Rugby league pioneers series: The 1988 Brisbane Broncos

This is the fourth article in the series where I’ll pay tribute to the pioneers of each of the eleven surviving clubs who entered the league since I began following rugby league back in the 1960s and tell you a little about who they were and where they came from.

Today, the first of the Queenslanders – the Brisbane Broncos.

The history of rugby league in Brisbane goes back to the beginning of the game itself, but it was largely an unknown quantity for anyone south of the Tweed for a very long time. That all changed with the advent of State of Origin, when Test strength NSW teams began to suffer defeat by Queensland teams largely comprised of players from the Brisbane Rugby League.

By the mid-1980s, the chance of a team from Brisbane joining the NSWRL was on the agenda, and after a couple of false starts, became a reality in 1988, and the Brisbane Broncos were born.

Here’s the team that took the field for the Broncos’ very first game against Manly at Lang Park on 6 March 1988, in front of over 17,000 one-eyed fans, and what a debut it was, as they blew the reigning premiers off the paddock to win 44 -10. Brisbane had well and truly arrived!

Numbers in brackets are the total first-grade games the player played for Brisbane, and note that under the numbering system of the time, the hooker is number 12 and the lock is number 8.

1. Colin Scott (14)

Scott was a very experienced fullback who ended up having just one season with the Broncos. He joined them from the Wynnum-Manly club and was very experienced, having played 33 games for Queensland between 1979 and 1987.

2. Joe Kilroy (31)

Kilroy was an electrifying ball runner who won a premiership with the Brisbane Brothers club in 1987 before hooking up with the Broncos. His career was cut short in 1989 when he was jailed for drug-related offences.

3. Chris Johns (171)

Johns was a top-flight centre who played with both St George and the English club Castleford before joining the Broncos in 1988. He stayed for the next nine seasons, won two premierships with the club, and went on to represent both Australia and NSW. He retired at the end of 1996 and later became the CEO of the new Melbourne Storm club.

4. Gene Miles (72)

Miles was equally at home in either the centres or the back row, and if Queensland ever had a better centre than Mal Meninga, then Miles was it. He won two premierships with Wynnum-Manly in the early 80s before joining the Broncos and finished his career in England.

5. Michael Hancock (274)

Hancock was one of the most difficult players to tackle during his 13 years with the Broncos, as attested by the 120 tires he scored. He joined the Broncos from the Toowoomba Clydesdales and went on to play 16 games for Queensland and 13 tests for the Kangaroos.

6. Wally Lewis (C) (46)

King Wally was already a Queensland legend when he was signed as a 28-year-old to lead the Broncos in their formative years, and there could be no better choice. By the time he led them out for that first match against Manly, the future Rugby League Immortal had played 29 games for Queensland and 26 tests for Australia.

7. Allan Langer (240)

Not much bigger than the ball boy, Langer was plucked from virtual obscurity at the Ipswich Jets in 1987 by Queensland Origin coach Wayne Bennett to take his place in the Queensland side. They won the series 2-1 and Langer was named man of the match in the decider. He was then signed by the Broncos for the 1988 season and went on to have 12 years with the club, captaining the club to four premierships along the way, as well as winning the Rothmans, Dally M and Clive Churchill medals, to stake a claim as perhaps the greatest Bronco of all time.

8. Terry Matterson (156)

Matterson joined the Broncos as a 21-year-old from the Roosters in 1988 and showed signs of things to come in their very first match against Manly when he scored two tries and landed eight goals from nine attempts. He won back-to-back premierships with the Broncos in 1992 and 1993.

9. Brett Le Man (38)

A former Australian Schoolboy representative, Le Man won premierships with both Easts and Brothers in the BRL before joining the Broncos, for whom he had the honour of scoring their very first try in their inaugural game against Manly.

10. Keith Gee (12)

Gee is the lesser-known brother of Andrew Gee, and he had just one season in the top grade with the Broncos before transferring to the Gold Coast.

11. Bryan Niebling (20)

Niebling joined the Broncos from Redcliffe towards the end of his career, which saw him play 13 tests for Australia and nine Origins for Queensland before he pulled on a Brisbane jumper. He left the Broncos at the end of 1989 and finished his career in England.

12. Greg Conescu (28)

Conescu was another player from Redcliff to have a stellar career for both state and country before joining the Broncos for two seasons, eventually losing his first-grade spot to Kerrod Walters.

13. Greg Dowling (69)

Dowling represented both Queensland and Australia from the Wynnum-Manly club where he won a premiership in 1984. He then spent some time with Wigan before joining the Broncos for four seasons in 1988.

14. Mark Hohn (118)

Hohn came to the Broncos from the Fortitude Valley Diehards via Wigan, and went on to win back-to-back premierships with Brisbane in 1992 and 1993, before finishing his career with the Crushers in 1995.

15. Billy Noke (16)

Noke was a powerful second rower who joined Brisbane for just one season after six years with St George. He returned to the Dragons in 1989, and after also playing with both Souths and Wests, finished his career at Wagga in country NSW.

16. Craig Grauf (5)

Grauf was a quality half who came to the Broncos from Brisbane’s Norths Devils club, and he provided the bomb for Brisbane’s first ever try. He returned to the Brisbane competition after just 5 games in the top grade and reappeared in the ARL once again in 1996 to have a half dozen games in the top grade with the Gold Coast Chargers.

Coach – Wayne Bennett (629)

Wayne Bennett was well-established as a coach by the time he led the Broncos into their first season. He had already tasted premiership success in the BRL and was Canberra’s co-coach in 1987 when they made it as far as the grand final. He had also been the Queensland Origin coach for the previous two seasons and would lead them once again in 1988.

29 players represented the Broncos in first grade that year, and some of the better-known players not in that first run-on side were:

Kerrod Walters (182) –

Kevvie’s twin brother joined the Broncos from the Ipswich Jets as a 20-year-old, and played his first game in the top grade off the bench in Round 2 of 1988. After a tussle with Greg Conescu for the hooking role, Walters eventually won out in the following season and was part of the Broncos’ premiership-winning teams in both 1992 and 1993.

Brad Tessman (4)

The big front rower had three years with the Roosters, and represented both Queensland and Australia, before returning home to Brisbane and the Broncos in 1988, but only had four games in the top grade.

Year one pioneers who you may struggle to remember include:

Peter Benson (4), Shane Duffy (22) and Brook Kennedy (3).

So there they are, the Brisbane Broncos pioneers, and surely there’s never been a stronger inaugural squad than Brisbane in 1988. Of the 16 players named that day eight including Gene Miles, Wally Lewis, Allan Langer and Greg Dowling had already played for Queensland, six of those had already played for Australia and all but four of the 16 would go on to play for either their state or country, not to mention several more of their 1988 extended squad who would do the same.

The Broncos hit the ground running in their first year, winning their first six matches, really shaking up the competition, and even leading it for several weeks, before fading somewhat to win only 50% of their remaining 16 games, and finishing just one win outside the top six and a finals berth.

They really laid a solid foundation upon which future Broncos’ success was built, and they’d achieve premiership success within five years.