1997_Brisbane_Broncos_season
1997 Brisbane Broncos season
Sports season
The 1997 Brisbane Broncos season was the tenth in the history of the Brisbane Broncos club. This season was unique in that they participated in the Australian Super League's 1997 Telstra Cup premiership and 1997 World Club Championship, winning both competitions.
The Broncos again won their first 7 matches, before finally losing to the Penrith Panthers in round 8. Brisbane won their final three regular season games to capture their second minor premiership. In the Major Semi-Final against Cronulla the Broncos thrashed the sharks to move into their first home Grand Final. The Sharks recovered to make the big one, but they were no match for the Broncos. Despite being without key forward Glenn Lazarus and hampered by a troublesome groin injury, Allan Langer led his side to victory 26–8 for their third premiership in front of almost 60,000 home fans. Steve Renouf scored a hat-trick in the match.[1]
Following the premiership win, the Broncos also won the 1997 World Club Championship which involved clubs from the Super League as well.
| Round | Opponent | Result | Bro. | Opp. | Date | Venue | Crowd | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland Warriors | Win | 14 | 2 | 1 Mar | ANZ Stadium | 42,361 | 2/10 |
| 2 | Adelaide Rams | Win | 28 | 12 | 9 Mar | ANZ Stadium | 16,279 | 1/10 |
| 3 | Perth Reds | Win | 26 | 16 | 16 Mar | WACA Ground | 11,109 | 2/10 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | Win | 24 | 8 | 24 Mar | ANZ Stadium | 26,103 | 2/10 |
| 5 | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 14 | 12 | 31 Mar | ANZ Stadium | 17,294 | 1/10 |
| 6 | North Queensland Cowboys | Win | 42 | 16 | 5 Apr | Stockland Stadium | 30,122 | 1/10 |
| 7[2] | Adelaide Rams | Win | 20 | 10 | 13 Apr | Adelaide Oval | 17,633 | 1/10 |
| 8 | Penrith Panthers | Loss | 26 | 27 | 21 Apr | Penrith Football Stadium | 12,648 | 1/10 |
| 9[3] | Canterbury Bulldogs | Win | 34 | 16 | 28 Apr | ANZ Stadium | 17,921 | 1/10 |
| 10 | Auckland Warriors | Win | 34 | 18 | 4 May | Mt Smart Stadium | 16,471 | 1/10 |
| 11[4] | North Queensland Cowboys | Draw | 20 | 20 | 25 May | ANZ Stadium | 14,167 | 1/10 |
| 12 | Hunter Mariners | Loss | 6 | 24 | 30 May | Topper Stadium | 7,124 | 1/10 |
| 13 | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 4 | 32 | 30 Jun | Endeavour Field | 12,240 | 1/10 |
| 14 | Perth Reds | Win | 50 | 14 | 6 Jul | ANZ Stadium | 11,806 | 1/10 |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | Win | 19 | 4 | 14 Jul | Bruce Stadium | 13,067 | 1/10 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 54 | 12 | 10 Aug | ANZ Stadium | 13,921 | 1/10 |
| 17 | Hunter Mariners | Win | 34 | 16 | 18 Aug | ANZ Stadium | 13,830 | 1/10 |
| 18 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Win | 32 | 24 | 25 Aug | Belmore Oval | 9,781 | 1/10 |
| Semi Final | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 34 | 2 | 6 Sep | Stockland Stadium | 26,256 | |
| GRAND FINAL | Cronulla Sharks | Win | 26 | 8 | 20 Sep | ANZ Stadium | 58,912 |
| Round | Opponent | Result | Bro. | Opp. | Date | Venue | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WCC 1 | London Broncos | Win | 42 | 22 | 6 Jun | ANZ Stadium | 18,193 |
| WCC 2 | Wigan Warriors | Win | 34 | 0 | 16 Jun | ANZ Stadium | 14,833 |
| WCC 3 | Halifax Blue Sox | Win | 76 | 0 | 24 Jun | ANZ Stadium | 11,358 |
| WCC 4 | Wigan Warriors | Win | 30 | 4 | 20 Jul | Central Park | 12,816 |
| WCC 5 | London Broncos | Win | 34 | 16 | 27 Jul | The Stoop | 9,846 |
| WCC 6 | Halifax Blue Sox | Win | 54 | 10 | 4 Aug | Thrum Hall | 3,255 |
| WCC Quarter Final | St. Helens | Win | 66 | 12 | 4 Oct | ANZ Stadium | 6,438 |
| WCC Semi Final | Auckland Warriors | Win | 22 | 16 | 10 Oct | ANZ Stadium | 9,686 |
| WCC Final | Hunter Mariners | Win | 36 | 12 | 17 Oct | Mt Smart Stadium | 12,000 |
Telstra Cup Premiership Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brisbane (P) |
