Other names | Battle of Brisbane |
---|---|
Location | ![]() |
Teams | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
First meeting | Broncos 32 – 0 Crushers (31 March 1995) |
Latest meeting | Broncos 38 – 28 Dolphins (16 August 2025) |
Next meeting | 2026 |
Stadiums | Suncorp Stadium The Gabba |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 8 |
Most wins | Broncos (6) |
Top scorer | Jamayne Isaako (34) |
All-time series | Broncos: 6 wins Dolphins: 1 wins Crushers: 0 wins |
Largest victory | Dolphins – 34 points (31 August 2024) |
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]
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]
Game | Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue | Crowd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 32–0 | ![]() | 31 March 1995 | QE II | 49,607 |
2 | ![]() | 8–28 | ![]() | 12 April 1996 | Lang Park | 34,263 |
Game | Home | Score | Away | Date | Round | Venue | Referee | Attendance | Battle Medal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 12–18 | ![]() | 24 March 2023 | Round 4 | Suncorp Stadium | Adam Gee | 51,047 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() | 24–16 | ![]() | 1 July 2023 | Round 18 | The Gabba | Peter Gough | 30,606 | ![]() |
3 | ![]() | 28–14 | ![]() | 12 April 2024 | Round 6 | Suncorp Stadium | Adam Gee | 46,224 | ![]() |
4 | ![]() | 40–6 | ![]() | 31 August 2024 | Round 26 | Suncorp Stadium | Adam Gee | 50,049 | ![]() |
5 | ![]() | 12–20 | ![]() | 28 March 2025 | Round 4 | Suncorp Stadium | Gerard Sutton | 44,278 | ![]() |
6 | ![]() | 38–28 | ![]() | 16 August 2025 | Round 24 | Suncorp Stadium | Wyatt Raymond | 44,350 | ![]() |