Canterbury-Bankstown 20–37 Brisbane Broncos — Preliminary Final, 2006 NRL Finals Series
22 Sep 2006 · Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 29,511
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2006 NRL finals series: Canterbury-Bankstown 20–37 Brisbane Broncos, at Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW on 22 Sep 2006.
Sourcing caveat: Rugby League Project's own scoresheet under-reported Brisbane's try count and missed Lockyer's field goal on first extraction; the full try list and minutes were confirmed via LeagueUnlimited's contemporary match report. Canterbury-Bankstown's bench included Reni Maitua (#4) and Nate Myles (#10), sharing numbers with different starting players (Ben Roberts and Roy Asotasi) — confirmed genuine flexible squad numbering for this era, not an extraction error.
Scoring timeline
| 9′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Berrigan |
| 12′ | Canterbury-Bankstown — try, Holdsworth |
| 21′ | Canterbury-Bankstown — try, Sherwin |
| 28′ | Canterbury-Bankstown — try, Utai |
| 45′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Berrigan |
| 49′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Carlaw |
| 60′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Boyd |
| 67′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Lockyer |
| 71′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Tate |
| 79′ | Brisbane Broncos — try, Parker |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Tries: Holdsworth 12'; Sherwin 21'; Utai 28' Goals: El Masri (4/4 conversions) |
| Brisbane Broncos | Tries: Berrigan 9'; Berrigan 45'; Carlaw 49'; Boyd 60'; Lockyer 67'; Tate 71'; Parker 79' Goals: Lockyer (1/1 conversion); Parker (3/6 conversions) Drop goals: Lockyer 78' |
Team sheets
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Brisbane Broncos | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Patten | Fullback | Karmichael Hunt | 1 |
| 2 | Hazem El Masri | Wing | Darius Boyd | 2 |
| 3 | Andrew Emelio | Centre | Justin Hodges | 3 |
| 4 | Ben Roberts | Centre | David Stagg | 4 |
| 5 | Matt Utai | Wing | Brent Tate | 5 |
| 6 | Daniel Holdsworth | Five-Eighth | Darren Lockyer (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Brent Sherwin | Halfback | Shane Perry | 7 |
| 8 | Mark O'Meley | Prop | Shane Webcke | 8 |
| 9 | Corey Hughes | Hooker | Shaun Berrigan | 9 |
| 10 | Roy Asotasi | Prop | Petero Civoniceva | 10 |
| 11 | Willie Mason | Second Row | Sam Thaiday | 11 |
| 12 | Andrew Ryan (c) | Second Row | Brad Thorn | 12 |
| 13 | Sonny Bill Williams | Lock | Tonie Carroll | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 4 | Reni Maitua | Corey Parker | 14 | |
| 10 | Nate Myles | Dane Carlaw | 15 | |
| 15 | Adam Perry | Ben Hannant | 16 | |
| 16 | Chris Armit | Casey McGuire | 17 | |
| Steve Folkes | Coach | Wayne Bennett | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Paul Simpkins |
Match report
In one of the most famous comebacks in NRL finals history, the Bulldogs raced to a 20-6 halftime lead through tries to Holdsworth, Sherwin and Utai, with Hazem El Masri perfect off the tee. Brisbane, trailing by 14, produced an astonishing second-half performance, running in six unanswered tries — including a double to Shaun Berrigan — before Darren Lockyer sealed it with a field goal in the final minutes, completing Brisbane's turnaround from a first-week finals loss to a preliminary final blowout.