As the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters prepare for a possible collision course in this year’s grand final, spare a thought for two fallen powerhouses: the Brisbane Broncos and St. George Illawarra Dragons.
Last week I wrote an article about the downfall of the Dragons in the years following their long-awaited and well-deserved premiership in 2010.
The club has suffered from consistently poor performances since that premiership.
Since then the club saw Wayne Bennett’s departure, as well as the retirements of club legends Mark Gasnier and Ben Hornby, and the departures of Darius Boyd and Jamie Soward, both of whom were instrumental in anchoring the Dragons’ success under Bennett during his three-year reign, followed.
Those untimely events, although inevitable, have seen the Dragons lose so much experience and success which Wayne Bennett instilled into the club when he took over from Nathan Brown at the end of the 2008 season.
Brown, for his part, was a successful coach, though he was never able to take the Dragons to the premiership with the squad which he had at the time.
Now, the Dragons are severely inexperienced in the playing ranks, are coached by a dead man walking in Steve Price, and sit second last on the ladder.
But the Dragons are not going at it all alone.
Another team suffering from the effects of a very successful era are the Brisbane Broncos.
Like the Dragons before them, the Broncos enjoyed a very successful era which spawned six premierships from six grand final appearances and also the best coach and player in the NRL, if not in the entire game, Wayne Bennett and Darren Lockyer.
They were also responsible for the upbringing of some of the biggest names in rugby league, such as Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Kevin Walters, Shane Webcke, Petero Civoniceva, Gorden Tallis and more recently Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd, Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges.
Throughout their history, the Broncos had become world beaters, to the point that a few clubs were forced to fold at the end of the 1998 season due to the Queensland club’s relentless dominance of the competition.
Wayne Bennett had been the club’s coach from day one, until he left the club at the end of 2008 to coach the St. George Illawarra Dragons for three years.
Bennett then left the control of the club to Ivan Henjak, who became just their second coach in the club’s proud and rich history. After the Broncos failed to reach the finals in 2010 (their first absence from the play-offs since 1991), Henjak was sacked as coach and replaced by the current incumbent, Anthony Griffin.
As Henjak did in his first year coaching the Broncos, Griffin led the club to within one game of the decider in 2011, falling to eventual premiers the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
And after finishing eighth last year, the club now appears destined for only its second absence from the play-offs since 1991. Reports, though, suggest that Griffin should see out at least the end of this year.
Darren Lockyer, for his part, broke the NRL games record (355) during a playing career which lasted sixteen years between 1995 and 2011, but it wasn’t until 2005 when he took control of the club on the field, leading them, in tandem with Bennett, to the 2006 premiership in what was a dominant year for Lockyer himself.
He also led his state to its first outright State of Origin series victory since 2001 and the Tri-Nations series that year.
Since then, the Broncos have not returned to another grand final and are currently enduring the club’s longest premiership drought, which is six completed years and counting.
Following their narrow loss to the Sharks over the weekend, which followed a 32-0 shutout at the hands of the Melbourne Storm, the once-dominant club will finish Round 18 third-last on the ladder, just ahead of the Dragons.
Thankfully, the Broncos do have a bye this coming round, which would allow them to recharge their batteries and hopefully try to salvage something from what is set to become their worst ever season in the final seven rounds.
After the bye, the Broncos face the Cowboys, Knights, Dragons, Eels, Panthers and the Knights before they wrap up their regular season (and very likely their season) against the Bulldogs at home.
The home match against the Dragons in Round 22 will be worth watching, even though both teams are currently languishing at the bottom of the ladder.
In the past, matches between the Broncos and Dragons would be the must-watch match of the round, as both teams not only bring out the best that they can, but also spawn a rivalry which dates back to the Broncos’ first two premierships won against the Red V in 1992 and 1993.
After the second premiership, Allan Langer taunted the Dragons, who were then in its un-merged state as St. George, by urging Broncos fans to chant that “St. George can’t play”.
Then, at the turn of the century, the Dragons started to dominate the Broncos on a regular basis.
Very notably, in the final round of the 2003 season, a virtual second-string Dragons side missing the likes of Trent Barrett, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper, and a host of others through injury, famously defeated the Broncos 26-25 at Suncorp Stadium with Mark Riddell kicking a late penalty goal from very far out wide.
