# 2011 Brisbane Broncos season

The 2011 Brisbane Broncos season was the 24th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 3rd (out of 16). The Broncos then came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by eventual premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. It was the last season for Brisbane's captain, all-time top points scorer and most-capped player, Darren Lockyer. Lockyer was also named the Broncos player of the season.
2011 was the Broncos' first season under new CEO Paul White who replaced Bruno Cullen in the first week of January. The following month, head coach Ivan Henjak was replaced by his assistant Anthony Griffin. NRMA replaced WOW Sight & Sound as the naming-rights sponsor of the Broncos after signing a three-year multimillion-dollar deal.

## Season summary

On 21 February Broncos CEO Paul White announced that Ivan Henjak would be replaced by his assistant Anthony Griffin as head coach of the club for the 2011 NRL season, less than three weeks out from its start. In round 1, The North Queensland Cowboys ended their 7-game losing streak against the Broncos with a hard-fought 16–14 win at Suncorp Stadium. It was only the 5th win the Cowboys have had over the Broncos in their 17-year history and it was only the Broncos' 4th loss in an opening round match in their 24-year history. In round 2, The Broncos had their first win in Canberra since 2005 with a 20–4 win over the Canberra Raiders. In round 3, Justin Hodges made an immediate impact for the Broncos playing his first game since 2009, scoring the match winning try with a 14–8 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park. In round 12, the Broncos played their first Golden Point game since 2008, defeating the Canberra Raiders 25–24 at Suncorp Stadium. In round 22, Darren Lockyer equalled the all-time record for most career games of all-time playing 349-games. The Broncos hosted the New Zealand Warriors, in a tense game, the Broncos ran out winners 21–20 at Suncorp Stadium. In round 24, Broncos secured 3rd spot for the finals with a 26–6 win over the Newcastle Knights at Ausgrid Stadium. It was also the Broncos first ever away win in a Monday Night game. Brisbane finished the regular season in 3rd place on the ladder.
Darren Lockyer kicked the winning field goal to knock defending premiers, Wayne Bennett's St. George Illawarra Dragons out of the 2011 competition and bring his team to within one match of the grand final. However, in the process Lockyer also took an accidental knee from a teammate in the face, fracturing his cheekbone over ten-minute's before the game's end. Therefore, without their captain, Brisbane needed to defeat second-placed Manly-Warringah for a chance to play in the grand final.

### Milestones

* Round 1: Two players made their debuts for the club; Dane Gagai and Jack Reed. Both made their NRL debuts also.
* Round 1: Dane Gagai and Jack Reed scored their 1st career tries.
* Round 2: Alex Glenn played his 50th game for the club and his 50th career game.
* Round 8: Darren Lockyer scored his 121st career try which moved him into second on the all-time try scoring list for the Brisbane Broncos behind Steve Renouf.
* Round 12: Kurt Baptiste made his debut for the club and his debut in the NRL.
* Round 13: Scott Anderson played his 50th career game.
* Round 14: Shea Moylan made his debut for the club and his debut in the NRL.
* Round 15: David Hala scored his 1st career try.
* Round 16: Kurt Baptiste scored his 1st career try and Peter Wallace played his 100th career game.
* Round 22: Jharal Yow Yeh played his 50th game for the club and his 50th career game.
* Round 22: Darren Lockyer played his 349th career game, equalling the all-time record of club appearances.
* Round 23: Darren Lockyer played his 350th career game, broke the all-time record of club appearances.
* Round 25: Ben Te'o played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad Movement
### Gains

| Players | Previous club | Until End of |
| Dane Carlaw | Catalans Dragons | 2011 |
| Ben Hannant | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2014 |
| Jack Reed | Norths Devils (Queensland Cup) | 2012 |

### Losses

| Players | Club | Until End of |
| Israel Folau | GWS Giants (AFL) | 2014 |
| Denan Kemp | Southern Districts (Rugby Union) | ? |
| Lagi Setu | Mormon Mission | 2012 |
| Ashton Sims | North Queensland Cowboys | 2012 |
| Tariq Sims | North Queensland Cowboys | 2012 |
| Antonio Winterstein | North Queensland Cowboys | 2013 |

### Re-signings

| Players | Club | Until End of |
| Scott Anderson | Brisbane Broncos | 2013 |
| Kurt Baptiste | Brisbane Broncos | 2013 |
| Dale Copley | Brisbane Broncos | 2013 |
| Justin Hodges | Brisbane Broncos | 2014 |
| Josh Hoffman | Brisbane Broncos | 2015 |
| Dunamis Lui | Brisbane Broncos | 2013 |
| Josh McGuire | Brisbane Broncos | 2015 |
| Corey Parker | Brisbane Broncos | 2014 |
| Sam Thaiday | Brisbane Broncos | 2015 |

