1988 Brisbane Broncos season

The 1988 Brisbane Broncos season was the first in the club's history. The new venture team was added, along with the Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants to the New South Wales Rugby League's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership, coached by previous season grand final co-coach Wayne Bennett and captained by Australian national skipper Wally Lewis. Despite a strong start to the season, Brisbane failed to make the finals. During the season the Broncos also competed in the 1988 Panasonic Cup.

1988 Brisbane Broncos season
NSWRL Rank7th
Play-off resultDid not qualify
1988 recordWins: 10; draws: 0; losses: 8
Points scoredFor: 474; against: 368
Team information
CEOJohn Ribot
CoachWayne Bennett
Captain
StadiumLang Park
Avg. attendance15,071
Top scorers
TriesWally Lewis
GoalsTerry Matterson
PointsTerry Matterson
List of seasons1989 →

Season summary

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The same year Brisbane hosted World Expo 88, the Brisbane Broncos joined the New South Wales Rugby League premiership, making their debut on 6 March at Lang Park in Brisbane. The brand-new club which featured many Queensland-based international and state representatives, defeated the 1987 Winfield Cup Premiers Manly-Warringah 44-10 in their first premiership game. Brett Le Man scored the Broncos' first ever try from the scraps of a Craig Grauf bomb.

Although the Broncos won their first six games in their inaugural season, a midseason slump cost the club a debut finals appearance, finishing the season in seventh position. The Broncos also competed in the mid-week knockout competition, the 1988 Panasonic Cup, losing in the first round while they were still yet to lose a Winfield Cup match.

Match results

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RoundOpponentResultBro.Opp.DateVenueCrowdRef
TrialCanberra RaidersWin2216Lang Park10,000+
TrialNew Zealand President's XIIIWin38627 Feb8,324
1Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWin44106 MarLang Park17,451[1][2]
2Penrith PanthersWin201812 MarLang Park13,621[3]
3Western Suburbs MagpiesWin38420 MarCampbelltown10,112[4]
4North Sydney BearsWin241227 MarNorth Sydney9,329[5]
5Parramatta EelsWin24183 AprLang Park23,202[6]
PCPenrith PanthersLoss10246 AprParramatta Stadium[7]
6Newcastle KnightsWin241010 AprNewcastle ISC30,220[8]
7Balmain TigersLoss182616 AprLang Park18,434[9]
8Cronulla-Sutherland SharksLoss83823 AprEndeavour10,115
9Sydney RoostersWin24201 MayLang Park16,489[10]
10Gold Coast-Tweed GiantsLoss22258 MaySeagulls13,432[11]
11*Canberra RaidersLoss163622 MayLang Park15,909[12]
12*Illawarra SteelersWin32105 JunWollongong9,738[13]
13St. George DragonsWin262213 JunLang Park19,954[14]
14South Sydney RabbitohsLoss41617 JunSFS10,871[15]
15*Canterbury BulldogsLoss102526 JunLang Park15,371[16]
16Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesWin28103 JulBrookvale Oval17,193[17]
17Penrith PanthersWin8610 JulPenrith Park17,106[18]
18Western Suburbs MagpiesWin32616 JulLang Park11,419[19]
19North Sydney BearsWin24623 JulLang Park11,452[20]
20Parramatta EelsLoss142231 JulParramatta13,190[21]
21Newcastle KnightsWin2486 AugLang Park13,919[22]
22Balmain TigersLoss102013 AugLeichhardt Oval13,015[23]

Ladder

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TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1 Cronulla-Sutherland221624507330+17734
2 Canterbury-Bankstown221606412268+14432
3 Canberra221507596346+25030
4 Manly-Warringah221507538347+19130
5 Penrith221507394258+13630
6 Balmain221507402341+6130
7 Brisbane Broncos221408474368+10628
8 South Sydney221228425383+4224
9 North Sydney229211366424-5820
10 St. George229013352493-14118
11 Parramatta228014359412-5316
12 Eastern Suburbs226313387443-5615
13 Illawarra226115353510-15713
14 Newcastle Knights225116270460-19011
15 Gold Coast-Tweed Giants224216238484-24610
16 Western Suburbs224117287493-2069

Squad

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Brisbane Broncos 1988 Squad
First team squadCoaching staff

Head coach



Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)



Awards

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League

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nil

Club

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References

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  1. ^ Adrian McGregor (7 March 1988). "Wallypower starts a new era in Rugby League". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 61.
  2. ^ Alan Clarkson (7 March 1988). "Two-try Lewis is still the king". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 61.
  3. ^ Brett Thomas (13 March 1988). "Last-gasp try saves Broncos". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 86.
  4. ^ Ian Heads (21 March 1988). "Lewis and Broncos toy with Wests". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 64.
  5. ^ Paul Tait (28 March 1988). "Lewis steers the Broncos home". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 61.
  6. ^ Brad Forrest (5 April 1988). "Ward earns good report for 'ruling it as I saw it'". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 43.
  7. ^ Paul Tait (7 April 1988). "Alexander ends Broncos' charge". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 47.
  8. ^ MacDonald, John (11 April 1988). "King Wally staves off the bold Knights". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 63.
  9. ^ Alan Clarkson (17 April 1988). "Tigers turn the screws on tail poppies". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 75.
  10. ^ Brad Forrest (2 May 1988). "Bennett's blast brings on Bronco revival". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 60.
  11. ^ Brad Forrest (9 May 1988). "Gibbs and Gold Coast batter the Broncos". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 56.
  12. ^ Masters, Roy; Tait, Paul (23 May 1988). "Last Post sounds for Brisbane's baldful Old Veterans". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 65.
  13. ^ Weidler, Danny (6 June 1988). "Backrow pair seal win for Broncos". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 60.
  14. ^ Forrest, Brad (14 June 1988). "Possession helps beat St. George". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 47.
  15. ^ MacDonald, John (18 June 1988). "Souths still in top-five race". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 68.
  16. ^ Heads, Ian. "Super sub Turvey's picnic in the park". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 56.
  17. ^ MacDonald, John. "Dowling stands up where no Eagles dare". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 59.
  18. ^ MacDonald, John. "Bloodied Broncos survive an epic". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 52.
  19. ^ "Broncos run riot – but only in patches". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 July 1988. p. 70.
  20. ^ Alan Clarkson (24 July 1988). "Broncos drop Bears and ball in semis quest". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 63.
  21. ^ Tait, Paul (1 August 1988). "Brave win eases the dispair for Eels". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 59.
  22. ^ Clarkson, Alan (7 August 1988). "A Bronco breakout". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 64.
  23. ^ Clarkson, Alan (14 August 1988). "Tigers on the hunt". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 71.
  24. ^ "Honour Board". broncos.com.au. Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
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