On and off the field, you could say 2010 was doomed from the get-go for the proud and highly successful Brisbane Broncos. The Red Hill based team finished in tenth position with a record of 11 wins and 13 losses, including a losing record at home (5-7).

It was the first time since 1991 the Broncos franchise has not played in the finals series.

Brisbane played well against their Queensland counterparts, defeating North Queensland and the Gold Coast Titans twice. However, the Broncos did have two losing streaks of four games, both of which occurred after wins to the Cowboys.

After starting the season poorly with only two wins from their first eight matches, the Broncos went on a five game win streak throughout May and into June making their way back into the top eight. Brisbane then went through a tough stretch in July and August chalking up close victories against eventual premiers St. George-Illawarra and Parramatta (both wins 10-6) but lost some close battles to Penrith, Wests Tigers and the Sydney Roosters (all losses 10 points or less and at Suncorp Stadium).

The Broncos had their heads just in the finals and their final four games would be do-or-die with the team looking for their 19th consecutive finals berth. The battles took their toll on the youthful Brisbane side and they subsequently lost some big matches in the final stretch of the season. A 16-point loss to Parramatta at home and two big away losses (44-18 to Newcastle and 36-4 against the Warriors) sealed Brisbane’s fate, ended their winning streak and their finals chance.

They finished the season with a close loss to Canberra (16-18) one of six losses at their home stadium Suncorp.

Missed opportunity

At the start of the season, one of the major strengths of the Broncos squad was its talented backline. Fans and coach Ivan Henjak salivated over the talent available, including representative pairing in the halves with captain Darren Lockyer and New South Welshman Peter Wallace; as well as an All-Star centre pairing of Australian representatives Justin Hodges and Israel Folau.

Unfortunately, the centre combination would never get the chance to team up in 2010 when Hodges ruptured his Achilles tendon during pre-season training, and was ruled out for the season.

AFL and the Broncos

A mid-season distraction was the speculation over Israel Folau’s future. Folau had the opportunity to cut short his four-year contract with the Broncos and either re-sign a revised contract, sign on with another NRL club or even switch codes altogether to Rugby Union or AFL.

The Broncos have been the early losers in the AFL’s planned expansion into Rugby League heartlands. The pain was still lingering after Karmichael Hunt’s defection to the Gold Coast Suns, when their superstar Folau decided to take his talents out of Brisbane and into Western Sydney, being the marquee signing for AFLs new Western Sydney Giants.

The four-year, $6 million contract was well out of the Broncos’ budget of $500,000 per season and it was the second consecutive year they lost one of their stars to a cross-code switch to AFL.

Despite this, ‘Izzy’ was one of the Broncos best in 2010 scoring 20 tries in 20 games, just one try behind the NRL’s top try scorer, Newcastle’s Akuila Uate who bagged 21.

‘The Baby Broncos’

Salary cap constraints and injuries forced the Broncos to look for new talent within their ranks and they found and developed some quality young players throughout 2010. ‘The Baby Broncos’ as they were labeled, showed that they could be quite competitive and would not bend over easily.

The season saw the introduction of six players making their NRL debuts for the Broncos, none better than second-rower Matt Gillett. Gillett debuted in Round 1 with authority, displaying excellent attacking skills and scoring against the Cowboys. As the season progressed, Gillett handled the NRL as if he was a seasoned veteran. He developed an efficient offload and became a handful for the opposition.

The second-rower played all over the park in multiple positions and his versatility made him one of the first selected on the team. His discipline was outstanding, only surrendering four penalties in 1458 minutes of football. By seasons end, Gillett had chalked up 12 tries and assisted on five. The Bribie Island junior’s play was rewarded when he won the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award.

The Greg Inglis Saga

To combat the loss of Folau, the Broncos went hard after Melbourne free-agent Greg Inglis. In August they made a deal with the Golden Boot winner for the 2011 and 2012 NRL seasons worth $1.2 million. After finishing the season with the Melbourne Storm, Broncos management requested that Inglis have surgery on his troublesome shoulder off season so that he could be fit for the first training session of the new season.

