It would be painfully disappointing for Brisbane to miss out on playing in the 2013 NRL finals in the year the proud club celebrates its 25-year anniversary.
But after losing 32-0 to defending premiers Melbourne at the weekend – the first Brisbane side in history to be held to zero points twice in one season – the critics are leaping out of trees to declare their season over and predictably calling for coach Anthony Griffin’s head.
It’s not an ideal situation for the club to be in as it hosts its Gala Ball on Saturday night to celebrate its 25th birthday.
The highlight of the big night will be unveiling of the club’s ultimate grand final team, selected from players from the six sides which won premierships during those 25 years.
Names like Darren Lockyer, Allan Langer, Glenn Lazarus, Shane Webcke, Steve Renouf, Kevin Walters, and Gorden Tallis will fill the room along with Wayne Bennett – the man who coached every one of the club’s six premiership teams to glory.
Broncos chief executive Paul White would no doubt have been hoping to unwrap the club’s superstar grand final team line-up with the club in a much better position than 13th on the NRL ladder.
Currently they’re in huge danger of missing the September play-offs unless they can conjure up a barnstorming late charge with five or six wins from their remaining eight games.
Certainly no easy task, especially when you consider the tough closing draw they have to negotiate, starting against Cronulla at home on Friday night without their Origin stars.
They also have two games against the gritty Newcastle Knights, coached by Bennett and another against Penrith – everyone’s ‘dark horse’ tip to storm into the finals.
There’s a certain irony that Bennett can orchestrate Brisbane’s demise in such a special year for the club, just as there is a strong link between why they have struggled to be the force they once were when he was at the helm.
Bennett and Broncos co-founders, Paul ‘Porky’ Morgan, Barry Maranta, Gary Balkin and Steve Williams and inaugural chief executive John Ribot, established a special culture at Red Hill in those formative years from 1988 which laid the foundations for the golden success that was to follow.
On Bennett’s 21-year watch as coach, Brisbane became the most successful team of the past three or four decades. They became the NRL’s benchmark side for many reasons other than just the way they played football.
They won every grand final they contested in 1992-93, 1997-98, 2000 and 2006.
They played in 18 successive finals between 1992-2009, making them the envy of every battling chief executive in the land, not just rugby league bosses either, and quickly became the NRL’s official ratings champions and flag bearers.
Under Bennett the Broncos had the bulk of the Queensland State of Origin side.
They also always boasted one or two marquee stars of the game: ie Lewis, Langer, Miles, Lazarus, Walters, Renouf, Tallis, Lockyer – the list was endless.
Bennett always recruited the right players.
They all wanted to play and be a Bronco, often happy to accept less money because of the improved chances of playing representative football.
Simply put, winning premierships was more likely if you played for Brisbane under Bennett.
Bennett went out and got a young Kevin Walters from Canberra, knowing he’d be the right player to take over from Wally Lewis when he made the unpopular decision to take the number six jumper off the King and make Gene Miles his captain in 1989.
When he needed a powerhouse front-rower to drive his superstar side forward, he went and got Glenn Lazarus, the most successful front-rower to play rugby league, collecting premierships with three different clubs.
Bennett never ventured into battle without an on-field general.
Well before he left the club following a rift with those transpiring against him, he was formulating plans to ensure the club’s long-term future was not jeopardised by the pending departure of his most successful soldier, Darren Lockyer.
Bennett’s master plan before he walked out the door was to eventually move young fullback Karmichael Hunt to five-eighth for Lockyer and make him captain.
That susccession plan never happened, the AFL swooped and the Broncos have struggled to replace him ever since.
Since Bennett’s exit, the player exodus at Red Hill has also increased.
The club has let current Queensland and Australian star Darius Boyd (Newcastle) go along with the likes of Kiwi representatives Gerard Beale and Greg Eastwood (Bulldogs) and another representative utility player Ben Te’o (South Sydney).
Dane Gagai – now a permanent first grade player with Newcastle – Reece Robinson (Canberra) and Antonio Winterstein (North Queensland) were other quality players cut loose.
Critics have questioned how Brisbane missed out scouting the likes of Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans and young Canberra sensations Anthony Milford (18) and Edrick Lee (20) a member of the Brisbane Bullets junior team, when both grew up under their nose.
When Brisbane won the last of its six titles in 2006 against Melbourne Storm, Hunt was their regular fullback, Michael Ennis – who missed the grand final win through injury – was hooker, Lockyer was five-eighth and the unfashionable Shane Perry – recruited from Redcliffe to cover injuries – filled in at halfback.
Hunt, Lockyer and Ennis were all representative players.
In Brisbane’s current side, Wallace is the only member of the spine who has played any representative football.