## Ladder

2011 NRL Telstra Premiershipvte :
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 521 | 308 | 213 | 42 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 539 | 331 | 208 | 40 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 511 | 372 | 139 | 40 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 519 | 430 | 89 | 34 |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 483 | 341 | 142 | 33 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 504 | 393 | 111 | 32 |
| 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 532 | 480 | 52 | 32 |
| 8 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 478 | 443 | 35 | 28 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 449 | 489 | -40 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 531 | 562 | -31 | 26 |
| 11 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 417 | 500 | -83 | 24 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 430 | 517 | -87 | 22 |
| 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 428 | 557 | -129 | 18 |
| 14 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 385 | 538 | -153 | 17 |
| 15 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 423 | 623 | -200 | 16 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 363 | 629 | -266 | 16 |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 12 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Kougari Oval | 42 – 18 | Copley (2), Norman, Lui, McGuire, Frei, Glenn, Reed | Hunt (5) | 3,500 |
| Saturday, 19 February | Trial 2 | North Queensland Cowboys | Traeger Park | 26 – 4 | Reed (2), Hoffman, Kahu, Parker | Parker (2), Norman (1) | 5,500 |
| Saturday, 26 February | Trial 3 | Melbourne Storm | Dolphin Oval | 26 – 6 | Te'o, Hunt, Lockyer, Yow Yeh, Gagai | Parker (3) | 8,000 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Friday, 11 March | Round 1 | North Queensland Cowboys | Suncorp Stadium | 14 – 16 | Reed, Yow Yeh, Gagai | Parker (1/3) | 45,119 |
| Friday, 18 March | Round 2 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 4 – 20 | Hoffman, Gillett, Yow Yeh | Parker (4/4) | 16,146 |
| Friday, 25 March | Round 3 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park | 8 – 14 | Glenn, Hodges | Parker (3/3) | 20,226 |
| Friday, 1 April | Round 4 | Penrith Panthers | Suncorp Stadium | 18 – 10 | Glenn, Beale, Yow Yeh | Parker (3/5) | 25,263 |
| Monday, 11 April | Round 5 | Newcastle Knights | Suncorp Stadium | 17 – 6 | Reed (2), Gillett, Beale | Parker (0/4), Lockyer (FG) | 24,522 |
| Saturday, 16 April | Round 6 | Sydney Roosters | Bluetongue Stadium | 6 – 24 | Copley (2), Yow Yeh, Hannant | Parker (4/5) | 8,616 |
| Friday, 22 April | Round 7 | Wests Tigers | Sydney Football Stadium | 18 – 31 | Yow Yeh, Glenn, Thaiday, Wallace, Lockyer | Parker (5/5), Lockyer (FG) | 19,494 |
| Friday, 29 April | Round 8 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Suncorp Stadium | 20 – 12 | Lockyer, Copley, Beale | Parker (4/4) | 30,538 |
| Saturday, 7 May | Round 9 | Melbourne Storm | Suncorp Stadium | 22 – 29 | Beale (2), Reed, Gagai | Parker (3/4) | 34,175 |
| Friday, 13 May | Round 10 | Penrith Panthers | Centrebet Stadium | 33 – 10 | Wallace, Parker | Parker (1/2) | 11,336 |
| | Round 11 | Bye | | | | | |
| Friday, 27 May | Round 12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Suncorp Stadium | 34 – 10 | Te'o | Parker (3/3) | 32,283 |
| Friday, 3 June | Round 13 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Toyota Stadium | 16 – 34 | Glenn (2), Copley, Parker, Reed, Beale | Parker (5/7) | 14,436 |
| Sunday, 12 June | Round 14 | Canberra Raiders | Suncorp Stadium | 25 – 24 (golden point) | Glenn, Copley, Beale, Hoffman | Wallace (4/5) & (FG) | 21,378 |
| Friday, 17 June | Round 15 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Suncorp Stadium | 21 – 14 | Yow Yeh (2), Hala, Reed | Wallace (2/4), Lockyer (FG) | 34,185 |
| Friday, 24 June | Round 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | NIB Stadium | 16 – 12 | Reed, Baptiste | Parker (2/2) | 15,371 |
| Friday, 1 July | Round 17 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 12 – 16 | Gagai (2), Gillett | Wallace (2/3) | 11,079 |
| | Round 18 | Bye | | | | | |
| Friday, 15 July | Round 19 | Gold Coast Titans | Suncorp Stadium | 30 – 10 | Yow Yeh (2), Thaiday, Hodges, Hoffman | Parker (4/5), Wallace (1/1) | 31,035 |
| Friday, 22 July | Round 20 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 26 – 6 | Yow Yeh | Parker (1/1) | 22,912 |
| Friday, 29 July | Round 21 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Suncorp Stadium | 46 – 16 | Hodges (3), Hannant, Reed, Yow Yeh, Gillett, Wallace | Parker (6/7), Wallace (1/1) | 24,164 |
| Saturday, 6 August | Round 22 | New Zealand Warriors | Suncorp Stadium | 21 – 20 | Hodges, Beale, Reed, Gillett | Parker (2/4), Wallace (FG) | 37,173 |
