Life Without Bennett Was Pretty Bad...

[Anonymous person]

Re: Pre-Season

Yes but they aren't the years I'm talking about so I'm not sure of their relevance

2011 is only a few years ago, isn't it?

The Broncos from 2009 to 2011 were the best we've looked in a decade IMO. Had a few little things gone our way or a few little changes been made, we could've had 2-3 premierships there.

 

[BroncosAlways]

Re: Pre-Season

Was it Sam Thaiday who made some positive headlines for the club by chucking a heap of gear at fans at the end of a game last year?

Bloke gave me his Origin jumper at a fan day,only because I asked for it though...

 

[Porthoz]

Re: Pre-Season

2011 is only a few years ago, isn't it?

The Broncos from 2009 to 2011 were the best we've looked in a decade IMO. Had a few little things gone our way or a few little changes been made, we could've had 2-3 premierships there.

Uhh... surely you're not including 2010 in there, are you?

 

[GCBRONCO]

Re: Pre-Season

Uhh... surely you're not including 2010 in there, are you?

The standards must have dropped dramatically to consider 2010 a highlight season.

 

[Anonymous person]

Re: Pre-Season

I didn't say it was a highlight season, just that with that team had a few things gone our way and made a few minor changes we could've won some premierships. We **just** missed the finals, pretty much purely because Lockyer was out for the last like 5 games, and we had shown that we very much could match it with the best, and even beat them, with that absolutely stellar win over the Dragons late in the season. That was one of the best Broncos games I've ever seen.

2009 and 2011 were among our best seasons. 2011 in fact was one of our best seasons of all time statistically.

 

[Jason Simmons]

Re: Pre-Season

In at least 2 of those years we were right up there with as good a chance as any of winning the premierships come finals time - 2009 and 2011 specifically. Lockyer doesn't go down and we win the premiership in 2011 IMO, without a shadow of a doubt.

Maybe. Or maybe the eventual premiership winners that year would still have beaten us and in that scenario we don't even have the 'no Lockyer' excuse to cling to.

Point being, when it came down to it, we couldn't match let alone beat the top teams when it mattered.

End of story.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Re: Pre-Season

There was only one season where we were taken lightly and that was 2013. Some will say that's one season too many and I agree with them but we were generally on the radar.

Here's the funny thing about creative license. At first it starts off as a joke but eventually it catches on, becomes the perception before manifesting itself into the truth. It isn't close and I'm going to nip it in the bud before people act like the Broncos were a team of cripples before Wayne took over.

You have to understand Pete, this club is not held to standards that other clubs are held to. Our success, over a 25 year period, has been nothing short of unprecedented in Rugby League. There was always going to be blowback amongst the fanship at large when that bubble finally burst.

 

[GCBRONCO]

I wouldn't say just one season we were taken lightly, a lot of people wrote us off immediately after Lockyer's retirement in 2012 and that proved to be pretty much true, we crawled into the finals with results going our way in the run home. Hell 2014 could have been pretty poor if Hunt hadn't had such a stellar season, Barba and Hoffman were carried for much of that season.

 

[broncos4life]

What few years were you talking about then?

The last 2 to 3.

 

[Morkel]

Maybe. Or maybe the eventual premiership winners that year would still have beaten us and in that scenario we don't even have the 'no Lockyer' excuse to cling to.

Point being, when it came down to it, we couldn't match let alone beat the top teams when it mattered.

End of story.

Actually, we did. Beat the eventual premiers at their own game. Were looking fantastic until O'Donnell popped Lockyer's ribs. And one of those tiny "things" to have gone our way could be for Hodges to not step on that one blade of grass and miss the whole year. And that was 2010, the infamous "missed the finals for the first time in X years" season.

