The 2008 Brisbane Broncos season was the 21st in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership, the centenary season of rugby league football in Australia. The Broncos finished the regular season 5th (out of 16), but were knocked out of the finals by eventual grand finalists Melbourne Storm for the second consecutive year.
Season summary The Broncos started the season by winning their first three games: 48–12 against the Penrith Panthers in round 1, 20–14 against the Sydney Roosters in round 2 and 36–2 against the North Queensland Cowboys in round 3. Round 3 gave way to an attendance of 50,612 people, the biggest crowd at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos suffered their first loss of the 2008 season with a 28–8 loss to reigning premiers the Melbourne Storm in round 4.
Round 5 saw the Broncos have a 34–22 win over the Newcastle Knights at Energy Australia Stadium. Justin Hodges starred with a two try effort, with Michael Ennis also scoring two tries, while always looking dangerous. Round 6 was a disappointing 26–24 loss for the Broncos to the red hot Gold Coast Titans. The Titans burst out of the blocks with a 16–0 lead after 20 mins. However, the Broncos fought back, with a missed goal from the sideline from Michael Ennis late in the second half the difference. In round 9, the Broncos lost their first match of the season; though they led 12–6 at halftime, they lost 30–12 against the Manly Sea Eagles. This was the Broncos' first loss for the season at Suncorp Stadium. In round 10, the Broncos had their first back-to-back losses for the season, when they lost to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 13–6 at Toyota Park. The Broncos returned to the winners' list with a thrilling 30–26 win against the Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium in round 12. Denan Kemp equalled the record for the most tries in a match for the Broncos, with four tries against the Eels in round 12. Karmichael Hunt kicked his first ever field goal when he won the game for the Broncos 19–18 against the Wests Tigers in round 15. Nick Kenny scored his first ever try in first grade against the Tigers. The Broncos played out their first draw since round 25, 2004, and the first draw of the season, with a hard-fought 12–12 draw with the Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium in round 16. In round 20, the Broncos had their first back-to-back wins since round 8 with a hard-fought 18–12 win over the Cronulla Sharks at Suncorp Stadium. Joel Clinton scored his first try for the Broncos in their 25–21 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium in round 24. In round 25, the Broncos secured another finals campaign with a 36–22 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos would compete in their 17th straight finals series. They took on the Sydney Roosters in the qualifying final, and turned an 8-point halftime deficit into an 8-point win, coming from 16–8 down to win 24–16 at the SFS. The Broncos' season came to an end when Greg Inglis crossed the line with one minute to play as the Broncos led the Melbourne Storm 14–12 in the semi-final at Suncorp Stadium. They lost 16–14.
After the NRL season, Brisbane's Darius Boyd was selected to make his international debut for Australia in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
Squad information