The height of this rivalry came in the 2006 season, when the Dragons scored three victories over the Broncos – including in the first round of the finals series, from which the Broncos would eventually rebound to win the premiership.
The hat-trick of victories by the Dragons that year was part of an eight-match winning streak which the club would enjoy over the Broncos – the longest by any club over the Queenslanders.
But now, the long periods of success in which both teams have experienced in the past two decades have all but diminished, and flash forward to 2013, both teams find themselves in rebuilding mode.
The Broncos have already gotten the better of the Dragons this year, winning 22-6 back in Round 2 at WIN Stadium.
The Dragons’ need to rebuild was brutally exposed in that match, and they also had a few tries disallowed on that Friday night back in March.
What would have been a battle of the heavyweights in past years will, by the time these two clubs meet in less than a month from now, instead become a battle of the fallen powerhouses, given the experience both clubs have lost in the last couple of years.
As for the future years – which club will be quicker to return to the finals? And which coach out of Anthony Griffin and Steve Price will not oversee their club’s rebuilding process?
Mr Taylor
Guest
Age aside that would be a major coup for us we are really lacking a few extra creative outlets we aren't to far off the pace we not getting flogged every week, A ball playing back rower like Stewart and a couple of halves who are willing to take the line and commit defenders should see the point scorer troubled more often and us playing finals football again I can't fault Fien on effort he is trying his guts out every week but we need more than kicks to the corner and off loads for points, I was hoping we could nab Sam Williams from Canberra for next seasons but i haven't heard much of that of late i like the look of him.
Pomoz
Roar Rookie
I wish that were true at the Panthers. We ruined so many juniors by throwing them into first grade when they weren't ready. Penrith also outsourced its reggies to Windsor Wolves so couldn't control the coaching agenda. Dumb, dumb, dumb. A decision now changed thankfully. I could be wrong, but I bet the Panther's weren't the only club stuffing this up.
Renegade
Guest
They'd probably lose 80-0.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I only bring it up as people south of the border are so arrogant/ignorant about their club competition that they consider Wallly Lewis's club career was 3 seasons long. He did start somewhere, that was Valleys then Wynnum Manly. The Fact that he was and Origin and Australian Legend before he played with the Broncos seems to fly over their head. Wally Lewis's career was winding down when he played for the Broncs.
stormtrooper4
Guest
that is 5 players, widdop, hoffman, smith , slater and cronk. how would the rabbitohs do if they were missing inglis, sam burgess, sutton, reynolds and luke?
Jack
Guest
+1. Apparently the Lions played the Suns in Brisbane a few weeks back and I heard 2 ads about it beforehand and it was over before I even noticed by the Sunday of that weekend. The Lions would average in the 20k's, Broncos in the 30k's. That doesn't even factor in TV ratings which I don't know but would hazard a guess the Broncs would be higher (and non-Brisbane NRL game ratings would be high too) considering they're the league's highest. The Reds might have got higher average crowds for 1 year than the Broncs but they play less games overall. I also know of quite a few supporters of both rugby codes who will go to a couple of games of each, myself included, especially when you live in the suburbs surrounding Milton. But most would go for the Broncos first-and-foremost. But that is also why I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have another league team playing out of Lang Park, I wouldn't join but I might go to a game or 2. It would be good for the times like the month we have off NRL now when you just wanna see a game of footy.
Gaz
Guest
That is correct but Lewis was apart of the original team and they have to start somewhere I guess. The Broncos or rather their management in those days complimented their side as needed. When they saw the need for a good frontrower they offered Paul Harrigan the job and when he knocked them back they got Glen Lazarus. It appears to be a money thing with the current management, they are reported to be the only club making a profit and that is more than likely due to refusing to go to the market and spending their money. That's great for those with shares in the club but not so good for fans and ultimately the sponsors. For a side without an abundance of money there is a case for excuse but for a club that its former Ceo once boasted he had the money to buy the whole Australian side if it weren't for the salary cap it remains a travesty for the fans. I can accept the due process of salary cap causes a rotation of teams at the top and bottom of the ladder and it is genuinely healthy for a side to be recycled over the years but it is depressing for such a loyal fan base to be denied any expectation of improvement or positive press coming from their club board as is currently happening at the Brisbane Broncos. I can understand and accept our team this year is simply not good enough I cannot however accept the lack of foresight and apparent inability of the Bronco management to get things right or at least seen to be making an effort in that direction. This certainly reeks of a monopoly and may only change with the introduction of a second Brisbane side. Bring it on!
