2007 Brisbane Broncos season – Wikipedia

2007 Brisbane Broncos season

The 2007 Brisbane Broncos season was the twentieth in the club’s history and they competed in the NRL’s 2007 Telstra Premiership. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Darren Lockyer, the Broncos made the finals by just scraping into the top 8, but were knocked out in the first week by eventual premiers, Melbourne Storm. Two and a half years later the Storm would be found to have been cheating the salary cap over the previous four seasons and their 2007 premiership was stripped.

Pre-season[edit]

The Broncos’ pre-season involved two matches in England and two more trial matches upon their return to Australia.

World Club Challenge[edit]

As reigning NRL premiers, on 23 February 2007 The Brisbane Broncos played against English Super League champions St Helens R.F.C. in the 2007 World Club Challenge. St Helens took the match 18–14 in the last minutes.

Telstra Premiership[edit]

The World Club Challenge loss was followed by a poor start to the 2007 NRL season by the Broncos, who lost their captain and five-eighth Darren Lockyer to an ankle injury after the first match against the North Queensland Cowboys. Lockyer returned to the field in Round 3 against the Penrith Panthers, but Brisbane had lost their first three games in a row for the first time since 1999. They racked up their first win against the Sydney Roosters in the traditional Good Friday match played by the two clubs. Another loss followed by a win in the Andrew Johns farewell against Newcastle in Round 6.

When, in the Round 7 replay of last year’s grand-final, Brisbane were unable to defeat Melbourne, they had managed to win just 2 of their first seven games, compared to their strong starts in 2006 and 2005. Having not yet played an NRL game in 2007, Tame Tupou, the Broncos’ top try-scorer for the previous season, left the club in round 7 for England. In round 11 Brisbane were at the bottom of the ladder before racking up their biggest ever win, defeating an under-strength Newcastle Knights 71–6. It was also the Knights’ biggest ever loss and the most points the Broncos had ever scored in a game. This was followed up with a loss to an understrength St George Illawarra Dragons.

As a result of the team’s form, coach Wayne Bennett gave the players time off during the Broncos’ bye. This strategy appeared to be successful, with the team winning five successive games. However, in their Round 18 win against the Cowboys, Lockyer tore his anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Lockyer’s injury, combined with injuries to big-name players Karmichael Hunt, Justin Hodges, Brent Tate and Shaun Berrigan,^{[citation needed]} played a role in Brisbane winning just two of their last eight games of the season.

In the last round of the 2007 regular season, the Broncos suffered an embarrassing 68–22 loss to Parramatta, equalling their worst ever defeat and most points conceded in a match. However, the club still finished eighth after the regular season, thus making the finals for the sixteenth straight year. Brisbane’s efforts did not improve the following Sunday when they played their 500th game ever and their last of the season, being defeated soundly by eventual premiers the Melbourne Storm 40–0. Only one year after winning the premiership, 2007 saw the second time ever that the Broncos lost more games than they won in a season of football.

At the end of the season the Brisbane Broncos hed a gala ball at which coach Wayne Bennett was made a life member of the club. His refusal to make an acceptance speech at the club’s presentation ball showed the strain in his relationship with the Broncos.^[1]
On 9 October 2007, the club announced the termination of the contracts of squad members Ian Lacey and John Te Reo, after they were involved in the assault of a man after the ball.^[2]

Ladder[edit]

Scorers (After Round 25)[edit]

For NRL first-grade matches only.

2007 match results[edit]

^ Not a Broncos Home Game
* Game following a Test match
** Game following a State of Origin Match

Round	Opponent	Result	Brisbane	Opponent	Date	Venue	Crowd	Position
BOCC	Celtic Crusaders	Win	32	6	15 Feb	Brewery Field	2,000+
WCC	St. Helens	Loss	14	18	23 Feb	Reebok Stadium	23,207
Trial Match	Canberra Raiders	Win	18	12	24 Feb	Dolphin Oval
Trial Match	Melbourne Storm	Loss	0	46	3 Mar	Princes Park	8,273
1	North Queensland Cowboys	Loss	16	23	16 Mar	Suncorp Stadium	50,416	12/16
2	New Zealand Warriors	Loss	14	24	25 Mar	Mt Smart Stadium	16,738	12/16
3	Penrith Panthers	Loss	28	29	30 Mar	Suncorp Stadium	24,582	15/16
4	Sydney Roosters	Win	32	10	6 Apr	Aussie Stadium	11,476	12/16
5 ^	Gold Coast Titans	Loss	16	28	13 Apr	Suncorp Stadium	47,686	13/16
6 *	Newcastle Knights	Win	20	16	22 Apr	EnergyAustralia Stadium	25,524	11/16
7	Melbourne Storm	Loss	18	28	27 Apr	Suncorp Stadium	33,750	13/16
8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Win	8	4	4 May	Suncorp Stadium	27,387	12/16
9	Cronulla Sharks	Loss	8	16	11 May	Toyota Park	12,262	13/16
10	Manly Sea Eagles	Loss	6	18	21 May	Brookvale Oval	13,493	14/16
11 **	Newcastle Knights	Win	71	6	27 May	Suncorp Stadium	27,433	12/16
12	St George Illawarra Dragons	Loss	4	11	1 Jun	Oki Jubilee Stadium	10,302	15/16
13	BYE							12/16
14 **	Canterbury Bulldogs	Win	19	12	15 Jun	Telstra Stadium	10,121	10/16
15	Wests Tigers	Win	48	18	25 Jun	Suncorp Stadium	29,364	9/16
16	Penrith Panthers	Win	24	16	30 Jun	CUA Stadium	8,553	7/16
17 **	Gold Coast Titans	Win	19	18	6 Jul	Suncorp Stadium	48,621	6/16
18	North Queensland Cowboys	Win	24	16	13 Jul	Dairy Farmers Stadium	25,126	5/16
19	Parramatta Eels	Loss	16	20	23 Jul	Suncorp Stadium	25,702	5/16
20	Cronulla Sharks	Win	30	16	29 Jul	Suncorp Stadium	24,563	5/16
21	Manly Sea Eagles	Loss	8	21	5 Aug	Suncorp Stadium	35,784	6/16
22	Melbourne Storm	Loss	6	14	12 Aug	Olympic Park		7/16
23	Canterbury Bulldogs	Loss	24	25	17 Aug	Suncorp Stadium	35,199	9/16
24	Canberra Raiders	Win	30	19	26 Aug	Suncorp Stadium	31,614	8/16
25	Parramatta Eels	Loss	22	68	2 Sep	Parramatta Stadium	17,112	8/16
QF	Melbourne Storm	Loss	0	40	9 Sep	Olympic Park	15,552

Honours[edit]

League[edit]

Club[edit]

Players[edit]

Bold Players have played International or State any year

Full Backs

Wingers

Centres

Halves

Hookers

Props

Second Rowers

Locks

Player movements[edit]

Gains[edit]

Losses[edit]

Re-signings[edit]

Off Contract at end of 2007[edit]

Name	Contract Details	Other
Shane Perry	Contract Ends 2007	Likely to move back into Queensland Cup

References[edit]

Coordinates: 27°27′53″S 153°0′34″E / 27.46472°S 153.00944°E / -27.46472; 153.00944 (Suncorp Stadium)