Brisbane Broncos 2006

This article details the 2006 season of the Brisbane Broncos. It was the Broncos' 19th season since their inception in 1988. They competed in the National Rugby League season 2006 and won their 6th Premiership.

eason summary

The Broncos did not start their 2006 season well, with a big 36-4 defeat by the previous year's runners-up, the North Queensland Cowboys in the first round. This was the 8th consecutive loss for the club and equalled the record for longest losing streak set in 2003. Round 2 saw the Broncos get their first win for the season and their first win since round 21, 2005 with a 16-12 victory over the Cronulla Sharks (This game is the third game in a row that the Brisbane Broncos beat Cronulla Sharks 16-12 at Toyota Park). The Broncos then went on to have a strong first half of the season, winning 11 of their first 17 games. Round 8 saw Brisbane produce their biggest comeback in the club's history when they came from 18-0 down at halftime to win 30-28 over the Canberra Raiders. But the year's biggest upset came when the team lost to the last-placed and previously winless South Sydney Rabbitohs 34-14 in Round 14.

After the 2006 State of Origin series finished, Brisbane once again entered their "Post-Origin Slump" losing 5 games straight from Round 18 - Round 23. However strong performances against the competition leaders Melbourne Storm (only losing 18-12) and a resounding victory against the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0 the following week saw a return to form. The Broncos then defeated the injury-struck Parramatta Eels 23-0 in Round 25 and in round 26 the New Zealand Warriors 36-12.

Brisbane was heading into the finals with momentum not seen since 2000, but lost to the St George Illawarra Dragons 20-4 in what was the highest attended Broncos game ever played at Suncorp Stadium at the time. The Broncos bounced back in the semi-final defeating the Newcastle Knights 50-6 and captain Darren Lockyer became the Broncos highest point-scorer with 1,077 (breaking Michael De Vere's record of 1,062 points). After trailing 20-6 at half time against the Bulldogs in the grand final qualifier the team came back in the second half to earn a place in the 2006 NRL Grand Final with a 37-20 victory.

It was the sixth time the Broncos made the Grand Final. Their opponents were the Melbourne Storm and the game was the first ever National Rugby League Grand Final not to feature a New South Wales-based club. Brisbane won the game 15-8. This saw a fitting farewell to the NRL's Number one prop Shane Webcke who retired at the end of the season. The win enabled the Broncos to maintain their perfect record in grand final matches and made Wayne Bennett the most successful coach in grand final history with 6 from 6.

Match results

Brisbane 15 (TRIES: Hodges, Tate; GOALS: Lockyer 2/2, Parker 1/2; FIELD GOALS: Lockyer)

defeated

Melbourne 8 (TRIES: Turner, King; GOALS: Smith 0/1, Geyer 0/1)

Halftime: Brisbane 8-4

Referee: Paul Simpkins

Stadium: Telstra Stadium (Sydney)

Crowd: 79,609

Clive Churchill Medal: Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane)

Crowds

The Brisbane Broncos had the biggest NRL season crowd average for 2006. The average crowd (including the Qualifying Final) for 2006 was 32,681

Losses

Re-signings

ee also

*National Rugby League season 2006

References

* [http://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html Rugby League Tables and Statistics]
* [http://www.rleague.com/db/year/2007/nrl_telstra_premiership/index.php]