2020 Brisbane Broncos season
The 2020 Brisbane Broncos season was the 33rd in the club's history. Coached by Peter Gentle, following the resignation of Anthony Seibold, and captained by Alex Glenn, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership. The Broncos failed to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2013 and claimed their first ever wooden spoon in a disastrous season, marred by controversy, the COVID-19 pandemic and injuries to key players.

Season summary
Before the season had launched for the Broncos, the team already faced controversy after forward Joe Ofahengaue was issued a traffic infringement by Queensland police for being asleep in a stationary vehicle.

The Broncos competed in Pool 4 in the Nines, with club legend Corey Parker coming out of retirement to join the team for the pre-season competition. The Broncos started off their Nines campaign, losing to the North Queensland Cowboys 17–11, and defeated the Melbourne Storm 12-8 the following day. The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles had a better for and against than the Broncos and clinched the second finals spot in the pool, meaning that the Broncos missed out on qualifying for the finals of the Nines.

Two days after the end of the Nines competition, outside back Izaia Perese was stood down from all club duties by the Broncos, after he was charged by police with drug related offences. It had later come to light that Perese was flown to Perth for the Nines competition, and was sent home the day before the tournament commenced once the club was informed of his legal issues.

The Broncos had a shaky performance during the pre-season trials, beating the Central Queensland Capras convinvingly, while losing close games against the Cowboys, Titans and Wynnum Manly. Injuries sidelined captain Alex Glenn, Matt Lodge and Joe Ofahengaue for the opening round, with Anthony Seibold choosing young forward Patrick Carrigan and new recruit Brodie Croft as co-captains against the Cowboys. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys 28–21. As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in Australia, the NRL announced that Round 2 would be played behind closed doors, but conceded that they were unsure whether the competition could continue beyond that. Playing in an empty Suncorp Stadium, the Broncos defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs 22–18. On March 18, the Australian government declared a human biosecurity emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which put the NRL season in jeopardy. Two days later on March 20, the NRL announced it would be suspending the season. The Broncos sat at sixth position on the ladder before the suspension of the competition.

References

Brisbane Broncos seasons
Brisbane Broncos season