Cap. Nat. Player Position First Broncos game Previous First Grade RL club 76 Darren Lockyer (c) 1995 79 Tonie Carroll 1996 100 Justin Hodges 2000 106 Corey Parker 2001 124 Craig Frawley 2003 Canberra Raiders 127 David Stagg 2003 128 Sam Thaiday 2003 130 Karmichael Hunt 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 147 Joel Moon 2006 148 Dave Taylor 2006 149 Nick Emmett 2006 153 Denan Kemp 2007 154 Mick Roberts 2007 157 Reece Robinson 2008 158 Peter Wallace 2008 Penrith Panthers 159 Joel Clinton 2008 Penrith Panthers 160 Ashton Sims 2008 St. George Illawarra Dragons 161 PJ Marsh 2008 Parramatta Eels 162 Derrick Watkins 2008 North Queensland Cowboys 163 Andrew McCullough 2008 164 Isaak Ah Mau 2008 165 Josh Hoffman 2008 166 Kaine Manihera 2008 — Ryan Barton Yet to debut — Gerard Beale Yet to debut — Rodney Davies Yet to debut — Tom Hewitt Yet to debut St. George Illawarra Dragons — Jason Moon Yet to debut — Palmer Wapau Yet to debut
Squad changes
Transfers in Date Player From Year/s — Peter Wallace Penrith Panthers 2 years — Joel Clinton Penrith Panthers 3 years 23 June 2007 Ashton Sims St. George Illawarra Dragons 3 years 10 August 2007 Tom Hewitt St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 years 2 November 2007 PJ Marsh Parramatta Eels 3 years Transfers out Date Player To Year/s 30 May 2007 Brent Tate New Zealand Warriors 3 years 15 June 2007 Shaun Berrigan Hull F.C. 4 years 28 June 2007 Petero Civoniceva Penrith Panthers 2 years 7 July 2007 Dane Carlaw Catalans Dragons 3 years 23 August 2007 Brad Thorn Crusaders (rugby union) 1 year
Re-signings Date Player Year/s 22 January 2008 Dave Taylor 1 year 26 March 2008 Corey Parker 3 years 15 July 2008 Peter Wallace 3 years 15 July 2008 Steve Michaels 2 years 15 July 2008 Gerard Beale 2 years 15 July 2008 Josh Hoffman 2 years 15 July 2008 Ben Hunt 2 years 15 July 2008 Andrew McCullough 2 years 15 July 2008 Josh McGuire 2 years 15 July 2008 Will Tupou 2 years 15 July 2008 Jharal Yow Yeh 2 years
Contracts Current Signed for Source 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Darius Boyd signed with St. George Illawarra off contract Tonie Carroll. Joel Clinton off contract Greg Eastwood signed with Bulldogs off contract Nick Emmett signed with St. George Illawarra contract details unknown Michael Ennis signed with Bulldogs off contract leaving Melbourne Israel Folau leaving Catalans Aaron Gorrell Ben Hannant signed with Bulldogs off contract Justin Hodges off contract Karmichael Hunt Signed with Gold Coast AfL Denan Kemp signed with New Zealand off contract Nick Kenny off contract Kaine Manihera contract details unknown Darren Lockyer off contract PJ Marsh off contract Steven Michaels off contract Joel Moon signed with New Zealand off contract Corey Parker off contract Shane Perry signed with Catalans off contract Reece Robinson off contract leaving St. George Illawarra Lagi Setu off contract Ashton Sims off contract David Stagg signed with Canterbury off contract David Taylor off contract leaving Wests Tigers Ben Te'o off contract Sam Thaiday off contract Peter Wallace
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 Jeremy Hickmans Performance director Paul Bunn Special projects/recruitment manager Peter Nolan Football/team manager Andrew Gee Sponsorship 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 Anthony Griffin NYC coach/elite player development manager
Matches RoundOpponentResultBris.Opp.DateVenueCrowdPositionTrial Central Comets Win 30 12 9 February Theodore, Queensland Trial North Queensland Cowboys Win 20 10 16 February Brown Park, Rockhampton Trial Canberra Raiders Loss 16 32 23 February Wade Park, Orange 8,500 Trial Redcliffe Dolphins Win 24 22 1 March Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe 8,000 1 Penrith Panthers Win 48 12 16 March Suncorp Stadium 31,250 1/16 2 Sydney Roosters Win 20 14 21 March Sydney Football Stadium 18,724 1/16 3 North Queensland Cowboys Win 36 2 28 March Suncorp Stadium 50,612 1/16 4 Melbourne Storm Loss 8 28 4 April Olympic Park Stadium 13,831 1/16 5 Newcastle Knights Win 34 22 13 April EnergyAustralia Stadium 21,614 