For most of 1996, a grand final showdown between ARL figurehead Manly and Super League-aligned powerhouse Brisbane seemed a fait accompli. The international-stacked teams finished first and second…but the Broncos’ upset loss to North Sydney Bears at Suncorp Stadium in week one turned the playoffs on their head.
The Broncos were pitched into a Sydney-hosted sudden-death semi against fifth-placed Cronulla, wh had survived a gripping elimination final against plucky Western Suburbs.
Chasing their first preliminary final appearance since 1988, the effervescent young Sharks outfit got off to a flyer.
Skipper Andrew Ettingshausen claimed a bomb from halfback Paul Green that Broncos duo Wendell Sailor and Steve Renouf wanted nothing to do with to open the scoring after just three minutes. It was 10-0 shortly afterwards when the Sharks executed a breathtaking scrum play that saw long-striding fullback David Peachey glide 50 metres to the tryline.
The Broncos rallied with their cohort of youth at the forefront. Fullback Robbie Ross – a Hunter Mariners signing who spent 1996 in Brisbane after the Super League competition was blocked by the courts – backed up outstanding work from Andrew Gee to score, before rookie Tonie Carroll powered over in the corner.
The finals pressure boiled up some bizarre moments: Willie Carne’s attempted conversion of Ross’ try somehow went under the crossbar, while Sharks front-row enforcer Les Davidson and Broncos imp Allan Langer threw a series of haymakers in a mismatched stoush.
“’Alfie’ gave it to me, he was smart … got in real close and I couldn’t get a swing at him,” Davidson would laugh post-match.
A third Mat Roger penalty early in the second half pushed the Sharks out to a 16-8 lead, but Carroll’s barnstorming second try put the Broncos within striking distance.
The flashpoint moment arrived with 14 minutes left courtesy of another Green bomb as Kiwi winger Richie Barnett soared over Sailor to score. The Broncos desperately opted to kick a penalty with just over a minute left, but their last roll of the dice came up snake eyes and Cronulla had prevailed 22-16.
“I not only accept it, I’m rabid about it,” ecstatic Sharks coach John Lang said when asked if he now acknowledged his team had arrived as a genuine force.
“Beating the top teams during the season is one thing. To beat Brisbane when it counts shows we’re in the top echelon.”
Peachey and prop Craig Greenhill were hailed for their performances, while lock Tawera Nikau’s multifaceted display earned the man-of-the-match nod.
“We just hit the wall in the finals. It’s hard to believe this has happened in ’94, ’95 and now ’96. The team is getting on a bit … maybe we’ll have to start the rebuilding process,” Sailor accurately forbode after the Broncos’ fifth consecutive finals loss.
The straight-sets exit sparked a ruthless cleanout, with 1992-93 grand final heroes Carne, Kerrod Walters and Alan Cann among those to exit.
The Sharks’ season ended via a 24-0 preliminary final loss to eventual premiers the Sea Eagles.
It was only the start of these clubs’ frantic finals rivalry, however.
Brisbane disposed of Cronulla in the major semi (34-2) and grand final (26-8) to take out the 1997 Super League premiership. The minor premiership-winning Sharks eliminated the eighth-placed Broncos 42-20 in 1999; the Broncos returned the favour 34-20 in 2000 after topping the table.
Squaring off at the qualifying final stage for the third straight season in 2001, the fourth-placed Sharks subdued the fifth-placed Broncos 22-6.
