# 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

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

### World Club Challenge

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.
* 23 February 2007 20:00 UTC+0
| St. Helens | 18–14 | Brisbane Broncos |
| Tries: Gardner (2) Sculthorpe Goals: Sculthorpe (3) | Report | Tries: Parker Boyd Goals: Parker (3) |
* Reebok Stadium, Bolton, United Kingdom Attendance: 23,207 Referee: Steve Clark

## Telstra Premiership

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, 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. 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.

### Ladder

2007 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |

### Scorers (After Round 25)

For NRL first-grade matches only.
| Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
| Corey Parker | 4 | 45/54 | 0 | 106 |
| Darren Lockyer | 2 | 23/33 | 3 | 57 |
| Justin Hodges | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Steve Michaels | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Karmichael Hunt | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Tonie Carroll | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Darius Boyd | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Brent Tate | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Greg Eastwood | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Michael Ennis | 1 | 7/8 | 0 | 18 |
| Shaun Berrigan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Dane Carlaw | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Dave Taylor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| David Stagg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Petero Civoniceva | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Ben Hannant | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Craig Frawley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Joel Moon | 2 | 0/1 | 0 | 8 |
| Shane Perry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Brad Thorn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Sam Thaiday | 1 | 1/2 | 0 | 6 |
| Denan Kemp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nick Emmett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 89 | 77/99 | 3 | 511 |

## 2007 match results

^ 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 | Sydney Football 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
### League

* Nil

### Club

* Player of the year: Petero Civoniceva
* Rookie of the year: David Taylor
* Back of the year: Karmichael Hunt
* Forward of the year: Brad Thorn
* Club man of the year: Petero Civoniceva/Brad Thorn

## Players

Bold Players have played International or State any year
Full Backs
* Australian Karmichael Hunt
* Australian Denan Kemp
Wingers
* New Zealander Tame Tupou (released by the club after Round 7 without playing this season)
* Australian Darius Boyd
* Australian Stephen Michaels
* Australian Craig Frawley
Centres
* Australian Shaun Berrigan
* Australian Justin Hodges
* Australian Brent Tate
* Australian Nick Emmett
Halves
* Australian Darren Lockyer (c)
* Australian Shane Perry
* Australian Brent McConnell
* Australian Joel Moon
Hookers
* Australian Michael Ennis
* Australian Ian Lacey
* New Zealander John Te Reo
* Australian Michael Roberts
Props
* Australian Petero Civoniceva (vc)
* Australian Ben Hannant
* Australian Nick Kenny
* Australian Corey Parker
* Australian Sam Thaiday
* Australian Dave Taylor
Second Rowers
* Australian Dane Carlaw
* Australian David Stagg
* Australian Brad Thorn
* Australian Clifford Manua
Locks
* Australian Tonie Carroll
* New Zealander Greg Eastwood

## Player movements
### Gains

| Name | From club | Contract Details |
| Peter Wallace | Penrith Panthers | Contract until the end of 2009, will come in 2008. |
| Joel Clinton | Penrith Panthers | Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008. |
| Ashton Sims | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008. |
| Tom Hewitt | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Contract until the end of unknown, will come in 2008. |
| PJ Marsh | Parramatta Eels | Contract until the end of 2010, will come in 2008. |

### Losses

| Name | To club | Contract Details |
| Tame Tupou | Bradford Bulls | Contract until end of 2008, will go there mid-2007. |
| Brent Tate | New Zealand Warriors | Contract until end of 2010, will go there in 2008. |
| Shaun Berrigan | Hull | Contract until end of 2011, will go there in 2008. |
| Petero Civoniceva | Penrith Panthers | Contract until end of 2009, will go there in 2008. |
| Dane Carlaw | Catalans Dragons | Contract until end of 2010, will go there in 2008. |
| Brad Thorn | Canterbury Crusaders | Contract until end of 2008, will go there in 2008. |

### Re-signings

| Name | Contract Details |
| Sam Thaiday | Contract until end of 2009. |
| Joel Moon | Contract until end of 2009. |
| Stephen Michaels | Contract until end of 2009. |
| Darius Boyd | Contract until end of 2009. |
| Denan Kemp | Contract until end of 2008. |
| Greg Eastwood | Contract until end of 2009. |
| Michael Ennis | Contract until end of 2010. |
| Justin Hodges | Contract until end of 2011. |

### Off Contract at end of 2007

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