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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2584970, member: 1899"] [CENTER][B]2006[/B] [IMG]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/1275934-3x2-340x227.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER] Seriously, who doesn't enjoy the story of this year? For once, Brisbane didn't enter the season as favourites despite having the squad to win it and there were plenty of question marks about the squad. Imagine being a BHQ member back in these days? All the "halves" threads and "Anti-Bennett" threads would have driven me insane. Kudos to whoever had to mod back then. :laugh: Anyways the pre-season had a feeling of now and never. Club favourites like Kevie & Lazo had been given the flick and a bloke by the name of Dean Benton had been recruited. As somebody who's never really studied the field of professional conditioners, it was difficult to judge the recruitment at first glance but all the reports sounded positive. The boys were getting slogged, losing a ton of weight, which sounded like the right step given mobility had been a criticism and all in all, the right reports were being made. Then Round 1 happened. I don't think I'd ever been so deflated. Clearly the Broncos weren't 100% but the Cowboys exposed them poorly and all the criticisms that had existed remained. It remains as one of the worst starts to the season I've ever seen from the club and pretty much stands as the one reason why I never judge a club solely on Round 1. In true Bennett era fashion, the Broncos responded well, reversing a 12-0 deficit to prevail 16-12 in a tough game against Cronulla before winning their next 8 of 10. It seemed like business as usual but fans were smart enough to know better with Origin season right around the corner. Yet, the Broncos managed the representative period fairly well given the demands. They put in a shocking performance to give Souths their first victory of the season, lost a heart-breaker to the Dragons which also saw a bunch of players walk out with injuries, scored a rare victory at Brookie against Manly and then in the coup de gras managed to defeat the Sharks minus 10 of our players. I'd like to think that the loss was so demoralising for the Sharks, that they couldn't get their heads straight and that's why they weren't able to score another win for the season. It all seemed fine and dandy and with the Maroons winning their first Origin since 2002 (technically 2001, but stuff that, only one team was celebrating in 2002 and it sure wasn't NSW) it seemed like our players finally had some momentum in the right place. Of course, they dropped a game against Melbourne in Melbourne, but it just seemed like a typical Origin hangover game, plus Melbourne was coming off a high too given they hosted the dramatic decider. That's what we first thought at least. Brisbane had the bye and virtually treated it as a holiday, I heard reports that players had left the country and basically partied up. It was meant as a way to keep the boys fresh heading into the finals, but seemingly it just inspired complacency. This couldn't have been more apparent than the game against the Cowboys. The night couldn't have started any worse for the Cowboys who lost JT and gifted Brisbane a try all in the same play. Yet, the Broncos didn't seem in it and an out of form Bowen stepped up to the plate and made them pay. The following week the Broncos took on an understrength Tigers outfit who had to call up a Schoolboy in order to fill a 17. End result, said schoolboy (Chris Lawrence) scores a long distance try and the Broncos fumble what should have been an easy home victory. Throw in a Raiders loss which ended up being 30-18 but may as well been 30-6 given the Broncos scored two tries late in the contest and fans were already planning for 2007. Then like deja-vu, Brisbane went up against the premiership favourites on a Sunday afternoon at Suncorp. It seemed like this game took place the last few seasons, and everytime it happened, the Broncos would get thoroughly beaten and lose a few key players effectively derailing the season for good. However, Bennett made some ballsy decisions. On top of the Berrigan move to hooker which had happened the week prior, Bennett brought in Justin Hodges to play fullback and brought in young backrow, Sam Thaiday into the starting side. It was just the tonic the Broncos needed and despite going down 18-12, the Broncos looked impressive. In all honesty, they dominated that game for over 60 minutes and it was just this period right after half-time where the Storm exposed some deficiencies in the Broncos side and held onto their lead. Yet the proof of this change wouldn't occur until the next three weeks when the Broncos were able to keep two in-form teams to nil in Canterbury & Parramatta before blasting the Warriors 36-12 in Webcke's last regular home and away game. Things were starting to look nice again for the Broncos and just as they got their hopes up... They lost to the Dragons in the first week of the semis! Yep, another dreaded reminder of the past, the Broncos inability to win finals games, emerged and boy did it suck. In the end, the game can be chalked down to the Broncos being flat and Hodges putting in his worst performance, but still, fans were basically convinced now more than ever that 06 was all but over despite the last couple of weeks. Fortunately, the Knights were coming off an intense first week final and were without Danny Buderus & Steve Simpson heading into our game. Despite those absentees, nobody expected the Broncos to turn in the performance they did, putting 50 on the Knights in a final and throwing the ball around in one game than they had in awhile. With that monkey of our backs, the boys remained in Sydney for the return match against the Bulldogs. It was a match that could have gone either way, but I don't think anybody expected it. I think every Bronco has their own memory of their game, for me, I was on my way to Sydney and would be boarding the plane just as the game was 20 minutes old. I did everything to catch a glimpse of the game in the terminal, yet everytime I came across a TV, I was greeted with bad news. By the time I came across the ABC coverage on the plane, it was 20-6 and the commentators already had the Bulldogs penciled into the grand final. I was deflated, but proud of the way the boys had played and just wanted to hear them score one final try, just to give us fans something to cheer about. Brothers and Sisters, they gave me more than that. Even without watching it, I knew the Berrigan try was magical. It was the perfect moment, and I believe the moment that showed the boys that anything was possible. By the time Boyd had crossed, I dared to dream about the GF and celebrated accordingly when Parker scored the final try, putting the cherry on top of one of the best Broncos game of all time. Then the GF. Look, I know the general Rugby League fan writes it off as a ref blunder, but to me, it was Brisbane coming up with the best defensive gameplan and scoring a win against all odds against the overwhelming premiership favourites. The fact they systematically cheated the cap, makes the win all that sweeter. And while I was happy with the win, strangely, it felt more like a sense of relief than the sheer unbridled joy I felt after the Origin or Dogs game. I just think there was so much at stake, and the game went so slowly for me that I couldn't believe it when they won. Anyways they won, a bunch of the players went onto enjoy Tri Nations success with Lockyer once again playing a vital role in the victory and I don't think there was a better year to be a fan. [B]Random Notes[/B] - There were just so many reasons why the Broncos won the premiership. The 1-2-3 combo of Civo, Webby & Thorn, the guidance of Lockyer, the brilliance of Hodges and the danger of Berrigan. The bench was pretty awesome too, with Parker really stepping his game up after a couple of quiet years. Even Perry added something to the side and complimented the others nicely. - Tupou was always good for two tries and it's a shame that there isn't footage of him smashing Burt out of the road in R3. I wish Vidot had the same opportunities. - Round 8 against Canberra was such a strange game. Nothing doing till suddenly Canberra score 18 points heading into half-time. Brisbane come out of the sheds and put 24 on the Raiders in 11 minutes leading to a tense final 30 or so. - Round 13 tends to get replayed a lot on Fox. It's a game against the Warriors where Eastwood ends up playing wing and sets up a long range winning try. - Round 16 featured a sweet long-range try from Tate. 60 or 70 odd metres where he manages to keep Brett Stewart at bay. *sigh* the days Tate had speed. - It's a shame Ennis got injured when he did. He looked like one of our best until he was rubbed out in a nothing game against the Rabbitohs. [/QUOTE]

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