Country Dragon
Guest
Sorry to say, but its not really a Sea Eagles brain wave as I think you'll find most clubs do that with their better 20's players!
peeeko
Roar Guru
the major US codes all have salary caps and a draft system to make sure talent is spread evenly across all teams. stop whinging about Manly, they have donr well with limited resources. you go on about aysney teams, how about Melboune being propped up by News limited the previous owners of the game for a decade. out of sydney teams are hardly flush with cash as well, canberra, Newcastle has always struggled for money (lets see what happens with tinkler) and the GC and NQ are hardly powerhouses. Basically your team the broncos have always had an unfair advantage over other teams and have only themselves to blame. how powerhouse would Brisbane be if they had to share the Brisbane area with 2 other clubs?
Liatrevlis
Guest
Aaaaaa ha ha ha ,, want a tissue
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The teams generally acknowledged as having some of the biggest followings in the NRL,Dragons/Broncos/Parramatta and to a lesser degree Tigers are all in the doldrums. And these so called expert pundits amazingly , still wonder why Tv ratings and crowds have dropped. Only Souths in the top half dozen on the table, has a large following . The Broncos from what I saw last Friday night,have some good up and comers,especially the 18 year old centre.The Tigers have some real future stars in their juniors.Dragons have bought well for next year and if they can secure the Morris twin from the Dogs they will have a decent squad. Parra this year have been abysmal,they need to open the purse strings.The Broncos still got 25,500 on a Friday night with their stars missing. Clubs have their annual ups and downs,its hardly a new phenomenon.Just this year for a change, the traditional strong NRL clubs are wallowing.
Devout Saint
Guest
A mate told me that he has a mate in the NRL and he told him that Canterbury were going to sign Folau for big money and that Josh was coming back to Saints next year. On the same night Matty Johns said the same thing on his show so I am hoping that we get Josh Back The same mate mentioned the idea of us getting Glenn Stewart from Manly last night. I do know that Stewart is under at Manly next year, but he will be on about 650K next year and Manly would like to off load him. Last week Doust did mention that we were still after a back rower. I could not think of any good back rowers on the market, but Glenn Stewart would be a great signing. He is tough, he is a all player and has a high work rate, but he is getting on in age a bit. If we got Josh Morris, Glenn Stewart and re-signed Dugan then we would only one good prop away from being a top 8 team or even a top 4 team.
Yellow Ranger
Guest
The problem with the Broncos is that they are willing to let go of talented players if they are offered a sum by another club that they deserve. From the top of my head i can already think of players that have been let go because the broncos wouldn't offer a raise. Folau Karmichael T'eo David Taylor Darius Beale Gaigai Ashton Sims Tariq Sims (He was in the U/20s team) The club offered Ben T'eo less than 200k a year. A player, quality enough to enter the origin arena surely deserves better pay than that. Beau Ryan earns that much!!
ferret
Guest
Good point "Eye". Cleary is a very smart coach and has blended some hard heads with the up-and-coming talent out Penrith way. Based on Hook's approach for the last 2 seasons he seems very conservative in the tactics department. I can't fault the Broncos efforts or player attitudes each week but jeez it must be frustrating, especially for the forwards, to work hard to get good field position only to see the backs fail to capitalise time and again. I know no-one will say anything, but I wonder what Parker, Thaiday really think driving home alone after another loss about busting their foo-foos every week to see it all get rolled on a kick/bomb on the 5th which is soooo predictable. If this team was coached by Cleary by now they would have tried something else.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Oh and for the record, the Broncs where not responsible for the upbringing of Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Kevin Walters or Gorden Tallis. Wally came from Valleys, Alfie and Kevin from the Jets and Gordon from the other team mentioned in this article.