2009 we lost to the cheating storm because we lost our halfback - who I might add - looked fucking sharp next to Lockyer, just watch a few vids. And 2011, we again had the eventual premier's number if the refs weren't incompetent and Thaiday stopped trying to milk penalties. And that was without Lockyer.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Actually, we did. Beat the eventual premiers at their own game. Were looking fantastic until O'Donnell popped Lockyer's ribs. And one of those tiny "things" to have gone our way could be for Hodges to not step on that one blade of grass and miss the whole year. And that was 2010, the infamous "missed the finals for the first time in X years" season.

The same season Melbourne were also deducted points and could not obtain anymore, inflating our position on the ladder, can't see us making the finals ahead of the storm at their peak in 2010, even if they weren't deducted points. Also for most of the season we were actually either low in the top eight or outside of it completely, our highest position was 5th and that was only round 1. It is also equal with 2007 on win to loss ratio's as being our worst performing years and the injury toll in 2007 was far worse and we still made the finals in 2007.

 

[Alec]

2009 was a brave year, Henjak threw a lot of rookies into the system to build towards the future. We were never in contention with all that inexperience, we even overachived in the end IMO. Got smashed multiple times throughout the year too.

2010 was a depressing year too, missing the 8 for the first time in years, no Hodges for the whole year, not Lockyer at the end to save us either.

I wouldn't call either year anywhere close to exciting, save for a few games here and there. Both just had the future in mind.

2011 was a missed opportunity, after Beale's flying kick ended it.

2012 - 2014 were mostly depressing as shit too with the way Griffin seemed to suck everything good out of the team.



So in the years without Bennett, only 2011 was a good one, while 2009 was just a promising one.

 

[Morkel]

The same season Melbourne were also deducted points and could not obtain anymore, inflating our position on the ladder, can't see us making the finals ahead of the storm at their peak in 2010, even if they weren't deducted points. Also for most of the season we were actually either low in the top eight or outside of it completely, our highest position was 5th and that was only round 1. It is also equal with 2007 on win to loss ratio's as being our worst performing years and the injury toll in 2007 was far worse and we still made the finals in 2007.

And yet, if the qualifying benchmark for having a decent season involves being able to match the top sides, and not being seen as an easy two points, we kind of did that?

 

[Porthoz]

So in the years without Bennett, only 2011 was a good one, while 2009 was just a promising one.

Which years were good under Bennett since 2000, other than 2006 and 2008?

 

[GCBRONCO]

And yet, if the qualifying benchmark for having a decent season involves being able to match the top sides, and not being seen as an easy two points, we kind of did that?

1. St George Dragons - 1 win 1 loss
2. Penrith Panthers - 2 losses
3. Wests Tigers - 1 loss
4. Gold Coast Titans - 2 wins
5. New Zealand Warriors - 2 losses
6. Sydney Roosters - 2 losses
7. Canberra Raiders - 2 losses
8. Manly Sea Eagles - 1 win

 

[Splinter]

Which years were good under Bennett since 2000, other than 2006 and 2008?

Bennett was at loggerheads with Cullen through the mid 2000's. Does not help being successful

 

[Waynesaurus]

After all this talk of 2011 it was strange then during cleaning some the crap off my hard drive last night I stumbled across quite a few of the games from 2011 which I didn't know I had, I started watching round 1 against the cows and a tear rolled down my cheek watching Locky.

The last 2 and half years has been so painful....why oh why couldn't he have just played on forever! :pout:

*EDIT* But I must say I'm very much looking forward to seeing Milford in the six with Hunt, I cant wait for the season to start again.

 

[johnny plath]

Which years were good under Bennett since 2000, other than 2006 and 2008?

I guess good and success are both pretty suggestive, so people can decide themselves based on final results.

2001 - 5th and preliminary finalist
2002 - 3rd and prelim final
2003 - 8th and quarter finalist
2004 - 3rd and semi finalist
2005 - 3rd and semi finalist
2006 - 3rd and premiers
2007 - 8th and quarter finalist
2008 - 5th and semi finalist

personally, I think 2003, and 2007 were both disappointing by bronco standards. From memory, Bill Harrigan destroyed us in 2001 and 2002 prelim finals. Threepeat destroyed by Bill 2000 - 2002 imo.