The Glory Days

[1910]

Well this all confirms who 1910 is. Good to know it's you, stranger!

Pretty sure it doesn't. Plenty of people have DVDs.

Broncos win 20-18.

Second half was pretty scrappy to be behind 18-16 after being up 16-2.

 

[Morkel]

Ben Czislowski come on down

Nah, 1910 knows that we value his info too much to spill the beans on who he is.

 

[Broncoman]

Bought the Broncos essentials a couple of days ago and just watched the famous Baby Broncos win against the Tigers in 2002. This could go in the match review thread but I decided to put it in here.

The Broncos went into the game missing most of the first grade team due to Origin and injuries and went into the game featuring 7 debutants, 2 17 year old olds and one player that hadn't played in the Queensland Cup that year (Phillip Lee). Despite this the Broncos went out and scored a massive upset defeating the 7th placed Wests Tigers by 28-14.

The game wasn't very special or a classic. The Broncos went out and just played the game simply with everyone on the field doing their part and enjoying themselves and getting a deserved and resounding win over a disappointing Tigers outfit who never looked like winning or troubling their opponents to a great degree.

Robert Tanieula scores the only try of the first half in the 13th minute getting a reward for his hard work at the start after a poor defensive read by the Tigers sends him under the posts easily, Scott Prince lands the conversion and Brisbane lead 6-0. The Tigers attack for most of the half but poor execution and attacking plays coupled with some strong Broncos defence leaves the Tigers behind 6-2 at halftime.

Brisbane start the second half with a lucky try to Croc Hunter Steve Irwin who gets a lucky bounce after Joel Caine (who was having a shocker) misreads a bounce that ends up perfectly for Irwin who pounces to score. The lead is extended as Casey McGuire intercepts a pass inside the Broncos 10 with the Tigers hot on attack, McGuire runs the length of the field and scores extending the lead to 16. Wests score through Mears but Brisbane get one back as Irwin scores unmarked from a Prince cross field kick and Brisbane extend the lead to 22-8. The game turns spiteful as the Tigers look to roughhouse tactics to intimidate the young Broncos where 2 Tigers are placed on report but after scoring a try through Wozniak Brisbane secure the game as McGuire goes over in the corner with a few minutes to go. Prince lands the conversion icing the game and the Broncos deservedly win 28-14.

The Tigers just never got going and played poorly while the Broncos had plenty of faith in each other and just played simple and constructive footy whilst enjoying themselves.

Notes

- The Broncos on debut where Nick Parfitt, Steve Irwin, Scott Minto, Kris Kahler, Steve Lacaze, Robert Tanieula and Nathan Friend

- This was the game before Scott Prince broke his leg that halted his career for a season from memory

- Brad Meyers was the most experienced of the Broncos forwards and most profiled after playing Origin and Tests in 2001. Shane Walker was the most experienced and lead the team while sporting an epic mo

- This was Nathan Friend's only Broncos appearance

- I really liked the reference Voss made in the commentary by saying how many of the Broncos players had to ask their bosses for time of work to play the game

- Even back in 2002 a bald Corey Parker played strongly and was one of the best of the Broncos imo. Scott Prince would've been my MOM

Brisbane Broncos 28: 2 Tries by Casey McGuire, 2 tries by Steve Irwin and a try by Robert Tanieula; 4 Goals by Scott Prince
Wests Tigers 14: Tries by Robert Mears and Troy Wozniak, 3 goals by Joel Caine

Brisbane Broncos

17: Nick Parfitt
18: Scott Minto
13: Casey McGuire
4: Stuart Kelly
1: Steve Irwin
6: Brett Seymour
7: Scott Prince
8: Corey Parker
9: Shane Walker (Captain)
10: Robert Tanieula
22: Brad Meyers
14: Michael Coorey
11: Phillip Lee

5: Elia Tuquri
16: Nathan Friend
19: Kris Kahler
20: Steve Lacaze

Coach: Craig Bellamy

Wests Tigers

1: Joel Caine
2: Hassan Saleh
3: Kevin McGuiness
4: Matt Seers
5: Ahmad Bajouri
6: Lincoln Withers
7: Ben Jefferies
8: Corey Pearson
9: Robert Mears
10: John Skandalis
13: Darren Senter (captain)
12: Willie Manu
14: Troy Wozniak

15: Balin Cupples
16: Luke Isakka
17: Chris Paterspm
18: Nick Bradley-Qalilawa

Coach: Terry Lamb

 

[CaptainHook]

The baby Broncos game from 2002 was awesome. A real proud moment in the history of the club. Some of the post match reporting irked me at the time, particularly from RLW. There was a bit in the editorial saying the NRL needed to do something to improve the playing field if a team stacked with teenagers could beat an NRL team. I thought it was harsh. How about giving credit where it's due, RLW? Bellamy had a good game plan that night and the youngsters played out of their skins and got a memorable well-deserved victory.