When training started however, Inglis was noticeably absent and rumours were circulating suggesting he was unhappy with his decision to move to Brisbane. Days later, these rumours were confirmed; Inglis did not want to play for the Broncos. The deal dissolved, allowing him to eventually sign with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

2011 Player Movements

The Broncos unofficially lost two of the best centres of the past decade in Folau and Inglis and also lost a handful of talent to state rivals, the North Queensland Cowboys. Veteran forward Ashton Sims and his brother, 2010 Toyota Cup Player of the Year, Tariq Sims; both signed with the Townsville club.

Later, Antonio Winterstein also signed with the Cowboys. After a great season in 2009 scoring 14 four-pointers, Winterstein had a disappointing year in 2010 with the Broncos, bagging only five. The Cowboys needed a winger and Winterstein was happy to get his career back on track with a change in scene further north.

The Broncos recruitment drive for 2011 was not all bad news. Next year will see the return of a couple of popular forwards back to Red Hill. Ben Hannant will join his ex-teammates after a two-year spell at Canterbury, and Dane Carlaw returns after leaving the Broncos for French Super League outfit, Catalans Dragons in 2008.

2011 Depth Chart

Props

Starters: Ben Hannant, Scott Tronc
Depth: Nick Kenny, Mitchell Dodds, Dunamis Lui, Scott Anderson

In the space of 12 months, the Broncos forward pack has gone from being one of the teams weaknesses to a strength. The Broncos possess one of the deepest prop rotations in the NRL.

With the acquisition of experienced campaigners Ben Hannant and Shane Tronc, the Broncos will have plenty of time to develop the likes of Scott Anderson, Mitchell Dodds and Dunamis Lui, who will form a handy rotation off the bench. With the increased depth in the front row, a player that will need to step-up is Nick Kenny.

When the Broncos initially lost Hannant and veteran Petero Civoniceva in 2008, Kenny was seen as their saviour at the prop position but with injuries and performance concerns since, the 28-year-old spent most of the time on the bench or running around in the Queensland Cup. After only playing 12 matches in 2010, Kenny will no doubt benefit from the reduced responsibility and provide a spark off the bench.

Hooker

Starters: Andrew McCullough
Depth: Ben Hunt

Andrew McCullough made the hooking position his own last season. He shouldered much of the load and contributed both in attack and defense. The rake set career best numbers in total tackles, 688 (ranking him second in the team behind workhorse Corey Parker) as well as crossing over for six tries.

The soon-to-be 21-year-old set the Broncos season record, making 53 tackles against Canberra in the final game of the season against the Raiders.

Second Rowers

Starters: Sam Thaiday, Ben Te’o
Depth: Dane Carlaw, Matt Gillett, Alex Glenn, Josh McGuire

Sam Thaiday is coming out of arguably his best year. Although he was selected in the second-row, ‘Big Sam’ slammed through his highest minute numbers of his career, averaging 71 minutes a game.

He set career-highs in runs, tackle busts, off-loads and increased his average tackles and metres per game. He will no doubt benefit from having Scott Tronc and Ben Hannant in the side. Henjak has even suggested Thaiday may have some stints in the front-row.

Ben Te’o, Matt Gillett and Dane Carlaw are set to share the role with Thaiday as the second rowers. Thus Brisbane will have arguably the most versatile secondrowers in the competition.

Lock

Starter: Corey Parker
Depth: Matt Gillett, Alex Glenn

Corey Parker is one of the most underrated players in the NRL. You have to look past his rather interesting dream-weaver tattoo and see that this guy was the unheralded backbone of the Broncos.

He led the team in runs with 388 (4th in the NRL) averaging 18.5 runs per game, 42 offloads (9th in the NRL) and 703 tackles (22nd in the NRL), averaging 33.5 per game. Parker’s game really jumped to the next level, even stepping up as Broncos captain in six games when Lockyer was unavailable.

