The 2014 Brisbane Broncos season was the 27th in the club's history. The team is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Coached by Anthony Griffin and co-captained by Justin Hodges and Corey Parker, they competed in the NRL's 2014 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season eighth (out of sixteen) to make it into the finals. The Broncos were then knocked out of contention in the first game of the finals against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Season summary
On 10 January, Sam Thaiday announced he was standing down from the Broncos captaincy. Thaiday had captained the Broncos since 2012, when he took over from retired Darren Lockyer. Justin Hodges and Corey Parker were subsequently named co-captains.
In March 2014, Anthony Griffin moved Kiwis fullback Josh Hoffman to five-eighth, with recruit Ben Barba to play fullback in Round 1 against his former team, the Bulldogs.
In July, the Broncos switched Hoffman back to fullback and moved Barba to five-eighth, abandoning the Hoffman at five-eighth experiment in Round 19 against the Warriors in a 28–22 win at Suncorp Stadium.
On 21 July, head coach Anthony Griffin was informed that his services would not be required beyond the 2014 season. Griffin agreed to see out the remainder of the season. When asked by the media about informing the players, Griffin said, "I told them I got the arse." At the time of his departure, he had coached 93 games for the Broncos, recording 51 wins.
Later that day, it was announced that Wayne Bennett had signed a three-year deal to return as head coach of the Broncos from 2015. Bennett was the club’s inaugural head coach, having previously led the team from 1988 to 2008.
Squad information
Cap. Nat. Player Position First Broncos game Previous First Grade RL club 100 Justin Hodges (c) 2000 Sydney Roosters 106 Corey Parker (c) 2001 127 David Stagg 2003 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 128 Sam Thaiday 2003 144 Ben Hannant 2006 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 163 Andrew McCullough 2008 165 Josh Hoffman 2008 172 Alex Glenn 2009 174 Josh McGuire 2009 177 Dale Copley 2009 178 Ben Hunt 2009 180 David Hala 2009 182 Matt Gillett 2010 183 Mitchell Dodds 2010 190 Jack Reed 2011 195 Lachlan Maranta 2012 196 Jarrod Wallace 2012 199 Jordan Kahu 2013 200 Jake Granville 2013 201 Corey Oates 2013 203 Jordan Drew 2013 204 Ben Barba 2014 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 205 Daniel Vidot 2014 St. George Illawarra Dragons 206 Martin Kennedy 2014 Sydney Roosters 207 Todd Lowrie 2014 New Zealand Warriors 208 Francis Molo 2014 – Ajuma Adams Yet to debut – Marmin Barba Yet to debut – Cameron Cullen Yet to debut – Jon Green Yet to debut Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks – Darren Nicholls Yet to debut – Kodi Nikorima Yet to debut – Joe Ofahengaue Yet to debut – Duncan Paia'aua Yet to debut – Zach Strasser Yet to debut – Ashley Taylor Yet to debut
Squad changes
Transfers in Date Position Player From Year/s Ref. 15 August 2013 Zach Strasser Redcliffe Dolphins 2 Years 28 August 2013 Ben Barba Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 3 Years 11 September 2013 Martin Kennedy Sydney Roosters 3 Years 15 October 2013 Todd Lowrie New Zealand Warriors 2 Years 15 October 2013 Stewart Mills Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 Year 15 October 2013 Daniel Vidot St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 Years 28 October 2013 Marmin Barba Gold Coast Titans 2 Years 22 May 2014 Darren Nicholls Wyong Roos (Mid-season) — Transfers out Date Position Player To Year/s Ref. 25 March 2013 Corey Norman Parramatta Eels 3 Years 24 August 2013 Peter Wallace Penrith Panthers 3 Years 26 August 2013 Scott Prince Retirement – 28 August 2013 Dunamis Lui Manly Warringah Sea Eagles – 24 September 2013 Lama Tasi Salford RLFC 2 Years 17 November 2013 Kurt Baptiste Canberra Raiders 1 Year 26 November 2013 Scott Anderson Wakefield Trinity 1 Year 30 January 2014 Nick Slyney London Broncos – 30 January 2014 Denan Kemp Thirroul Butchers 1 Year 17 March 2014 Jharal Yow Yeh Retirement (Mid-season) – 30 June 2014 Stewart Mills Released (Mid-season) –
