2003 Brisbane Broncos season explained

Year:2003
Next Season:2004

The 2003 Brisbane Broncos season was the sixteenth in the history of the Brisbane Broncos. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Gorden Tallis, they competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 8th (out of 15) and making the finals for the 12th consecutive year. The Broncos were then knocked out in the first match against eventual premiers, the Penrith Panthers.

Season summary

In the pre-season Bruno Cullen replaced Shane Edwards as Broncos Chief Executive Officer. The Brisbane Broncos had a strong start to the 2003 season, winning 11 of their first 14 games, but later breaking the club's longest losing streak record by losing their last 8 games straight. Brisbane still made it to the finals, finishing the regular season in 8th position, but lost the Qualifying Final to the Penrith Panthers 28-18. The 2003 season was the first in the Broncos' history in which they lost more games than they won. In the first half of the 2003 season, whilst still at ANZ Stadium, the Broncos were only beaten once (by the New Zealand Warriors in round five). However, upon returning to Suncorp Stadium in round 12, the Broncos only won a home match once (defeating the Sydney Roosters in round 16).

A total of twelve Broncos players were selected to play in the mid-season 2003 State of Origin series, making them the most heavily represented club. Also in 2003 the Rugby World Cup was played in Australia. As a testament to the quality of the athletes produced at the Broncos, three of the club's former players would feature in two of the top three finishing teams of the rugby union world's peak competition, all of them having played together in the Broncos' 2000 premiership-winning side: Lote Tuquri with Wendell Sailor for Australia and Brad Thorn for New Zealand.

The Broncos were once again in the upper echelons of the ladder before losing their last eight games and falling to eighth place, nearly missing the finals for the first time since 1991.

Fullback Darren Lockyer was named the Broncos' player of the season.

Match results

Round Opponent Result Bro. Opp. Date Venue Crowd Position
1 Win 24 20 16 Mar 6/15
2 Win 22 20 23 Mar 4/15
3 Win 30 4 30 Mar 2/15
4 Win 32 24 5 Apr 2/15
5 Loss 12 32 13 Apr 4/15
6 Loss 20 27 18 Apr Sydney Football Stadium6/15
7 Win 20 14 25 Apr Parramatta Stadium5/15
8 Win 38 6 4 May Leichhardt Oval3/15
9 Win 38 12 11 May ANZ Stadium2/15
10 Win 36 16 18 May ANZ Stadium1/15
11 Win 24 0 23 May Telstra Stadium1/15
12 Loss 22 32 1 Jun Suncorp Stadium3/15
13 Bye 2/15
14* Win 24 20 15 Jun Canberra Stadium1/15
15 Bye 1/15
16* Win 10 8 27 Jun Suncorp Stadium1/15
17 Loss 16 32 4 Jul WIN Stadium1/15
18 Loss 4 40 11 Jul Suncorp Stadium3/15
19* Win 26 22 20 Jul Olympic Park3/15
20 Loss 20 26 26 Jul Suncorp Stadium4/15
21 Loss 10 20 2 Aug Toyota Park5/15
22 Loss 6 13 8 Aug Suncorp Stadium5/15
23 Loss 10 12 16 Aug Suncorp Stadium5/15
24 Loss 14 22 24 Aug Ericsson Stadium7/15
25 Loss 14 16 30 Aug Suncorp Stadium8/15
26 Loss 25 26 5 Sep Suncorp Stadium8/15
Qualif. Final Loss 18 28 14 Sep Penrith Football Stadium
*Game following a State of Origin match

Scorers

Player Tries Goals FG Points
12 69/97 0 186
9 2/3 1 41
10 0 0 40
9 0 0 36
8 0 0 32
8 0 0 32
6 0 0 24
5 0 0 20
5 0 0 20
4 0 0 16
4 0 0 16
3 0 0 12
3 0 0 12
3 0 0 12
0 2/3 0 4
1 0 0 4
1 0 0 4
1 0 0 4
Scott Prince0 0/1 0 0
(*Did not technically score any points.)

Honours

League

Club

External links

-27.4647°N 153.0094°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Honour Board . broncos.com.au . . 22 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140126143426/http://www.broncos.com.au/honour-board . 26 January 2014 .