookvale Oval13,1941/20
7North Sydney BearsWin60626 AprANZ Stadium18,7911/20
8Newcastle KnightsWin2661 MayNewcastle ISC27,1191/20
9Sydney City RoostersLoss122610 MayANZ Stadium19,3461/20
10Cronulla SharksLoss102016 MayEndeavour Field10,5825/20
11^Canterbury BulldogsWin401224 MayANZ Stadium15,4074/20
12Canberra RaidersLoss182431 MayBruce Stadium14,7285/20
13^Parramatta EelsLoss16207 JunANZ Stadium18,1636/20
14Penrith PanthersWin44413 JunPenrith Football Stadium11,6376/20
15^Western Suburbs MagpiesWin56421 JunANZ Stadium12,4155/20
16St George DragonsWin301826 JunKogarah Oval16,2584/20
17Melbourne StormWin34163 JulANZ Stadium35,1193/20
18Illawarra SteelersWin181212 JulWIN Stadium12,0183/20
19Gold Coast ChargersWin441019 JulANZ Stadium12,7402/20
20Balmain TigersDraw101025 JulLeichhardt Oval7,1592/20
21Adelaide RamsWin46121 AugANZ Stadium13,8581/20
22North Queensland CowboysWin22108 AugStockland Stadium30,2501/20
23Auckland WarriorsWin16416 AugANZ Stadium16,4561/20
24South Sydney RabbitohsWin161023 AugSydney Football Stadium7,2621/20
Qualif. FinalParramatta EelsLoss10156 SepANZ Stadium21,172
Semi FinalMelbourne StormWin30613 SepSydney Football Stadium20,354
Prelim. FinalSydney City RoostersWin461819 SepANZ Stadium28,374
GRAND FINALCanterbury BulldogsWin381227 SepSydney Football Stadium40,857

^Game following a State of Origin match

Brisbane Broncos NRL average home attendance in 1998: 20,073

Ladder
1998 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane Broncos (P) 241815688310+37837
2 Newcastle Knights 241815562381+18137
3 Melbourne Storm 241716546372+17435
4 Parramatta Eels 241716468349+11935
5 North Sydney Bears 241707663367+29634
6 Sydney City Roosters 241608680383+29732
7 Canberra Raiders 241509564429+13530
8 St. George Dragons 2413110486490-427
9 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2413011489411+7826
10 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2413011503473+3026
11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2412111438387+5125
12 Illawarra Steelers 2411112476539-6323
13 Balmain Tigers 249114381463-8219
14 Penrith Panthers 248214525580-5518
15 Auckland Warriors 249015417518-10118
16 North Queensland Cowboys 249015361556-19518
17 Adelaide Rams 247017393615-22214
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 245019339560-22110
19 Gold Coast Chargers 244020289654-3658
20 Western Suburbs Magpies 244020371802-4318

Grand final
Main article: 1998 NRL grand final

Brisbane Broncos vs. Canterbury Bulldogs

PlayerPositionPlayer
Darren LockyerFullbackRod Silva
Michael De VereWingGavin Lester
Steve RenoufCentreShane Marteene
Darren SmithCentreWillie Talau
Wendell SailorWingDaryl Halligan
Kevin WaltersFive-eighthCraig Polla-Mounter
Allan Langer (C)HalfbackCorey Hughes
Shane WebckePropDarren Britt (C)
Phillip LeeHookerJason Hetherington
Andrew GeePropSteve Price
Gorden TallisSecond RowTony Grimaldi
Brad ThornSecond RowRobert Relf
Tonie CarrollLockTravis Norton
Michael HancockInterchangeSteve Reardon
John PlathInterchangeTroy Stone
Kevin CampionInterchangeGlen Hughes
Petero CivonicevaInterchangeDavid Thompson
Wayne BennettCoachSteve Folkes

Brisbane 38 (TRIES: De Vere, Campion, Carroll, Sailor, Tallis, Lee, Smith; GOALS Lockyer 5/7)

defeated

Canterbury 12 (TRIES: Grimaldi, Talau; GOALS: Halligan 2/3)

Halftime: Canterbury 12-10

Referee: Bill Halligan

Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium

Crowd: 40, 857

Clive Churchill Medal: Gorden Tallis (Brisbane)

Scorers
PlayerTriesGoalsFGPoints
Darren Lockyer1998/1440272
Darren Smith230092
Steve Renouf200080
Wendell Sailor180072
Michael De Vere89/13050
Michael Hancock100040
Allan Langer100040
Gorden Tallis80032
Kevin Campion60024
Phillip Lee60024
Ben Walker41/2018
Tonie Carroll40016
Andrew Gee40016
Kevin Walters40016
Petero Civoniceva1004
John Plath1004
Peter Ryan1004
Brad Thorn1004
Shane Webcke1004

Honours

League
  • Premiership
  • Minor premiership

Club

References
  1. Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780702235368.
  2. "Queensland Sport Awards Winners 1995-2008" (PDF). qsport.org.au. QSport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  3. "Honour Board". broncos.com.au. Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.

27.558333°S 153.062222°E / -27.558333; 153.062222 (ANZ Stadium)

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