The 2006 Brisbane Broncos season was the nineteenth in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Darren Lockyer, they won the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 3rd place before going on to defeat the first-placed Melbourne Storm in the 2006 NRL Grand Final (their 6th).
Season summary The Broncos did not start the 2006 season well, suffering a 36–4 defeat by the previous year's runners-up, the North Queensland Cowboys in the first round. This was the 8th consecutive loss for the club and equalled the record for longest losing streak set in 2003. Round 2 saw the Broncos get their first win for the season and their first win since Round 21, 2005, with a 16–12 victory over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (this was the third game in a row in which the Brisbane Broncos beat the Cronulla Sharks 16–12 at Toyota Park). The Broncos then went on to have a strong first half of the season, winning 11 of their first 17 games. Round 8 saw Brisbane produce their biggest comeback in the club's history when they came from 18–0 down at halftime to win 30–28 over the Canberra Raiders. But the year's biggest upset came when the team, missing key players through State of Origin, lost to the last-placed and previously winless South Sydney Rabbitohs 34–14 in Round 14.
After the 2006 State of Origin series finished, Brisbane once again suffered their "post-Origin Slump", losing five consecutive games from Round 18 to Round 23 inclusive. However, strong performances against the competition leaders Melbourne Storm (losing 18–12) and a resounding victory against the Canterbury Bulldogs 30-0 the following week saw a return to form. The Broncos then defeated the injury-struck Parramatta Eels 23–0 in Round 25 and then the New Zealand Warriors 36–12 in Round 26. It was the first time since 1999 that the Broncos conceded no points in consecutive rounds.
Brisbane was heading into the finals with momentum not seen since 2000, but lost to the St. George Illawarra Dragons 20–4 in what was the highest attended Broncos game ever played at Suncorp Stadium at the time. The following week Wayne Bennett agreed to terms to continue coaching the Broncos for a further two years. The Broncos bounced back in the semi-final, defeating the Newcastle Knights by 50–6. Captain Darren Lockyer also became the Broncos' highest point-scorer with 1,077 (breaking Michael De Vere's record of 1,062 points). After trailing 20–6 at half-time against the Bulldogs in the grand final qualifier the team came back in the second half to earn a place in the 2006 NRL Grand Final with a 37–20 victory with Shaun Berrigan scoring a match-turning try in the second half.
It was the sixth time the Broncos made the Grand Final. Their opponents were the Melbourne Storm and the game was the first ever NRL Grand Final not to feature a New South Wales-based club. Despite heading into the game as underdogs, Brisbane won the match 15–8. This saw a fitting farewell to Broncos prop Shane Webcke who retired at the end of the season. The win enabled the Broncos to maintain their perfect record in grand final matches and made Wayne Bennett the most successful coach in grand final history with 6 from 6 with the Broncos. In his first year of coaching he made the Grand Final with the Canberra Raiders but lost, making his record at this time 6 from 7. His current record is 7 from 9 having won a Grand Final with the St. George Illawarra Dragons in 2010.and losing a grand final against the cowboys in 2015
The Broncos were also named "Queensland Sport Team of the Year" at the Queensland Sport Awards.
Squad information
Cap. Nat. Player Position First Broncos game Previous First Grade RL club 68 Brad Thorn 1994 74 Shane Webcke (vc) 1995 76 Darren Lockyer (c) 1995 79 Tonie Carroll 1996 87 Petero Civoniceva 1998 93 Shaun Berrigan 1999 94 Dane Carlaw 1999 100 Justin Hodges 2000 106 Corey Parker 2001 110 Brent Tate 2001 111 Casey McGuire 2001 Parramatta Eels 116 Nick Parfitt 2002 117 Scott Minto 2002 127 David Stagg 2003 128 Sam Thaiday 2003 130 Karmichael Hunt 2004 135 Tame Tupou 2004 138 Steve Michaels 2005 139 Nick Kenny 2005 140 Greg Eastwood 2005 141 Darius Boyd 2006 142 Shane Perry 2006 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 143 Michael Ennis 2006 St. George Illawarra Dragons 144 Ben Hannant 2006 Sydney Roosters 145 Ian Lacey 2006 146 Fraser Anderson 2006 147 Joel Moon 2006 148 Dave Taylor 2006 149 Nick Emmett 2006 150 Ben Vaeau 2006