Rellum
Roar Guru
The Broncos carcass was picked clean long ago. They are the only club that was raided by both AFL and Rugby for what 5-6 of their biggest stars. Add to that all the players that left for other clubs and we are left with the rabble we have now. Contributing to that was the infighting that saw Bennett and Petro leave as well management. From what I understand there was ego and blame to be had by all parties in those years. Now we have a extremely defensive minded coach who thinks a great attack is one who doesn't make any mistakes. Listen to his post match press conferences and all he talks about is missed tackles and how well we defended. Inglis and many other players would be playing for us or consider playing for us if Bennett or another quality coach was in the stands. That is one of the big reasons people ignore when talking about our current roster. On the park at the moment the Broncs are a very average team that relies on Hodges for most of their attack. Yes they can defend well on occasions but we have three-five players that would be good enough to play on a grand final winning team, the rest are either past it or never will be. But it is the pathetically predictable and no risk attack that kills me know when I try and watch a Broncos game. I struggle now to sit through a whole game watching us put on endless 2nd man plays and hit ups. Things need to change in the management and coaching structures before we ever see any real improvement on the park. We are in for a very long period in the wilderness as far as I see ti.
The eye
Guest
Agree Ferret,what Im saying is compare that cattle to what Cleary has and is accomplishing,in fact on paper,every side in the top 8 and ask are they really that much weaker ?Is this really the 2nd or 3rd weakest group of players in the comp ?They dont have the halves to be serious contenders for sure, but the coach should be getting much better results.
Mr Taylor
Guest
Spot on there DS Im tired of seeing quality juniors leave our ranks to other clubs. The NRL should have done something about this along time ago there needs to be an incentive and reward for developing your own juniors and keeping them as one club players. I wasn't aware Hastings had signed with the Roosters another one slips away, I would like to see J. Morris return.
oikee
Guest
We have 2 under 20 recruits running the spine. Wallace has never been any good, and Prince is near retirement. The Broncos have been found out bigtime, and they now need to make sure they have not only a spine, but a back-up spine. You cant alow a powerhouse club be run by kids, it is killing this club. No club in the world operates like this, no club, well no major club. Queensland is very weak, really weak thanks to Gallop and his shonky cap system. The Brisbane Broncos are supposed to be a shining light, at the moment they are nothing but a blown light with no direction, no talent, and no spine or heart. This club is fast becomign a laughing stiock. This is what the NRL has reduced a major club that was not struggling, it must be happy to see this club drowning, nearly needing resussitation just to keep alive. I have never in 25 years seen this club struggle the way it is now. I think the CEO should throw the white towel in, he cant buy decent players, he cant grow members, and he cant keep fans. Something needs to be done or Sydney is on their own. Bring the Broncos home and play in the Queensland cup. Tahnks for nothing NRL, you killed a powerhouse, nice work Gallop, nice work Smithy, not long now R.I.P. Broncos.
oikee
Guest
What are you on, designer ,? Mate the Broncos have 50 thousand members to the Redhill Broncos leagues club, i dont think Suncorp stadium is a probloem, what is the problem is Manly and the other weak Sydney clubs flogging Queensland and NZ juniors. Until they are made to pay for junior recruitment, this code will be run like a basket case. They have got to stop allowing weak tiny Sydney clubs from stripping all the quality talet from powerhouse clubs, while those clubs are being stripped of talent and going backwards. I will say it again, no code in the world Allows their code to be run backwards like rugby league allows major cities be stripped of talent and fans. Now if this code wants to grow, stop protecting weak Sydney clubs and let the powerhouse clubs keep their major talent and shine. Until then we will just have a watered down comp like the Storm losing 3 of their best and being flogged by 40. Manly need to pull their heads in, stop raping powerhouse clubs or drop the cap and allow Brisbane and the Storm to flourish, and the warriors. Gallop has driven this code into the ground, but once he went to soccer, he quickly knew what works, and our code is now floundering like a dogs bullocks on life support. Someone has to wake up before all the fans flock to other codes. This is now serious, no longer a joke. A million veiwers will be hard to peg back, i figure it could go as high as 2 million by the final, i am not interested after having all the Queensland teams punished all year.