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1988 Brisbane Broncos season

The 1988 Brisbane Broncos season was the first in the club's history. The new venture team was added, along with the Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants to the New South Wales Rugby League's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership, coached by previous season grand final co-coach Wayne Bennett and captained by Australian national skipper Wally Lewis. Despite a strong start to the season, Brisbane failed to make the finals. During the season the Broncos also competed in the 1988 Panasonic Cup.

Season summary

The same year Brisbane hosted World Expo 88, the Brisbane Broncos joined the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, making their debut on 6 March at Lang Park in Brisbane. The brand-new club which featured many Queensland-based international and state representatives, defeated the 1987 Winfield Cup Premiers Manly-Warringah 44-10 in their first premiership game. Brett Le Man scored the Broncos' first ever try from the scraps of a Craig Grauf bomb.

Although the Broncos won their first six games in their inaugural season, a midseason slump cost the club a debut finals appearance, finishing the season in seventh position. The Broncos also competed in the mid-week knockout competition, the 1988 Panasonic Cup, losing in the first round while they were still yet to lose a Winfield Cup match.

Match results

Round	Opponent	Result	Bro.	Opp.	Date	Venue	Crowd
Trial	Canberra Raiders	Win	22	16		Lang Park	10,000+
Trial	New Zealand President's XIII	Win	38	6	27 Feb		8,324
1	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Win	44	10	6 Mar	Lang Park	17,451
2	Penrith Panthers	Win	20	18	12 Mar	Lang Park	13,621
3	Western Suburbs Magpies	Win	38	4	20 Mar	Campbelltown	10,112
4	North Sydney Bears	Win	24	12	27 Mar	North Sydney	9,329
5	Parramatta Eels	Win	24	18	3 Apr	Lang Park	23,202
[PC](1988-panasonic-cup)	Penrith Panthers	Loss	10	24	6 Apr	Parramatta Stadium
6	Newcastle Knights	Win	24	10	10 Apr	Newcastle ISC	30,220
7	Balmain Tigers	Loss	18	26	16 Apr	Lang Park	18,434
8	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Loss	8	38	23 Apr	Endeavour	10,115
9	Sydney Roosters	Win	24	20	1 May	Lang Park	16,489
10	Gold Coast-Tweed Giants	Loss	22	25	8 May	Seagulls	13,432
11*	Canberra Raiders	Loss	16	36	22 May	Lang Park	15,909
12*	Illawarra Steelers	Win	32	10	5 Jun	Wollongong	9,738
13	St. George Dragons	Win	26	22	13 Jun	Lang Park	19,954
14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Loss	4	16	17 Jun	SFS	10,871
15*	Canterbury Bulldogs	Loss	10	25	26 Jun	Lang Park	15,371
16	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Win	28	10	3 Jul	Brookvale Oval	17,193
17	Penrith Panthers	Win	8	6	10 Jul	Penrith Park	17,106
18	Western Suburbs Magpies	Win	32	6	16 Jul	Lang Park	11,419
19	North Sydney Bears	Win	24	6	23 Jul	Lang Park	11,452
20	Parramatta Eels	Loss	14	22	31 Jul	Parramatta	13,190
21	Newcastle Knights	Win	24	8	6 Aug	Lang Park	13,919
22	Balmain Tigers	Loss	10	20	13 Aug	Leichhardt Oval	13,015

Game following a State of Origin match

Ladder

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	[[File:Cronulla colours.svg	16x16px]] Cronulla-Sutherland	22	16	2	4	507	330	+177
2	[[File:Canterbury colours.svg	16x16px]] Canterbury-Bankstown	22	16	0	6	412	268	+144
3	[[File:Canberra colours.svg	16x16px]] Canberra	22	15	0	7	596	346	+250
4	[[File:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg	16x16px]] Manly-Warringah	22	15	0	7	538	347	+191
5	[[File:Penrith colours.svg	16x16px]] Penrith	22	15	0	7	394	258	+136
6	[[File:Balmain colours.svg	16x16px]] Balmain	22	15	0	7	402	341	+61
7	[[File:Brisbane colours.svg	16x16px]] Brisbane Broncos	22	14	0	8	474	368	+106
8	[[File:South Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] South Sydney	22	12	2	8	425	383	+42
9	[[File:North Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] North Sydney	22	9	2	11	366	424	-58
10	[[File:St. George colours.svg	16x16px]] St. George	22	9	0	13	352	493	-141
11	[[File:Parramatta colours.svg	16x16px]] Parramatta	22	8	0	14	359	412	-53
12	[[File:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg	16x16px]] Eastern Suburbs	22	6	3	13	387	443	-56
13	[[File:Illawarra colours.svg	16x16px]] Illawarra	22	6	1	15	353	510	-157
14	[[File:Newcastle colours.svg	16x16px]] Newcastle Knights	22	5	1	16	270	460	-190
15	[[File:New Zealand colours.svg	16x16px]] Gold Coast-Tweed Giants	22	4	2	16	238	484	-246
16	[[File:Western Suburbs colours.svg	16x16px]] Western Suburbs	22	4	1	17	287	493	-206

Squad

Awards

League

nil

Club

Player of the year: Allan Langer
Rookie of the year: Shane Duffy / Kerrod Walters
Forward of the year: Terry Matterson
Back of the year: Wally Lewis
Clubman of the year: Greg Conescu

References

Adrian McGregor. (7 March 1988). "Wallypower starts a new era in Rugby League". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Alan Clarkson. (7 March 1988). "Two-try Lewis is still the king". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Brett Thomas. (13 March 1988). "Last-gasp try saves Broncos". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Ian Heads. (21 March 1988). "Lewis and Broncos toy with Wests". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Paul Tait. (28 March 1988). "Lewis steers the Broncos home". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Brad Forrest. (5 April 1988). "Ward earns good report for 'ruling it as I saw it'". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Paul Tait. (7 April 1988). "Alexander ends Broncos' charge". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
MacDonald, John. (11 April 1988). "King Wally staves off the bold Knights". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Alan Clarkson. (17 April 1988). "Tigers turn the screws on tail poppies". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Brad Forrest. (2 May 1988). "Bennett's blast brings on Bronco revival". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Brad Forrest. (9 May 1988). "Gibbs and Gold Coast batter the Broncos". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
(23 May 1988). "Last Post sounds for Brisbane's baldful Old Veterans". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Weidler, Danny. (6 June 1988). "Backrow pair seal win for Broncos". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Forrest, Brad. (14 June 1988). "Possession helps beat St. George". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
MacDonald, John. (18 June 1988). "Souths still in top-five race". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Heads, Ian. "Super sub Turvey's picnic in the park". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
MacDonald, John. "Dowling stands up where no Eagles dare". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
MacDonald, John. "Bloodied Broncos survive an epic". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
(17 July 1988). "Broncos run riot – but only in patches". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Alan Clarkson. (24 July 1988). "Broncos drop Bears and ball in semis quest". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Tait, Paul. (1 August 1988). "Brave win eases the dispair for Eels". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Clarkson, Alan. (7 August 1988). "A Bronco breakout". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
Clarkson, Alan. (14 August 1988). "Tigers on the hunt". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
"Honour Board". [[Brisbane Broncos]].

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