18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 481 | 283 | +198 | 29 |
| 2 |  Cronulla |
18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 403 | 230 | +173 | 24 |
| 3 |  Canberra |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 436 | 337 | +99 | 22 |
| 4 |  Canterbury |
18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 453 | 447 | +6 | 20 |
| 5 |  Penrith |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 431 | 462 | -31 | 18 |
| 6 |  Hunter |
18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 350 | 363 | -13 | 14 |
| 7 |  Auckland |
18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 332 | 406 | -74 | 14 |
| 8 |  Perth |
18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 321 | 456 | -135 | 14 |
| 9 |  Adelaide |
18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 303 | 402 | -99 | 13 |
| 10 |  North Queensland |
18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 328 | 452 | -124 | 12 |
- (P) - Premiers
World Club Challenge Australasia Pool A
| Player | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Lockyer | 7 | 70/109 | 0 | 168 |
| Wendell Sailor | 15 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| Steve Renouf | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| Michael De Vere | 7 | 2/2 | 0 | 32 |
| Darren Smith | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Kevin Walters | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Tonie Carroll | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Peter Ryan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Brett Le Man | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Allan Langer | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Michael Hancock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Brad Thorn | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Anthony Mundine | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| John Plath | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Gorden Tallis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Shane Webcke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Andrew Gee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Phillip Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Position | Player |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Lockyer | Fullback | David Peachey |
| Michael De Vere | Wing | Mat Rogers |
| Steve Renouf | Centre | Andrew Ettingshausen (C) |
| Anthony Mundine | Centre | Russell Richardson |
| Wendell Sailor | Wing | Geoff Bell |
| Kevin Walters | Five-eighth | Mitch Healey |
| Allan Langer (C) | Halfback | Paul Green |
| Brad Thorn | Prop | Danny Lee |
| Andrew Gee | Hooker | Dean Treister |
| Shane Webcke | Prop | Jason Stevens |
| Gorden Tallis | Second Row | Craig Greenhill |
| Peter Ryan | Second Row | Chris McKenna |
| Darren Smith | Lock | Tawera Nikau |
| Tonie Carroll | Interchange | Adam Dykes |
| John Plath | Interchange | Sean Ryan |
| Michael Hancock | Interchange | Les Davidson |
| Ben Walker | Interchange | Nathan Long |
| Wayne Bennett | COACH | John Lang |
20 September
Brisbane 26 (TRIES: Renouf 3, Hancock; GOALS: Lockyer 5/6)
defeated
Cronulla 8 (TRIES: Richardson; GOALS: Rogers 2/2)
Halftime: Brisbane 10–2
Referee: Bill Harrigan
Stadium: ANZ Stadium, (Brisbane)
Crowd: 58, 912
League
- Nil
Club
- Player of the year: Peter Ryan[5]
- Rookie of the year: Michael De Vere
- Back of the year: Kevin Walters
- Forward of the year: Brad Thorn
- Club man of the year: Tony Spencer
- "Grand final simply super". Illawarra Mercury. 21 September 1997. p. 26. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- This match was played after a Tri-series match between Queensland and New South Wales on 11 April.
- This match was played after the ANZAC Test between Super League Australia and New Zealand on 25 April.
- This match was played after Tri-series matches between Queensland and New Zealand on 9 May, and Queensland and New South Wales on 19 May.
- "Honour Board". broncos.com.au. Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.