1/16 6 Gold Coast Titans Loss 24 26 18 April Skilled Park 27,176 2/16 7 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win 32 18 25 April Suncorp Stadium 34,112 2/16 8 Wests Tigers Win 34 22 3 May ANZ Stadium 11,177 1/16 9 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Loss 12 30 11 May Suncorp Stadium 27,469 3/16 10 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Loss 6 13 17 May Toyota Park 13,431 6/16 11 Bye 5/16 12 Parramatta Eels Win 30 26 30 May Suncorp Stadium 25,564 4/16 13 St. George Illawarra Dragons Loss 10 28 6 June WIN Stadium 11,432 6/16 14 Canberra Raiders Loss 16 34 15 June Canberra Stadium 11,157 7/16 15 Wests Tigers Win 19 18 20 June Suncorp Stadium 27,862 7/16 16 Penrith Panthers Draw 12 12 27 June CUA Stadium 9,967 7/16 17 Bye 7/16 18 Bulldogs Loss 18 26 13 July Suncorp Stadium 37,687 7/16 19 North Queensland Cowboys Win 32 18 18 July Dairy Farmers Stadium 22,048 5/16 20 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Win 18 12 25 July Suncorp Stadium 27,905 5/16 21 Canberra Raiders Win 34 6 3 August Suncorp Stadium 28,103 5/16 22 New Zealand Warriors Loss 12 16 9 August Mt. Smart 13,007 5/16 23 St. George Illawarra Dragons Loss 20 24 15 August Suncorp Stadium 33,237 5/16 24 Gold Coast Titans Win 25 21 22 August Suncorp Stadium 39,737 5/16 25 Bulldogs Win 36 22 31 August Stadium Australia 7,685 5/16 26 Newcastle Knights Win 24 2 5 September Suncorp Stadium 37,552 5/16 QF Sydney Roosters Win 24 16 12 September Sydney Football Stadium 18,343 SF Melbourne Storm Loss 14 16 20 September Suncorp Stadium 50,466 Ladder
Statistics
PlayerTriesGoalsField goalsPointsMichael Ennis7480124Denan Kemp170068Corey Parker327066Darius Boyd90036Justin Hodges80032Sam Thaiday80032Peter Wallace48028Joel Moon50020Reece Robinson40016David Stagg40016Karmichael Hunt30113Darren Lockyer2019Tonie Carroll2008Ben Hannant2008Kaine Manihera2008Greg Eastwood2008PJ Marsh1004Reece Robinson1004Steve Michaels1004Shane Perry1004Nick Kenny1004Dave Taylor1004Joel Clinton1004
Honours
League Nil
Club Player of the year: Sam Thaiday Rookie of the year: Denan Kemp Back of the year: Karmichael Hunt Forward of the year: Sam Thaiday Club man of the year: Matt Middleton
NRL Under-20s
For the first time since the formation of the NRL in 1998, every team fielded a team in the same second-tier competition the NRL Under-20s, guaranteeing fans a high standard curtain raiser before every NRL game. The National Youth Competition (known commercially as the Toyota Cup due to sponsorship from Toyota Australia) ran parallel to the NRL. Similar to the NRL, the NYC enforces a salary cap and puts a heavy focus on life outside football for the players.
In the competition's inaugural season, Brisbane were coached by Anthony Griffin and captained by Alex Glenn. The Broncos finished the regular season in 2nd position, with 15 wins and 8 losses. The Broncos reached the Grand Final against the minor premiers the Canberra Raiders, but lost in Golden Point 28-24, the first Golden Point match in the competition's history.
Halfback Ben Hunt was crowned the competition's Player of the Year, having scored 17 tries, kicked 49 goals and set up 41 tries throughout the season. Winger Jharal Yow Yeh was named on the wing in the Team of the Year, scoring 27 tries in 26 games. Both re-signed in July for a further two seasons.
Fullback Josh Hoffman and hooker Andrew McCullough both made their NRL debuts throughout the 2008 NRL season, and have also re-signed with the club for another two seasons.
Notable achievements Achievement Player Total Most tries Jharal Yow Yeh 27 tries (26 games) Most goals Jared Kahu 52/70 @74.29% Most points Ben Hunt 166 points (17 tries, 49 goals) Most games Alex Glenn (c), Matt Handcock 27 games