2009 Brisbane Broncos season

The new post-Bennett Broncos era got off to a thrilling start when they defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 19–18 in round 1 at Suncorp Stadium in the first game under coach Ivan Henjak.

Star signing Israel Folau scored his first try in Broncos colours and the first try of the season for the club in the 6th minute, followed by NRL debutantes Antonio Winterstein and Jharal Yow Yeh who also crossed.

In the following days Shane Webcke, who had been appointed assistant coach for Brisbane at the start of the season quit his post in the wake of controversy surrounding the release of his new book in which he was critical of some Broncos personnel.

Darren Lockyer's 300th game did not go as planned when they faced the Newcastle Knights in torrential rain at EnergyAustralia Stadium and lost, the match punctuated by a 35-minute half-time break.

The following week, the Broncos survived a strong Wests Tigers side who were playing their 10th anniversary match, hanging on to win 20–18 at Campbelltown Stadium.

Source:[1] Their chances against Melbourne in the grand final qualifier suffered a major blow when in form halfback Peter Wallace broke his ankle toward the end of that win against the Dragons.

Back Rowers Shane Webcke was an Assistant Coach up until 6 April 2009, when he resigned from his role due to the controversy surrounding his auto-biography "Hard Road".