The Broncos story
(as told by Sid Domic)
This painting is the story of the Brisbane Broncos first 21 years involvement in top flight rugby league.
The story begins with the meeting of Paul Morgan, Barry Maranta, Steve Williams and Gary Balkin, who together turn the 'Dream of the Broncos' into a reality. This meeting is represented by the circle surrounded by the 4 u-shaped symbols. The white u-shaped symbols represent the four Broncos directors.
Wayne Bennett was bought back to Brisbane from Canberra to be the first Broncos coach in 1988, a position he would keep for 21 years before standing down. Wayne's hand print is painted in maroon, to the right of the directors meeting place circle.
Wayne Bennett's footprints lead the journey around the painting. And a golden pathway, representing the success of the club, follows those footprints.
The handprints along the pathway are those of the six Broncos captains - Wally Lewis (surrounded by bronze like his statue at Suncorp Stadium), Gene Miles, Allan Langer, Kevin Walters, Gorden Tallis and Darren Lockyer. The black, white and gold circles on the pathway represent the six grand finals the club has won during its short history.
The background is dominated by three Broncos jersey designs - the first the original yellow top with maroon bottom, and separated by white stripes. The second jersey is the maroon and yellow diamond design which was used as an away strip in the 1994-95 seasons, and the third is the design used during Super League.
The Broncos added to their first two grand finals (92-93) by taking out the 1997 Super League title, and to symbolize this success I have added the shadow of the Super League badge behind the maroon stripes of the distinctive jersey.
The two large circles symbolize Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium) and ANZ Stadium. The u- shaped figures surrounding these circles represent the thousands of Broncos supporters who come together each week in support of the club they love.
The figure eight linking these two stadiums represents the Broncos move from Lang Park to ANZ Stadium, and then back to the refurbished Suncorp Stadium.
The white circles, linked by white lines, symbolize the Broncos development and recruitment staff as they move throughout Queensland giving young players the opportunity to achieve their goals and dreams. And the grey hand print on the bottom right side of the painting is that of the late Cyril Connell.
As manager of recruitment the partnership between Cyril and Wayne produced dozens of rugby league legends, and some great role models for our game.
When I think of the Broncos I think of Queensland, and that is why the map of Queensland is on the right side of the painting. The Brisbane River also flows through the painting.
In completion I have placed 21 copper circles spread over the painting. These represent the 21 years of the Broncos story.