Squad changes
Transfers in Date Player From Year/s 30 August 2005 Ben Hannant Sydney Roosters 1 Year 9 October 2005 Michael Ennis St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 Years Shane Perry Redcliffe Dolphins
Transfers out Date Player To Year/s 15 June 2005 Berrick Barnes Queensland Reds 2 Years 7 July 2005 Darren Mapp Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2 Years 8 July 2005 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs Canberra Raiders 4 Years Neale Wyatt Pia Donkeys Michael Ryan Celtic Crusaders Stuart Kelly Retirement 24 February 2026 Darren Smith Retirement 26 March 2006 Barry Berrigan Retirement 30 June 2006 Leon Bott Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 10 August 2006 Neville Costigan Terminated 10 August 2006 Brett Seymour Terminated
Date Player Year/s 29 June 2006 Karmichael Hunt 3 Years 29 June 2006 Ian Lacey 2 Years 5 July 2006 David Stagg 3 Years 5 July 2006 Ben Hannant 2 Years 25 July 2006 Joel Moon 2 Years
Coaching staff Name Role Ref. Wayne Bennett Director of Coaching Ivan Henjak Assistant Coach Peter Ryan Defence Co-ordinator Paul Green Kicking & Catching Co-ordinator Dean Benton Performance Director Paul Bunn Special Projects/Recruitment Manager Andrew Gee Football/Team Manager Dan Baker Strength Coach Rob Godbolt Physiotherapist & Rehab Co-ordinator Allan Langer Backs Co-ordinator Ben Ikin Team Welfare Officer Tony Spencer Trainer Ken Rach Trainer Scott Barker Video Analysis
Regular season Result by round
Round Opponent Result Bro. Opp. Date Venue Crowd PositionTrial Match Canberra Raiders Win 28 20 18 Feb Port Macquarie Sports Stadium Trial Match Melbourne Storm Loss 10 58 25 Feb Stadium Toowoomba 1 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 4 36 12 Mar Suncorp Stadium 46,22914/15 2 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Win 16 12 18 Mar Toyota Park 14,22112/15 3 Parramatta Eels Win 30 10 26 Mar Suncorp Stadium 25,5255/15 4 St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 12 26 2 Apr WIN Stadium 13,7089/15 5 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 30 12 8 Apr Suncorp Stadium 20,8167/15 6 Sydney Roosters Win 24 6 14 Apr Sydney Football Stadium 21,2464/15 7 Penrith Panthers Win 30 6 23 Apr Suncorp Stadium 25,1333/15 8 Canberra Raiders Win 30 28 29 Apr Suncorp Stadium 23,5823/15 9 Newcastle Knights Loss 30 32 7 May EnergyAustralia Stadium 21,2525/15 10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Win 32 10 13 May Suncorp Stadium 24,9914/15 11 Bye 4/15 12* Bulldogs RLFC Win 25 6 27 May Suncorp Stadium 30,5891/15 13 New Zealand Warriors Win 23 18 4 Jun Mt Smart Stadium 7,7461/15 14 South Sydney Rabbitohs Loss 14 34 10 Jun Telstra Stadium 6,5372/15 15* St George Illawarra Dragons Loss 16 18 16 Jun Suncorp Stadium 32,9142/15 16 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Win 16 10 25 Jun Brookvale Oval 16,0842/15 17 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Win 26 12 2 Jul Suncorp Stadium 25,8632/15 18* Melbourne Storm Loss 4 10 7 Jul Olympic Park 15,4793/15 19 Bye 3/15 20 North Queensland Cowboys Loss 10 26 22 Jul Dairy Farmers Stadium 24,6583/15 21 Wests Tigers Loss 6 20 30 Jul Suncorp Stadium 31,5003/15 22 Canberra Raiders Loss 18 30 6 Aug Canberra Stadium 13,1373/15 23 Melbourne Storm Loss 12 18 13 Aug Suncorp Stadium 40,1955/15 24 Bulldogs RLFC Win 30 0 18 Aug Telstra Stadium 26,1115/15 25 Parramatta Eels Win 23 0 27 Aug Parramatta Stadium 20,2534/15 26 New Zealand Warriors Win 36 12 3 Sep Suncorp Stadium 47,1933/15Qualif. FinalSt George Illawarra DragonsLoss4209 SepSuncorp Stadium50,387Semi-finalNewcastle KnightsWin50616 SepSydney Football Stadium20,081Prelim. FinalBulldogs RLFCWin372022 SepSydney Football Stadium29,511GRAND FINALMelbourne StormWin1581 OctTelstra Stadium79,609 Game following a State of Origin match