Re-signings Date Position Player Year/s Ref. 3 February 2014 David Stagg 2015 22 April 2014 Justin Hodges 2 Years 22 April 2014 Corey Parker 2 Years 30 May 2014 Lachlan Maranta 2 Years 30 May 2014 Jarrod Wallace 2 Years 13 June 2014 David Hala 1 Year 1 October 2014 Ben Hunt 2 Years 9 October 2014 Corey Oates 2 Years
Contract lengths Player 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 SourceBen Barba Jake Granville David Hala Ben Hannant Josh Hoffman Martin Kennedy Stewart Mills Released Darren Nicholls Marmin Barba Alex Glenn Jordan Kahu Todd Lowrie Andrew McCullough Josh McGuire Corey Oates David Stagg Zach Strasser Sam Thaiday Daniel Vidot Dale Copley Matt Gillett Justin Hodges Lachlan Maranta Corey Parker Jarrod Wallace Ben Hunt Corey Oates Jack Reed
Coaching staff Role Name Ref. Head coach Anthony Griffin Assistant Coach Stephen Kearney Assistant Coach Kristian Woolf Head of Performance Alex Corvo Athletic Performance Coach Steve Hooper Athletic Performance Coach Adam Paulo List & Recruitment Manager Peter Nolan Team & Welfare Manager Scot Czislowski NYC Coach Craig Hodges NYC Assistant Coach Adam Brideson
Fixtures
Pre-season Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals AttendanceSaturday, 8 FebruaryTrial 1 North Queensland CowboysDolphin Oval8 – 32Daniel Vidot, Jayden NikorimaJordan Kahu (0/2)12,000Saturday, 23 FebruaryTrial 2 New Zealand WarriorsForsyth Barr Stadium4 – 48Jack ReedCorey Parker (0/1)6,000 Legend: NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2014 competition was played over two days on 15 and 16 February at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The Broncos featured in Pool Green and played the Bulldogs, Eels and Roosters. The top two teams of each pool qualified for the quarter-finals.
Pool Play Pool GreenTeam Parramatta Eels32015532234 Brisbane Broncos32014232104 Sydney Roosters31022941−122 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs31022747−212
Date Time (Local) Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Saturday, 15 February1:25pmRound 1 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsEden Park20–4Dale Copley, Andrew McCullough, Ben Hunt, Ben BarbaSaturday, 15 Saturday 5:10pmRound 2 Sydney RoostersEden Park7–14Corey Parker (Bonus Try)Corey Parker (1)Sunday, 16 February1:15pmRound 3 Parramatta EelsEden Park15–14Kodi Nikorima (Bonus Try), Josh Hoffman, Ben HuntAndrew McCullough (1) Legend:
Finals
Date Time (Local) Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Sunday, 16 February3:30pmQuarter Newcastle KnightsEden Park16–11Andrew McCullough, Kodi Nikorima Josh Hoffman, Dale CopleySunday, 16 February5:45pmSemi Cronulla-Sutherland SharksEden Park18–14Andrew McCullough, Ben Barba, Ben Hunt, Josh HoffmanMatt Gillett {2)Sunday, 16 February7:30pmFinal North Queensland CowboysEden Park7–16Ben Hunt (Bonus Try)Ben Hunt (1) Legend:
Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score TriesGoals AttendanceFriday, 7 MarchRound 1 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsANZ Stadium18 – 12Copley, Vidot, MarantaParker (2/3), Hunt (1/1)18,040Friday, 14 MarchRound 2 North Queensland CowboysSuncorp Stadium16 – 12Gillett, Vidot, McCulloughParker (2/3) 42,303Friday, 21 MarchRound 3 Sydney RoostersSuncorp Stadium26 – 30Hunt (2), Thaiday, Maranta, ReedParker (3/6)33,381Friday, 28 MarchRound 4 St. George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium36 – 20Gillett (2), Thaiday, Lowrie, Copley, HuntParker (6/6)10,526Friday, 4 AprilRound 5 Parramatta EelsSuncorp Stadium18 – 25Copley, Hunt, McGuireParker (3/3)32,009Friday, 11 AprilRound 6 Gold Coast TitansCbus Super Stadium8 – 12HuntParker (2/2)20,524Friday, 18 AprilRound 7 Newcastle KnightsHunter Stadium32 – 6Glenn, Gillett, B. Barba, Copley, Hannant, HoffmanParker (3/6), Hunt (1/1)22,254Friday, 25 AprilRound 8 South Sydney RabbitohsSuncorp Stadium26 – 28McCullough (2), Maranta, Gillett, ReedParker (1/3), Hunt (2/2)44,122Friday, 9 MayRound 9 North Queensland Cowboys1300SMILES Stadium14 – 27Hunt (2), CopleyParker (1/3)21,340Friday, 16 MayRound 10 Gold Coast