| Friday, 12 August | Round 23 | North Queensland Cowboys | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 – 34 | Hoffman (3), Reed, Copley | Parker (7/7) | 26,463 |
| Monday, 22 August | Round 24 | Newcastle Knights | Ausgrid Stadium | 6 – 26 | Wallace, Hodges, Yow Yeh, Glenn, Hunt | Parker (3/6) | 19,412 |
| Sunday, 28 August | Round 25 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Suncorp Stadium | 22 – 10 | Glenn, Reed, Thaiday, Te'o | Parker (3/4) | 40,094 |
| Sunday, 4 September | Round 26 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Suncorp Stadium | 18 – 10 | McCullough, Yow Yeh, Gillett, Beale | Parker (1/4) | 50,859 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Melbourne | 18 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Newcastle | 8 | | | | 1W | Melbourne | 12 | | | |
| | | | 4W | Wests | 20 | | New Zealand | 20 | | | |
| 2 | Manly | 42 | 2L | New Zealand | 22 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Manly | 42 | 2L | New Zealand | 22 | | | | Manly | Manly | 24 |
| 7 | North Queensland | 8 | | | | | | | Manly | Manly | 24 |
| 7 | North Queensland | 8 | | | | | | | New Zealand | New Zealand | 10 |
| 3 | Brisbane | 40 | | | | 2W | Manly | 26 | | | |
| 6 | New Zealand | 10 | 3W | Brisbane | 13 | | Brisbane | 14 | | | |
| | | | 1L | St. George Illawarra | 12 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wests | 21 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | St. George Illawarra | 12 | | | | | | | | | |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 10 September | Qualifying Final | New Zealand Warriors | Suncorp Stadium | 40 – 10 | Glenn, Reed, Lockyer, Parker, McCullough, Hodges, Beale | Parker (6/8) | 48,943 |
| Saturday, 17 September | Semi-final | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Suncorp Stadium | 13 – 12 | Te'o, Copley | Parker (2/4), Lockyer (FG) | 48,474 |
| Friday, 23 September | Preliminary Final | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Sydney Football Stadium | 26 – 14 | Yow Yeh, Wallace, Copley | Parker (1/3) | 31,894 |
| Legend: Win Loss ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Scott Anderson | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kurt Baptiste | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Gerard Beale | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Dane Carlaw | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Copley | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Mitchell Dodds | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dane Gagai | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Matt Gillett | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Alex Glenn | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| David Hala | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ben Hannant | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Justin Hodges | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Josh Hoffman | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Ben Hunt | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nick Kenny | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Lockyer | 22 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| Dunamis Lui | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew McCullough | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Josh McGuire | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shea Moylan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Norman | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Parker | 24 | 3 | 74 | 0 | 160 |
| Jack Reed | 27 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Ben Te'o | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Sam Thaiday | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Shane Tronc | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Wallace | 27 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 42 |
| Jharal Yow Yeh | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| Totals | – | 101 | 84 | 6 | 578 |
Source:

## Representative

The following players played a representative match in 2011.
Australian Kangaroos
* Ben Hannant
* Justin Hodges
* Darren Lockyer
* Corey Parker
* Sam Thaiday
* Jharal Yow Yeh
England
* Jack Reed
New Zealand Kiwis
* Gerard Beale
* Alex Glenn
Indigenous All Stars
* Jharal Yow Yeh
NRL All Stars
* Ben Hannant
* Darren Lockyer
Queensland Maroons
* Ben Hannant
* Justin Hodges
* Darren Lockyer
* Corey Parker
* Sam Thaiday
* Jharal Yow Yeh

## Honours
### League

* Nil

### Club

* Player of the year: Darren Lockyer
* Rookie of the year: Jack Reed
* Back of the year: Darren Lockyer
* Forward of the year: Corey Parker
* Club man of the year: Kurt Richards