 

[Big Pete]

Good stuff Bman.

I thought the Baby Broncos won that game on the back of their defence. There were a number of contentious calls and home-town penalties that could have derailed them that night but they just kept turning up and made plenty of good choices. In the end, the only two Tigers tries came off a desperate grubber from Mears and the Wozniak try featured a forward pass in the lead up which even Sterlo & Fatty pointed out.

I've already said my piece on the game over in the Match Review thread but I'd be remissed if I didn't talk about the Tigers side. Mostly, Willie Manu who is a late contender as one of the biggest on-field douches of the 00s. The guy had potential, but constantly lost the ball, was always looking for fights & had one of the worst hair cuts in the game. If you don't know what I'm talking about, essentially what he had was a very normal haircut...except for this one long strand of hair that was dyed blonde. If that doesn't scream douche, I don't know what does!

They really didn't have a lot going for them. Skando was good and it just makes you wonder what kind of career he would have had if he decided to link up with a club like Sydney or St George where they tend to get more rep attention than most. Otherwise, it was pretty bleak with players who had decent elements but were ultimately flawed.

 

[Broncoman]

I don't know very much about that Tigers squad that played that night. The only players in their team I knew of where Joel Caine, Kevin McGuiness, Matt Seers, Lincoln Withers, John Skandalis and Darren Senter.

Skandalis was/is one of my favourite players so it's good when I watch a game in which he was playing. A real tough never say die forward that was a standout for a struggling club. Was unlucky never to get picked for NSW I thought he was very unlucky a couple of times.

Interesting when you look at that Broncos side and take notice of the team and how many caps appearances in top grade they had and how many games they ended up playing and how their careers went

Nick Parfitt- Played with feeder club Toowoomba, on debut in this game. Appeared in 5 Broncos games up till 2004

Scott Minto - reinforcement back on debut who appeared in 39 games on the Broncos wing. Best known for his winner against the Storm in 2003

Casey McGuire - 12th First Grade game. Established himself as a reserve back winning the 2006 Grand Final and representing QLD in 2005

Stuart Kelly - Highest profile winger in the team and most experienced. 126th first grade appearance and 3 origin games to his name

Steve Irwin - 3rd first grade game. Managed 4 games for the Broncos before moving to Canberra and being sacked without playing a game

Brett Seymour - 2nd First grade appearance after debuting the week before. Had big wraps on him from memory but got sacked from the Broncos and the Sharks. Now playing in England

Scott Prince - 73rd First Grade appearance. A fringe first grader at this point but guided the team around superbly. Injury stalled his career from memory but recovered and played Origin and tests and won a premiership as captain and a MOM in the Grand Final

Corey Parker - 20th First Grade appearance. Gone on to establish himself as one of the best forwards in the game and is in stellar form

Shane Walker - 73rd First Grade appearance. Left Broncos at the end of the year after playing 82 first grade games. Moved to Souths and retired at the end of 2006

Robert Tanieula - Fruit worker on debut. Only Broncos appearance, moved to Melbourne and NQL and retired in 2007 due to injury after playing 9 first grade games

Brad Meyers - 37th First grade game. The highest profile Broncos forward after playing Origin and Tests in 2001. Ended up playing 102 Broncos game, moved to England and returned to the NRL with the Titans in 2007. Retired in 2011 after playing 75 Titans matches

Michael Coorey - 21st First grade game after playing for the Cowboys but on debut for Brisbane. Played 7 Broncos games and retired in 2003 with 25 first grade appearances to his name

Phillip Lee - 86th First grade appearance. 1998 Grand Final winner and try scorer and was one of Locky's best men at his wedding. Retired the next year after 104 First Grade appearances and 84 Broncos games

Bench

Elia Tuquri - On debut. Lote Tuquir's cousin, managed 1 more appearance for the Broncos

Nathan Friend - First grade debut and only Broncos appearance. Moved to Melbourne and established himself at the Titans and has established himself at the Warriors

Kris Kahler - On debut and only Broncos appearance. Moved to Canberra and played 35 games before moving to the Titans in 2007 and playing 15 matches before retiring at the end of the year

Steve Lacaze - On debut and only Broncos appearance

First Grade appearances in total: 460 with an average of 27 games per player. Whole bench was on debut.