Ladder
Crowds The Brisbane Broncos had the biggest NRL season crowd average for 2006. The average crowd (including the Qualifying Final) for 2006 was 32,681 + *=includes finals matches played at home or away Games Played Crowd Total Average All Games 28 754,550 26,948 Home Games* 13 424,917 32,685 Away Games* 15 329,633 21,976 Finals 4 179,588 44,897
All Games*: Played:28 Total: 754,550 Average: 26,948 Home Games: Played: 13 Total: 424,917 Average: 32,685 Away Games: Played:15 Total: 329,633 Average: 21,976 Finals*: Played: 4 Total: 179,588 Average: 44,897
Grand final
Brisbane Position MelbourneJustin Hodges Fullback Billy SlaterDarius Boyd Wing Matt Geyer Brent Tate Centre Matt King David Stagg Centre Greg InglisKarmichael Hunt Wing Steve Turner Darren Lockyer (C) Five-eighth Scott HillShane Perry Halfback Cooper CronkShane Webcke Prop Antonio KaufusiShaun Berrigan Hooker Cameron Smith (C)Petero Civoniceva Prop Brett WhiteSam Thaiday Second Row David KidwellBrad Thorn Second Row Ryan HoffmanTonie Carroll Lock Dallas JohnsonCorey Parker Interchange Adam BlairDane Carlaw Interchange Jeremy SmithBen Hannant Interchange Ben CrossCasey McGuire Interchange Nathan FriendWayne Bennett COACH Craig Bellamy
Brisbane played against minor premiers the Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final and came out 15–8 winners. It was a perfect farewell for retiring prop Shane Webcke. The Broncos maintained their 100% win record in Grand Finals (1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2006). The six Premierships make Wayne Bennett the most successful club coach in Australian club football history.
Brisbane 15 (TRIES: Hodges, Tate; GOALS: Lockyer 2/2, Parker 1/2; FIELD GOALS: Lockyer)
defeated
Melbourne 8 (TRIES: Turner, King; GOALS: Smith 0/1, Geyer 0/1)
Halftime: Brisbane 8–4
Referee: Paul Simpkins
Stadium: Telstra Stadium (Sydney)
Crowd: 79,609
Clive Churchill Medal: Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane)
When They Scored
10th Minute: Brisbane 2-0 (Darren Lockyer penalty goal) 14th Minute: Melbourne 4-2 (Steve Turner try) 19th Minute: Brisbane 8-4 (Justin Hodges try; Darren Lockyer goal) 48th Minute: 8-8 (Matt King try) 60th Minute: Brisbane 10-8 (Corey Parker penalty goal) 62nd Minute: Brisbane 14-8 (Brent Tate try) 73rd Minute: Brisbane 15-8 (Darren Lockyer field goal)
Representative honours This table lists all players who played a representative match in 2006.
Player 2006 Anzac Test State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Tri-Nations Shaun Berrigan — Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia Tonie Carroll — — — Queensland — Petero Civoniceva Australia Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia Justin Hodges — Queensland Queensland — Australia Karmichael Hunt Australia — Queensland — Australia Darren Lockyer (c) Australia (c) Queensland (c) Queensland (c) Queensland (c) Australia (c) David Stagg — Queensland — — Australia Brent Tate — Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia Sam Thaiday — Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia Tame Tupou New Zealand New Zealand
Honours
League Telstra Premiership
Club Player of the year: Petero Civoniceva Rookie of the year: Darius Boyd Back of the year: Darren Lockyer Forward of the year: Brad Thorn Club man of the year: Andrew Gee
Player statistics Player Tries Goals FG Points Corey Parker 4 63/89 0 142 Darren Lockyer 13 19/24 5 95 Tame Tupou 13 0 0 52 Darius Boyd 11 0 0 44 Justin Hodges 10 1/1 0 42 Shaun Berrigan 9 0 0 36 Karmichael Hunt 7 0 0 28 Greg Eastwood 6 0 0 24 Brent Tate 5 0 0 20 Shane Webcke 4 0 0 16 Brad Thorn 4 0 0 16 Brett Seymour 3 0/1 0 12 Michael Ennis 0 6/11 0 12 Petero Civoniceva 3 0 0 12 David Stagg 3 0 0 12 Sam Thaiday 2 0 0 8 Dane Carlaw 2 0 0 8 Fraser Anderson 1 0 0 4 Leon Bott 1 0 0 4 Casey McGuire 1 0 0 4 Tonie Carroll 1 0 0 4 Stephen Michaels 1 0 0 4 Shane Perry 1 0 0 4 TOTAL105895603
References
External links Rugby League Tables and Statistics