1994 Brisbane Broncos season
The 1994 Brisbane Broncos season was the seventh in the club's history. As defending Premiers the Broncos competed in the NSWRL's 1994 Winfield Cup competition, finishing the regular season 5th (out of 16). They then progressed as far as the Semi-finals where a one-point loss to the North Sydney Bears saw them knocked out. Brisbane also hosted and lost the 1994 World Club Challenge to England's Wigan.
Season summary
In the English spring of 1994 it was announced that the Brisbane Broncos club was buying the London Crusaders, who would be renamed 'London Broncos'.[1]
New South Wales Rugby League season 1994 started in fine fashion for Brisbane. They cruised through to the final of the Toohey's Challenge for the fifth time, but amazingly were pipped by the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the decider. That started a shocking opening to the premiership that saw them win just one game in the first month of the competition and leave them languishing near oblivion. They were flat out winning two games in a row for much of the season.
Behind the scenes, Broncos chief executive John Ribot sent his first report on the Super League concept to News Ltd chief executive Ken Cowley.
On-field Brisbane continued to struggle, with frustration reaching boiling point against the Newcastle Knights. Referee Greg McCallum sinbinned Allan Langer for dissent as the Knights beat the Broncos for the first time. More disappointment came when Wigan avenged their 1992 loss by winning the 1994 World Club Challenge at ANZ Stadium mid-season.
A late season revival catapulted the Broncos into fifth spot, narrowly beating out the Illawarra Steelers for a spot in the finals. A tight contest against Manly-Warringah which resulted in 16-4 victory revived some hope of a 'three-peat'.[2] The following week they played against the North Sydney Bears, and after trailing 14-4 the Broncos staged a comeback to level at 14-14. In the end, a Jason Taylor field goal won the game for North Sydney 15-14 shortly before full-time.
Match results
*Game following a State of Origin match
Season Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 537 | 340 | +197 | 36 |
| 2 |  North Sydney |
22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 517 | 291 | +226 | 35 |
| 3 |  Canberra |
22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 677 | 298 | +379 | 34 |
| 4 |  Manly-Warringah |
22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 605 | 311 | +294 | 33 |
| 5 |  Brisbane Broncos |
22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 544 | 316 | +228 | 27 |
| 6 |  Illawarra |
22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 484 | 387 | +97 | 25 |
| 7 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 432 | 401 | +31 | 24 |
| 8 |  Penrith |
22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 404 | 448 | -44 | 22 |
| 9 |  South Sydney |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 401 | 569 | -168 | 19 |
| 10 |  Newcastle Knights |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 427 | 458 | -31 | 18 |
| 11 |  St. George |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 386 | 497 | -111 | 18 |
| 12 |  Parramatta |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 350 | 474 | -124 | 15 |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 439 | 650 | -211 | 14 |
| 14 |  Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 344 | 513 | -169 | 13 |
| 15 |  Gold Coast Seagulls |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 363 | 618 | -255 | 11 |
| 16 |  Balmain |
22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 303 | 642 | -339 | 8 |
Scorers
| Player | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian O'Neill | 8 | 47/78 | 3 | 129 |
| Steve Renouf | 23 | 0 | 0 | 92 |
| Wendell Sailor | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| Allan Langer | 11 | 2/2 | 1 | 49 |
| Terry Matterson | 3 | 18/35 | 0 | 48 |
| Michael Hancock | 11 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Willie Carne | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| John Plath | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Kevin Walters | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Chris McKenna | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Alan Cann | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Brett Galea | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Andrew Gee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Peter Ryan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| John Driscoll | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mark Hohn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Paul Hauff | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Chris Johns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Paul Morris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Brad Thorn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kerrod Walters | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Honours
League
- Nil
Club
- Player of the year: Allan Langer[3]
- Rookie of the year: Brad Thorn / John Driscoll
- Back of the year: Michael Hancock
- Forward of the year: Andrew Gee
- Club man of the year: John Plath
References
- Hadfield, Dave (8 June 1994). "Rugby League: Brisbane's capital investment in London: Broncos to spend big bucks on crusade to develop barren British territory". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7022-3536-8.
- "Honour Board". broncos.com.au. Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.