Brisbane Broncos 1988
Encyclopedia
The 1988 Brisbane Broncos
season was the first in the club's history. The new venture team, competed in the New South Wales Rugby League
's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership and, despite a strong start to the season, failed to make the finals. During the season the Broncos also competed in the 1988 Panasonic Cup
.
, making their debut on March 6 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.
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.
! 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
|| 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
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width=20 abbr="Position×" |
!width=175 |Team
!width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld
!width=20 abbr="Won" |W
!width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D
!width=20 abbr="Lost" |L
!width=20 abbr="Points for" |PF
!width=20 abbr="Points against" |PA
!width=20 abbr="Points difference" |PD
!width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|1||style="text-align:left;"|
Cronulla-Sutherland
|22||16||2||4||507||330||+177||34
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|2||style="text-align:left;"|
Canterbury-Bankstown
|22||16||0||6||412||268||+144||32
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|3||style="text-align:left;"|
Canberra
|22||15||0||7||596||346||+250||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|4||style="text-align:left;"| Manly-Warringah
|22||15||0||7||538||347||+191||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|5||style="text-align:left;"|
Penrith
|22||15||0||7||394||258||+136||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|6||style="text-align:left;"|
Balmain
|22||15||0||7||402||341||+61||30
|-
|7||style="text-align:left;"|
Brisbane Broncos
|22||14||0||8||474||368||+106||28
|-
|8||style="text-align:left;"|
South Sydney
|22||12||2||8||425||383||+42||24
|-
|9||style="text-align:left;"|
North Sydney
|22||9||2||11||366||424||-58||20
|-
|10||style="text-align:left;"|
St. George
|22||9||0||13||352||493||-141||18
|-
|11||style="text-align:left;"|
Parramatta
|22||8||0||14||359||412||-53||16
|-
|12||style="text-align:left;"|
Eastern Suburbs
|22||6||3||13||387||443||-56||15
|-
|13||style="text-align:left;"|
Illawarra
|22||6||1||15||353||510||-157||13
|-
|14||style="text-align:left;"|
Newcastle Knights
|22||5||1||16||270||460||-190||11
|-
|15||style="text-align:left;"|
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants
|22||4||2||16||238||484||-246||10
|-
|16||style="text-align:left;"|
Western Suburbs
|22||4||1||17||287||493||-206||9
|}
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
season was the first in the club's history. The new venture team, competed in the New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership and, despite a strong start to the season, failed to make the finals. During the season the Broncos also competed in the 1988 Panasonic Cup
1988 Panasonic Cup
-Format:Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria were replaced by the 3 new NSWRL clubs reducing the competition to 19 teams, participating in a straight knock-out...
.
Season summary
The same year Brisbane hosted World Expo 88, the Brisbane Broncos joined the New South Wales Rugby League premiershipNew South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
, making their debut on March 6 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
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
44-10 in their first premiership game.
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
1988 Panasonic Cup
-Format:Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria were replaced by the 3 new NSWRL clubs reducing the competition to 19 teams, participating in a straight knock-out...
, losing in the first round while they were still yet to lose a Winfield Cup match.
Match results
{|{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"! 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
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
|| Win || 44 || 10 || 6 Mar || Lang Park || 17,451
|-
| 2 || Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
|| Win || 20 || 18 || 12 Mar || Lang Park || 13,621
|-
| 3 || Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
|| Win || 38 || 4 || 20 Mar || Campbelltown || 10,112
|-
| 4 || North Sydney Bears
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
|| Win || 24 || 12 || 27 Mar || North Sydney || 9,329
|-
| 5 || Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
|| Win || 24 || 18 || 3 Apr || Lang Park || 23,202
|-
| PC
1988 Panasonic Cup
-Format:Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria were replaced by the 3 new NSWRL clubs reducing the competition to 19 teams, participating in a straight knock-out...
|| Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
|| Loss || 10 || 24 || 6 Apr || Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
||
|-
| 6 || Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
|| Win || 24 || 10 || 10 Apr || Newcastle ISC || 30,220
|-
| 7 || Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
|| Loss || 18 || 26 || 16 Apr || Lang Park || 18,434
|-
| 8 || Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks || Loss || 8 || 38 || 23 Apr || Endeavour || 10,115
|-
| 9 || Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
|| Win || 24 || 20 || 1 May || Lang Park || 16,489
|-
| 10 || Gold Coast-Tweed Giants
Gold Coast Chargers
Gold Coast were a professional Rugby league football club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from 1988 to 1994, the Australian Rugby League premiership from 1995 to 1997, and the National Rugby League premiership in 1998...
|| Loss || 22 || 25 || 8 May || Seagulls || 13,432
|-
| 11* || Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
|| Loss || 16 || 36 || 22 May || Lang Park || 15,909
|-
| 12* || Illawarra Steelers
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then New South Wales Rugby Football...