Halfback

Starter: Peter Wallace
Depth: Corey Norman, Ben Hunt

The Broncos will expect a big 2011 from their halfback Peter Wallace. The Blue Mountains Junior made a massive debut for the Broncos in 2008 where he was selected to play for New South Wales. Since then, however, he has struggled to find consistency in his game. His penalties conceded and errors made have increased, while his line break and try assist numbers have decreased (try assists went from 19 in 2009 to 10 in 2010).

With the Broncos losing young gun Tariq Sims to the Cowboys, its clear that the Broncos see Wallace as their long-term number 7. Wallace has second-year sensation Corey Norman hot on his heels and looking for a start after impressing in his first stint in the top grade last season.

Wallace is contracted to the Broncos until the end of 2011 and will need to impress to keep his position. With Lockyer’s impending retirement, the Broncos will need to secure a replacement and with ample salary cap room to maneouvre next season they could land a free agent instead of promoting internally and this would turn up the heat on the battle between Wallace and Norman to fill the remaining position.

Five-eighth

Starter: Darren Lockyer
Depth: Corey Norman, Alex Glenn

Although coming to the end of a prolific career, 33-year-old captain Darren Lockyer is no doubt the most Broncos important player. His influence and leadership on his team is crucial in the success of the club. Since 2008, Darren Lockyer has been unavailable for the Broncos in 20 matches 15 of which they have lost. (1-5 in 2010)

Centres

Starter: Justin Hodges, Matt Gillett
Depth: Ben Te’o, Alex Glenn

The return of Justin Hodges is going to be massive boost for the Broncos, a somewhat ‘unofficial signing’. Hodges brings natural strength and athleticism to the game as well as a knack for getting around his man and creating an opportunity for either himself and his outside winger.

The often-injured Hodges will need to be available for most if not all the season for the Broncos to be contenders. Gillett and Te’o will likely interchange positions.

Wingers:

Starters: Jharal Yow Yeh, ?
Depth: Dane Gagai, Gerard Beale, Mitch Rivett, Dane Copley

Jharal Yow Yeh is on the verge of being something special. 2010 was a great year for the 21-year-old. He was selected in the Indigenous All Stars team as well as being named as the Maroons 18th Man. Maroon selectors have suggested Yow Yeh and Canberra winger Daniel Vidot are the main contenders to replace Israel Folau as the Queensland winger for 2011. This possibility will surely be motivation for the young winger to perform in the Broncos.

The other wing spot is up for grabs. Reports suggest it could be Beale or Gagai with roughie Jack Reed, a flyer from Norths in the Queensland Cup also a potential candidate.

Fullback

Starter: Josh Hoffman
Depth: Dane Gagai

Josh Hoffman had a breakout year in 2010. Hoffman came into the side in Round 5 and played every game thereafter. Hoffman scored 6 tries and averaged just under 5 tackle busts a game. Amazingly he only made seven errors all season. His solid play allowed him to make the fullback job his own and he became an integral part of the team. He played consistently and safely at the back, earning the 22-year-old the Paul Morgan Medal as the Broncos’ Player of the Year.

If he continues to play this well in 2011 he may be a contender for Origin selection.

Looking Ahead

Winning five of their twelve home matches will not cut it for a finals berth in 2011. The Broncos have the best attendance and one of the best stadiums in the NRL, making a packed Suncorp Stadium quite an intimidating presence for opponents.

The Baby Broncos will need to continue to improve. Gillett, Hoffman and Yow Yeh are on the radar of Queensland Origin selectors and will no doubt improve with selection and exposure in the squad. At club level, the younger players no doubt will benefit from the experience of playing alongside players like Lockyer, Hodges, Thaiday and Hannant.

We say this every year, but this year is looking like the closest yet. In 2010, the Broncos were 3-5 in games decided by 10 points or less. The Broncos will need to reverse the trend and win the tight matches if they want to return to September football.

They definitely have the roster to challenge for the NRL title in 2011 but if they are plagued by injuries, especially in the backs, it could be another frustrating year for the Broncos faithful.