 

[ningnangnong]

Thanks for the rundown, [MENTION=7803]Broncoman[/MENTION]. Makes for some interesting reading.

 

[Big Pete]

[SPOILERS][/SPOILERS]

Rare off performance from the 1998 side but still too strong in the end.

Can't believe the touchey on the all-in brawl. "#5 from Brisbane ran a fair distance to get involved" - he was at dummy half!

 

[Kaz]

I remember that story about Chris Johns at the time, i don't have any proof so it may have been a beatup but it was definately reported as a true fact at the time.

Heard that as well.

Heard the bookie went into the dressing room & the odds he offered where had to ignore, also heard that Alfie & Kevvie had a bet.

I think it was after the Dragons game.

 

[Big Pete]

Broncos vs Bulldogs 2002 on FoxSports right now.

Should be a replay later in the week, will look into it.

 

[Big Pete]

For those with good memories, this was the game where the Dogs managed to snare a draw in the dying stages of the game by winning the scrum against the feed before Sherwin put through a pin-point grubber kick to find El Masri trailing in the middle of the field.

Watching a game like this really puts the good ol' days into perspective. While there were qualities about that side that made the Broncos into one of the most consistent clubs in the competition, they weren't without their faults and in this case, the Broncos just couldn't adjust to the condition. I believe they made something like 15 errors all up and really basic ones too that would have earned them all sorts of grief on here back in the day.

With that said, the 2002 version of the Brisbane Broncos ranks right up there as one of the favourite for fans and it's easy to see why. The side was just very well balanced across the park and it seemed like everyone brought something to the table.

Whether it was Darren Lockyer and his fantastic long distance kicking or passing game.

Or Tuqiri, Tate, Kelley or Walker with their speed.

Berrigan with his support play.

Langer with his unique short distance kicking game and ability to jink inside defenders and create chances very few players could ever create.

Webby, Meyers & Civoniceiva to ruck the ball up.

Lee, Gee & Harrison to throw the ball around.

Carlaw & Tallis to pick out gaps in the fringes.

And you get the drill, on it's day, a very exciting team to watch and there were flashes of it here.

As a fan of the current Broncos, you almost wonder if the coaching staff go through the old tapes and pull out ideas on how to get the most out of their players. While I don't think Hunt would be as effective as Alfie at it, the thought of using him more and picking gaps for Barba to run through in the middle of the field would surely be a more effective way to use a running five eighth.

 

[CaptainHook]

Excellent summary, Big Pete. I loved that 2002 side - so well balanced. We should have won the premiership that year. Honestly the 2002 preliminary final haunts me more than the 2008 one.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Broncos vs Sharks Round 9 1990 - watch from about 3 minutes and 20 seconds in

Not a game really remembered as a standout but it did feature one of the greatest team tries scored by the Broncos, a great representation of the entertaining football the Broncos offered in 1990 which was really the season the Broncos came of age, lots of talent was developed this year for the success to come.

Tries: Willie Carne, Chris Johns, Brett Plowman Goals: Terry Matterson 4/6

Side:

1. Paul Hauff
2. Brett Plowman
3. Gene Miles
4. Chris Johns
5. Willie Carne
6. Kevin Walters
7. Allan Langer
8. Sam Backo
9. Kerrod Walters
10. Gavin Allen
11. Andrew Gee
12. Mark Hohn
13. Terry Matterson

14. Scott Tronc
15. Alan Cann
16. Craig Teevan

 

[badyon]

I think, from memory, 9th September, 1990, the Courier Mail ran a front page along the line of "Our Finest Hour".

I'll have to dig it up.

That was good.

 

[Jeba]

1. Paul Hauff

Whenever I see this name I stop and think what he could've been if it wasn't for injury. The 1991 Origin series showed what he is capable of. I was too young to remember that series when it happened, but have watched the 3 games on replay and he was the best
player of the series I reckon.

He could've been anything.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Yeah injuries were cruel to Paul Hauff he really had the potential to be a topclass player as you pointed out he was outstanding in the 1991 SOO series, saving a number of crucial tries being scored and scored a well deserved one. I remember a try he scored against Canberra Raiders in 1990 in a thriller, in the dying minutes of the game in a highscoring match he snatched defeat in a matter of seconds. On debut he scored 3 tries against the Knights and was joint rookie of the year alongside Willie Carne and will go down as probably the tallest fullback to have played the game. He was just never the same after that total shoulder reconstruction and up against Juilian O'Neill was an almost impossible task to recover from.