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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2736284, member: 1899"] Brisbane Broncos Coach Wayne Bennett was convinced Brisbane’s premiership was as good as won when the Broncos downed Penrith on a cold Friday night at Penrith Stadium in August. “Everything was against us,” Bennett said. “The crowd, travelling and playing on the Friday night, and the premiers were fired up for what was their last shot. But despite those odds, we won – and we won well. That night I believe we showed the qualities needed to win the premiership. All we had to do was finish it off.” The Broncos “finished it off” in style. The Penrith win was their fourth in a series of nine straight victories which swept Brisbane to their maiden premiership in the Winfield Cup. They made grand final day look nothing more than a formality, brushing St George aside in a 28-8 romp. A month later they proved themselves world championships with a disdainful 22-8 thumping of Wigan in the World Club Championship match at Central Park, home of the Wigan club. It was a season of first for the Broncos. Their first top-grade grand final win, their first minor premiership title, their first club championship (shared with Newcastle). They became the first Australian club to win the World Club Championship and the club provided their first Rothmans Medallist and first Clive Churchill Medallist – both won by Allan Langer. Additionally the Broncos enjoyed massive representation at State of Origin level and beyond, with 10 players selected. Brisbane figured in every major final in 1992. They went down to Wigan in the Nissan Sevens decider and Illawarra in the tryless Tooheys Challenge final at Dubbo, but from then on it was all success. Along the way, Brisbane lost only four Winfield Cup matches, to Penrith, Illawarra, Canterbury and Wests. The Illawarra and Canterbury lossess occurred during the dreaded representative period when three Tests and three State of Origin matches intervened. So often in the Broncos’ first four years in the Winfield Cup, this period had been the club’s undoing. But in 1992, with a determined resolve and a professional attitude, the Broncos weathered the storm. Central to the Broncos victory was prop Glenn Lazarus, who migrated from Canberra to become a cornerstone of the Broncos’ premiership challenge. Lazarus provided the size, power and authority to a forward pack that had previously lacked such characteristics. Significantly, Lazarus was also a part of Country’s first win over City in 17 years, NSW’s State of Origin win over Queensland, Australia’s Ashes victory against Great Britain and Australia’s World Cup triumph. No man in the game’s history has achieved such results in a single season. If Lazarus was the bricks and mortar, Langer the shimmering veneer, creating the chances that made Brisbane not only the most successful team in the game but the most attractive team to watch. Langer led his men by example, his ferocious desire inspiring them more than any gem of wisdom from his lips. And so often he would create a chance from nothing, his jinking elusive stepping catching the opposition hopelessly wrong-footed. His 12 tries for the season made him equal top tryscorer for the club, with Steve Renouf, another who hit the heights in ’92. Langer was fittingly awarded the Rothmans Medal as well as the Clive Churchill Medal – the awards summing up his influence on the ’92 Winfield Cup. It took more than Lazarus and Langer to secure the trophy, though 0 and 26 other Broncos who played first grade and a committed support staff headed by coach Bennett – all played a significant part. WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 30 defeated CRONULLA SHARKS 2 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated GOLD COAST SEAGULLS 18 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 defeated CANBERRA RAIDERS 16 LOST PENRITH PANTHERS 24 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 28 defeated MANLY SEA EAGLES 12 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 12 defeated NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 8 LOST ILLAWARRA STEELERS 10 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 8 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 20 defeated ST GEORGE DRAGONS 18 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 26 defeated SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 18 LOST CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 28 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 24 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 28 defeated NORTH SYDNEY BEARS 25 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 26 defeated BALMAIN TIGERS 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 20 defeated PARRAMATTA EELS 4 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 46 defeated EASTERN SUBURBS ROOSTERS 22 LOST WESTERN SUBURBS MAGPIES 25 defeated BRISBANE BRONCOS 16 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 20 defeated CRONULLA SHARKS 16 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 30 defeated GOLD COAST SEAGULLS 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 28 defeated CANBERRA RAIDERS 12 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 12 defeated PENRITH PANTHERS 6 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 22 defeated MANLY SEA EAGLES 10 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 37 defeated NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 12 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 15 defeated ILLAWARRA STEELERS 8 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 22 defeated ILLAWARRA STEELERS 12 WON BRISBANE BRONCOS 28 defeated ST GEORGE DRAGONS 8 Player List Gavin Allen Scott Blacker Alan Cann Willie Carne Tony Currie Jason Erba Abraham Fatnowna Andrew Gee Trevor Gillmeister Michael Hancock Paul Hauff Mark Hohn Chris Johns Shaun Keating Allan Langer Glenn Lazarus Terry Matterson Willie Morganson Julian O’Neill John Plath Brett Plowman Darren Plowman Steve Renouf Peter Ryan Pat Savage Andrew Tessmann Kerrod Walters Kevin Walters [/QUOTE]

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