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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2721796, member: 1899"] BRISBANE BRONCOS SEASON SUMMARY The single minded, highly professional administrators of the Brisbane Broncos wouldn’t acclaim 1988 as a winning season. But consider the advances made by the Broncos in their first season in Winfield Cup. *Brisbane were the most heavily supported club in the league. The drawing power of big guns, Lewis, Langer, Miles and Conescu assured average crowds of 15, 000. Only once did the total slip below 10, 000. *They missed the semi-finals by two points and beat nine teams home. They were easily the most successful of the three newcomers to the Winfield Cup. *The players handled the transition to the Sydney competition with distinction, defying the critics who said they wouldn’t stand up to the week to week punishment. *They discovered some exciting talent that should stand them in excellent stead for years to come. Players like Terry Matterson, Shane Duffy, Brett Plowman, Craig and Rohan Teevan, Kerrod Walters and Andrew Tessmann will be the building blocks of the future. The Broncos achieved all that in 18 moths, starting from scratch as the Windfield Cup’s 15 member team. With highly credentialed coach Wayne Bennett planning the strategy, Brisbane strongly challenged the leading sides all year. Convincing victories over 1987 champions Manly will live long in the memories of their fans. The Broncos led the field, undefeated after six rounds, but suffered through representative commitments and a corresponding mid-season slump in form. The continued development of halfback talent Allan Langer was another striking feature of the year. The blond-haired dynamo earned his first Test jumper and helped Queensland to their first cleansweep of the State of Origin series. He carried his consistent form into the Winfield Cup and sparked much of the Broncos’ attack. Wally Lewis produced some classic passages of play. His two long distance runaway tries against Newcastle and his assumption of the goalkicking duties late in the year proved, if ever it needed proving, that there is nothing the man can’t do on the football field. Disappointing was the fall from grace of former Test forward Bryan Niebling after two superb years in ’86 and ’87. He struggled for form all season and was even relegated to reserve grade. And another international, Greg Dowling, failed to produce his best week by week. Ultimately it was the failure of the forwards to assert their authority over opposition packs which cost them an historic semi-finals berth in their opening season. Bennett was forced to transfer Gene Miles to the second row, and it was a credit to Miles that he was selected in that position in Australia’s team to play the Rest of the World after just a handful of games in the back row. In the final wash-up, the Broncos sounded warning after just one season that they are on the verge of being a title threat. Player’s Reords Peter Benson David Bourke Greg Conescu Greg Dowling Shane Duffy Gary French Keith Gee Craig Grauf Michael Hancock Ray Herring Mark Hohn Chris Johns Brook Kennedy Joe Kilroy Allan Langer Brett Le Man Wally Lewis Terry Matterson Gene Miles Bryan Niebling Billy Noke Brett Plowman Grant Rix Colin Scott Craig Teevan Rohan Teevan Andrew Tessmann Brad Tessmann Kerrod Walters WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 44 defeated MANLY SEA EAGLES 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 20 defeated PENRITH PANTHERS 18 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 38 defeated WESTERN SUBURBS 4 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated NORTH SYDNEY BEARS 12 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated PARRAMATTA EELS 18 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 10 LOST BALMAIN TIGERS 26 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 18 LOST CRONULLA SHARKS 38 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 8 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated EASTERN SUBURBS 20 LOST GOLD COAST GIANTS 25 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 22 LOST CANBERRA RAIDERS 36 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 16 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 32 defeated ILLAWARRA STEELERS 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 26 defeated ST GEORGE DRAGONS 22 LOST SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 16 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 4 LOST CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 25 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 28 defeated MANLY SEA EAGLES 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 8 defeated PENRITH PANTHERS 8 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 32 defeated WESTERN SUBURBS 6 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated NORTH SYDNEY BEARS 6 LOST PARRAMATTA EELS 22 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 14 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 8 LOST BALMAIN TIGERS 20 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 10 [/QUOTE]

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