TitansSuncorp Stadium22 - 8Copley (2), Gillett, ReedParker (3/4)31,380Saturday, 24 MayRound 11 Wests TigersCampbelltown Stadium16 – 14Oates (2)Hunt (4/4)16,511Sunday, 1 JuneRound 12 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesSuncorp Stadium36 – 10Reed (2), Copley (2), Maranta, Glenn, GillettParker (2/4), Hunt (2/3)32,017Monday, 9 JuneRound 13 Canberra RaidersGIO Stadium28 – 4Copley (2), McGuire, B. Barba, GlennParker (1/2), Hunt (3/3)8,904Round 14ByeSaturday, 21 JuneRound 15 New Zealand WarriorsMt Smart Stadium10 – 19 Granville, B. BarbaHunt (1/2)16,025Friday, 27 JuneRound 16 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksSuncorp Stadium22 – 24Hala (2), Vidot, GlennHunt (3/4)24,285Round 17ByeMonday, 14 JulyRound 18 Penrith PanthersSportingbet Stadium34 – 35Copley, Hodges, Granville, Reed, Vidot, OatesParker (5/6)12,439Saturday, 19 JulyRound 19 New Zealand WarriorsSuncorp Stadium28 – 22Copley (2), Hannant, Hunt, KahuParker (4/6)37,082Friday, 25 JulyRound 20 Melbourne StormSuncorp Stadium8 – 30Copley, Glenn36,319Friday, 1 AugustRound 21 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval4 – 16Reed12,873Friday, 8 AugustRound 22 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsSuncorp Stadium41 – 10Hunt (2), Copley, Vidot, B. Barba, Oates, ThaidayParker (4/5), Hunt (2/4), McCullough (FG)28,344Thursday, 14 AugustRound 23 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium16 – 42Hodges, Thaiday, Reed Parker (2/3)14,094Saturday, 23 AugustRound 24 Newcastle KnightsSuncorp Stadium48 – 6B. Barba (3), Reed (2), Vidot, Gillett, Maranta, OatesParker (4/5), Hunt (2/4)22,282Friday, 29 AugustRound 25 St. George Illawarra DragonsSuncorp Stadium30 – 22Hunt (2), Gillett (2), VidotParker (5/5)36,720Friday, 5 SeptemberRound 26 Melbourne StormAAMI Park12 – 22Hunt, ReedParker (2/3)20,032 Legend:
Ladder
Finals
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals AttendanceSaturday, 13 SeptemberElimination Final North Queensland Cowboys1300SMILES Stadium20 – 32Kahu (2), B. Barba, VidotParker (2/4)25,120
Result by round
Milestone games
Round Player Milestone Round 1 Ben Barba Broncos Debut Martin Kennedy Broncos Debut Todd Lowrie Broncos Debut Daniel Vidot Broncos Debut, 1st Broncos Try Round 3 Ben Barba 100 NRL Games Round 4 Todd Lowrie 1st Broncos Try Round 5 Corey Parker 1000 NRL Points Round 7 Ben Barba 1st Broncos Try Round 11 Ben Hunt 100 NRL Games Francis Molo NRL Debut Round 12 Josh Hoffman 100 NRL Games Josh McGuire 100 NRL Games Dale Copley 50 NRL Games Round 15 Jake Granville 1st Career Try Round 18 Sam Thaiday 200 NRL Games Round 20 Todd Lowrie 200 NRL Games Round 21 Matt Gillett 100 NRL Games Round 24 Daniel Vidot 100 NRL Games
Statistics NameAppTGFGPts258003225160064211000402550020820087200821200817200820100425132109433001216000018100417500202330113242008100002050020220570114231100444000019400162380032140000 Totals 103 78 1 569 Source:
Representatives The following players have played a representative match in 2014
City vs Country ANZAC Test Four Nations Qualifier State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Four NationsMatt Gillett Justin Hodges Josh McGuire Corey Parker Sam Thaiday Daniel Vidot Ben Hunt
Awards
League NRL RLPA Academic Team of the Year: Todd Lowrie NRL Tradesman of the Year: Aaron Rockley (Inaugural winner)
Broncos Awards Night Held at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on Friday 10 October 2014. Paul Morgan Medal: Ben Hunt Player's Player: Ben Hunt Fan Player of the Year: Ben Hunt Best Back: Ben Hunt Best Forward: Josh McGuire Most Consistent: Alex Glenn Play of The Year: Ben Barba Clubman of the Year: Scot Czislowski NYC Player of the Year: Joe Ofahengaue NYC Players’ Player: Jai Arrow NYC Best Back: Ashley Taylor NYC Best Forward: Aaron Rockley
NRL Under-20s
In 2014, the Broncos Under-20s team was again coached by Craig Hodges and captained by Brett Greinke. The Broncos Under-20s finished the regular season in 2nd position, with 16 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses. The Broncos reached the Grand Final against the Junior Warriors, losing 32–34 in a close finish.