The rugby league Battle for Brisbane is the name for the series of matches between the professional rugby league clubs in Brisbane.
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, with the teams striking a new Battle Medal as the player of the match award, as decided by prominent rugby league commentators.
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. 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 12âÂÂ0 lead, extending it further in the second half. The Crushers lack of penetration in attack was their ultimate downfall, as they were held scoreless in just their fourth competition fixture.
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. The Crushers would take an 8âÂÂ6 lead into halftime, before the Broncos overwhelmed the Crushers in the final ten minutes with three tries.
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.