The rugby league Battle for Brisbane is the name for the series of matches between the professional rugby league clubs in Brisbane.[1]
The original series was between the Brisbane Broncos and the South Queensland Crushers during the ARL competition in the mid-1990s. The Brisbane Broncos won both encounters.
In 2023, the new Dolphins franchise re-ignited the series,[2] with the teams striking a new Battle Medal as the player of the match award, as decided by prominent rugby league commentators.[3][4]
Results
Broncos vs Crushers
The Brisbane Broncos would meet the South Queensland Crushers just twice in the then ARL-controlled competition. The first meeting at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium came on the night the Super League war broke out in 1995.[5] The long-awaited clash between Brisbane's two teams ended up a bit of a non-event, with the Broncos having a glut of possession to race out to an early 12–0 lead, extending it further in the second half.[5] The Crushers lack of penetration in attack was their ultimate downfall, as they were held scoreless in just their fourth competition fixture.[6]
The second match between the teams came over a year later in the 1996 ARL season, with the Broncos again winners, in front of a then competition record crowd of 34,263 at Suncorp Stadium.[7] The Crushers would take an 8–6 lead into halftime, before the Broncos overwhelmed the Crushers in the final ten minutes with three tries.[7]
Due to the split caused by the Super League war, the two teams would not meet again before the Crushers' ultimate demise in December 1997.[8]