|| Win || 32 || 10 || 5 Jun || Wollongong || 9,738
|-
| 13 || St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
|| Win || 26 || 22 || 13 Jun || Lang Park || 19,954
|-
| 14 || South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
|| Loss || 4 || 16 || 17 Jun || SFS
SFS
- Computers :* SAN file system* Scalable File Share, storage system created by HP* Self-certifying File System, a decentralized network file system* Smart File System, journaling filesystem used on Amiga computers...
|| 10,871
|-
| 15* || Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
|| Loss || 10 || 25 || 26 Jun || Lang Park || 15,371
|-
| 16 || Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
|| Win || 28 || 10 || 3 Jul || Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Warringah Council and is primarily used by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team...
|| 17,193
|-
| 17 || Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
|| Win || 8 || 6 || 10 Jul || Penrith Park || 17,106
|-
| 18 || Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
|| Win || 32 || 6 || 16 Jul || Lang Park || 11,419
|-
| 19 || North Sydney Bears
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
|| Win || 24 || 6 || 23 Jul || Lang Park || 11,452
|-
| 20 || Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
|| Loss || 14 || 22 || 31 Jul || Parramatta || 13,190
|-
| 21 || Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
|| Win || 24 || 8 || 6 Aug || Lang Park || 13,919
|-
| 22 || Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
|| Loss || 10 || 20 || 13 Aug || Leichhardt Oval
Leichhardt Oval
Leichhardt Oval is a football stadium in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia. It is a home ground for the Wests Tigers rugby league team. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 20,000, with recorded highest crowd figures of 23,000 in the 1981 KB Tooth final South Sydney Rabbitohs versus...
|| 13,015
|}
- Game following a State of OriginRugby League State of OriginState of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
match
Ladder
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width=20 abbr="Position×" |
!width=175 |Team
!width=20 abbr="Played" |Pld
!width=20 abbr="Won" |W
!width=20 abbr="Drawn" |D
!width=20 abbr="Lost" |L
!width=20 abbr="Points for" |PF
!width=20 abbr="Points against" |PA
!width=20 abbr="Points difference" |PD
!width=20 abbr="Points" |Pts
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|1||style="text-align:left;"|
Cronulla-Sutherland|22||16||2||4||507||330||+177||34
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|2||style="text-align:left;"|
Canterbury-BankstownCanterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
|22||16||0||6||412||268||+144||32
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|3||style="text-align:left;"|
CanberraCanberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
|22||15||0||7||596||346||+250||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|4||style="text-align:left;"| Manly-Warringah
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
|22||15||0||7||538||347||+191||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|5||style="text-align:left;"|
PenrithPenrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
|22||15||0||7||394||258||+136||30
|- style="background: #ccffcc;"
|6||style="text-align:left;"|
BalmainBalmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
|22||15||0||7||402||341||+61||30
|-
|7||style="text-align:left;"|
Brisbane BroncosBrisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
|22||14||0||8||474||368||+106||28
|-
|8||style="text-align:left;"|
South SydneySouth Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
|22||12||2||8||425||383||+42||24
|-
|9||style="text-align:left;"|
North SydneyNorth Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
|22||9||2||11||366||424||-58||20
|-
|10||style="text-align:left;"|
St. GeorgeSt. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
|22||9||0||13||352||493||-141||18
|-
|11||style="text-align:left;"|
ParramattaParramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
|22||8||0||14||359||412||-53||16
|-
|12||style="text-align:left;"|
Eastern Suburbs|22||6||3||13||387||443||-56||15
|-
|13||style="text-align:left;"|
IllawarraIllawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then New South Wales Rugby Football...
|22||6||1||15||353||510||-157||13
|-
|14||style="text-align:left;"|
Newcastle KnightsNewcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
|22||5||1||16||270||460||-190||11
|-
|15||style="text-align:left;"|
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants|22||4||2||16||238||484||-246||10
|-
|16||style="text-align:left;"|
Western SuburbsWestern Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
|22||4||1||17||287||493||-206||9
|}
Club
- Player of the year: Allan LangerAllan LangerAllan "Alfie" Langer AM is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who works as an assistant coach for the Australian national team and Brisbane Broncos...
- Rookie of the year: Shane Duffy / Kerrod WaltersKerrod WaltersKerrod Walters is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative hooker, he played most of his club football with the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 1992 and 1993 NSWRL Premierships...
- Forward of the year: Terry MattersonTerry MattersonTerry Matterson is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player. He has been the coach for the Castleford Tigers of Europe's Super League since 2005....
- Back of the year: Wally LewisWally LewisWalter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...
- Clubman of the year: Greg ConescuGreg ConescuGreg "Turtle" Conescu is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative hooker, he played all of his club football in Queensland with Norths Devils Gladstone Brothers, Redcliffe and the Brisbane...