People had always wondered how a Grand Final played in Sydney that didn’t feature a team from New South Wales would be received, and in 2006 we go our answer.
The minor premiers, the Melbourne Storm fielded one of their strongest teams ever. So much so that it would later be revealed that this Storm team was not just slightly over the salary cap, but more than a million dollars over the salary cap!
No one knew that as they ran out on the field in the 2006 Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, who had finished the season in 3rd place on the ladder, having been led by Darren Lockyer, who was having one of the greatest individual seasons seen in many, many years.
The Broncos had under-achieved since their last Grand Final victory in 2000. They were looking to make up for that with a team that had a great mix of youth, experience, and some of the best players of the generation in their side.
Here is the Brisbane Broncos lineup that lined up in the 2006 NRL Grand Final:
The Brisbane Broncos – 2006 Grand Final Team
1 Justin Hodges
2 Darius Boyd
3 Brent Tate
4 David Stagg
5 Karmichael Hunt
6 Darren Lockyer (C)
7 Shane Perry
8 Shane Webcke
9 Shaun Berrigan
10 Petero Civoniceva
11 Sam Thaiday
12 Brad Thorn
13 Tonie Carroll
14 Corey Parker
15 Dane Carlaw
16 Ben Hannant
17 Casey McGuire
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Brisbane Broncos 15
Tries: Justin Hodges, Brent Tate
Goals: Darren Lockyer 2/2, Corey Parker 1/2
Field Goal: Darren Lockyer
Melbourne Storm 8
Tries: Steve Turner, Matt King
Goals: Cameron Smith 0/2, Matt Geyer 0/1
Brisbanes “Mr Fix It”, Shaun Berrigan had one of the best games of his career in the 2006 Grand Final, winning the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match. His performance for the Broncos out of dummy half being a key factor in the clubs Premiership win.
The great Darren Lockyer, who had captained Queensland to victory in the State Of Origin series, captained the Broncos to victory in the Grand Final, as well as captaining Australia to victory in the season ending Rugby League Tri Nations.
The win would be notable as being the last of legendary coach Wayne Bennett in his time at the Broncos.
Fears over the crowd were unwarranted as a near sellout crowd of 79,609 turned up in Sydney to watch the match. It was also one of the most viewed Rugby League matches in Australian history, with a bigger television audience watching the game in Melbourne than watched the game in Sydney. Overall it was one of the most successful Grand Finals for the game of all time.
This was the final match in the career of Broncos, Queensland and Australian Rugby League legend Shane Webcke.
The 2006 NRL Grand Final gave the Brisbane Broncos their 5th Premiership, which does not include the 1997 Super League title the club won.
Here are the match highlights of the 2006 NRL Grand Final:
