1988 Brisbane Broncos season

The 1988 Brisbane Broncos season was the first in the club's history. Coached by previous season grand final co-coach Wayne Bennett and captained by Australian national skipper Wally Lewis, the new venture team competed in the New South Wales Rugby League's 1988 Winfield Cup premiership. 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. Attend.15,071
Top scorers
TriesWally Lewis
GoalsTerry Matterson
PointsTerry Matterson
List of seasons 1989 >

Season summary

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
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
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Cronulla-Sutherland 221624507330+17734
2 Canterbury-Bankstown 221606412268+14432
3 Canberra 221507596346+25030
4 Manly-Warringah 221507538347+19130
5 Penrith 221507394258+13630
6 Balmain 221507402341+6130
7 Brisbane Broncos 221408474368+10628
8 South Sydney 221228425383+4224
9 North Sydney 229211366424-5820
10 St. George 229013352493-14118
11 Parramatta 228014359412-5316
12 Eastern Suburbs 226313387443-5615
13 Illawarra 226115353510-15713
14 Newcastle Knights 225116270460-19011
15 Gold Coast-Tweed Giants 224216238484-24610
16 Western Suburbs 224117287493-2069

Awards

League

nil

Club

References
  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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