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Roaring 40s so long ago
by Chris Cox
Friday May 14, 2004
If current trends continue, the Brisbane Broncos could break an undesirable record at full time of their round 14 clash with Parramatta in Sydney, and it's all about scoring.
It's been 41 games since the Broncos surpassed the magical 40-point barrier when they beat the Melbourne Storm 48-20 at Olympic Park in Melbourne way back in season 2002. With tonight's clash with Newcastle and two more consecutive home games against St George-Illawarra and Cronulla, the Broncos have an opportunity to avoid beating a record which has stood since 1991.
Back then, ironically also against Cronulla, the Broncos beat the Sharks 40-2 at Lang Park, their biggest ever win against the Shirelings. It ended a 44 game run since the Broncos had last hit 40. Amazingly, that too was against the Sharks at Lang Park in round 13 of 1989, coming home victorious to the tune of 42-10.
Since then the Broncos have eclipsed 40 points on a regular basis through the years since 1992 where the Broncos have failed to miss the finals. In fact, season 2003 was the first since 1990 that they failed to reach 40 points even once.
It is a sign of the times that the Broncos have, in the past five years, been forced to play a more forwards oriented game and move away from the flamboyant excitement that the likes of Allan Langer, Steve Renouf, Kevin Walters, Wendell Sailor and Willie Carne wowed crowds with in the 1990s.
That's not to say the Broncos can't attack. 2004 has seen a real rise in the excitement level of the Broncos' play, with some scintillating tries scored particularly against Penrith and Canberra in recent weeks. Who could forget the length of the field effort to hooker Barry Berrigan against the Panthers on ANZAC Day, or Tonie Carroll's bust and Brent Tate's amazing acceleration to streak away for a great try?
Admittedly the competition is becoming a lot more competitive, particularly as the Super League days are further behind, and the salary cap is starting to bite. Season 2004 seems to be more even than ever.
In fact, in the first 9 rounds, there have been just 8 teams that have racked up 40 or more points in a game. St George-Illawarra are the only team to have done it twice.
But season 2003 wasn't a low scoring season. In fact, its total of 35 matches with 40+ scorelines was higher than the 2000 NRL Premiership which not only operated under unlimited interchange, but also included an extra four matches per team. That year there were just 32 occasions when teams scored 40 or more points.
| Season |
Competition-wide |
Broncos |
%
|
| 1999 |
37
|
2
|
5.40
|
| 2000 |
32
|
6
|
18.75
|
| 2001 |
46
|
7
|
15.21
|
| 2002 |
43
|
6
|
13.95
|
| 2003 |
35
|
0
|
0.00
|
| 2004 (after 9 rounds) |
8
|
0
|
0.00
|
This table shows the number of 40+ scores per season for the whole competition, and for the Broncos, and the percentage of which the Broncos are responsible for.
It's no secret that the salary cap has bitten the Broncos hard, and retirements and injuries have also had a major impact. From that 2002 team which scored almost 14% of the 40+ scores for the competition, the Broncos lost champion halfback Allan Langer (retired), and outside backs Lote Tuqiri (rugby union) and Chris Walker (Souths/Roosters), who were all outstanding attacking players.
Wayne Bennett's decision to move Darren Lockyer to five-eighth brought dividends, with the attack looking far more potent throughout the opening rounds, but Lockyer's rib injury suffered two weeks ago and halfback Brett Seymour's season ending knee injury has put Brisbane's attacking renaissance slightly on the back foot.
Ben Ikin will start at halfback against the Knights and utility Casey McGuire will again fill the five-eighth role he managed admirably against Canberra last week. Newcastle are not a renowned defensive side, but the Broncos will be under pressure to put points on the board if their forwards don't gain momentum early.
There's little doubt the Broncos' faithful will be roaring in approval of a 40+ score again, and very likely this season. The law of averages says as much. And hopefully it will be the beginning of a renaissance that may lead to the heroics of the 1998 side who, with 9 scores of 40 or more, were more prolific than any other team in the past seven seasons.
Bennett will probably settle for a premiership.
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