In that 2006 grand final win, Brisbane also had two pretty handy props in Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva as well.
The cold hard facts facing Brisbane are they no longer have the same aura or pulling power they once hand under Bennett, or even when Lockyer was still playing just a few seasons ago.
They banked heavily on the club’s youth brigade delivering and then, at the last moment, tossed a spanner into the works by recruiting veteran halfback Scott Prince.
It’s a decision which ultimately cost them the future services of youngster Corey Norman, who is heading to Parramatta next season.
What they should have done was gone all-out for a genuine gun player.
A player capable of sparking the side’s attack which struggles for points with halves Prince and Wallace far too predictable and talented youngster Ben Hunt wondering what he has to do to get a decent crack at the job.
The kind of player Brisbane desperately need – a Greg Inglis, whom they came close to signing a few years ago, or Johnathan Thurston, now entering into his twilight years, Cherry-Evans or Ben Barba, who wants to return home to Queensland for personal reasons, don’t grow on trees.
But they are the types of players Brisbane is lacking and unless they open up their war chest and get out in the market place and throw their weight around they are going to miss out yet again.
Things will get even worse before they get better with a few current stars like centre Justin Hodges and Corey Parker edging towards the end of their fine careers.
What then?
The club has some exciting young talent.
We saw another future star unveiled in rangy 18-year-old Corey Oates who debuted against Melbourne at the weekend and the wraps on teenage half prospect Ashley Taylor are massive.
But those kids are still two or three seasons away from being ready to play NRL every week.
The harsh reality for coach Griffin is he has eight games left to lift Brisbane into the top eight and even then, unless they progress past the first round, the calls for his head will grow even louder and the pressure on Brisbane’s board will grow.
The pressure won’t worry Griffin.
I’d be willing to bet he, skipper Sam Thaiday and Bribane’s players believe their efforts against both the Warriors, losing on a Prince intercept pass and again against the Storm when they had enough scoring opportunities to be in the contest but didn’t execute the final play against the best last line defence in the competition, is good enough to believe they can still make the finals.
Brisbane may be missing a few things at the moment – but their heart or fight are not among them.
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Karen
Guest
Bryce Hegarty. He scored the match winning try in the Melbourne Rebels final game of the Super Rugby season last weekend.
Wayne Heming
Guest
Do tell Karen. Who was the local junior? One of the things I forgot to mention in my article was the massive impact on the club when they lost the great Cyril Connell as their recruitment man. Cyril had an eye for a football to match Bart Cummings' eye for a stayer or Melbourne Cup winner...
Karen
Guest
They cut loose a local junior at the end of last season who is a gun 5/8th and now he's killing it in the Super Rugby. They deserve what they get.
Wayne Heming
Guest
Mike. You've hit the nail on the head here with so many players out of position and away from their preferred position. Not sure sacking Hook is the answer when he doesn't have the right players and is in need of some serious recruitment by the club.
Wayne Heming
Guest
Thanks Gaz, You make a lot of valid points. I guess we will have to wait and see if they make the finals and if they don't, what steps they take to arrest the slide that is eroding the club's reputation. Wayne
Gaz
Guest
Wayne, The answer is not complex but spread over many years and you need to go back to the beginning. By that I mean at the start the Broncos management employed an up and coming coach in Bennett and a team of players all experienced enough to go out and give Manly a thumping in their first game. While Bennett was coaching, Ribot was managing and Connell went around and found likely replacements for the Lewises and Langers before they were needed. He of course found Lockyer but others like Tallis and Ryan simply wanted to join the ‘A’ team to be coached by Bennett, to play with the superstars and above all have a chance to win a premiership. None of that exists now and hasn’t for some years. When a front rower or any other player was needed in those days, a star like Lazarus put his hand up and everything fell into place and life was good. But the Broncos are a victim of their own success. Complacency crept in to a point where it appeared they couldn’t care less even if Bennett left – we’ll simply get Bellamy. Try as he might, Bennett couldn’t find another Langer from within, players like Seymour fell short and the talent began to dry up. He bought in Wallace, Clinton, Setu, Teo and Simms in the one season before he left. Only Wallace remains. It was reported the ‘ring-ins’ didn’t gel with the Bronco culture so they went back to recruiting their own talent. This method is favourable with the shareholders as not a lot needs to be spent on superstars so their dividend is higher. The downside is putting all their eggs in the one basket and should the youngsters not grow into the players required they not only begin to lose games but also their supporters, Friday night TV spot followed by their sponsors and above all credibility. That is happening right now. The Broncos havn’t just reached the crossroads – they were there a long time ago before Bennett left. They have evolved from a club that players were tripping over themselves to be a part of, accepting unders to do so, to a club that players are tripping over themselves to leave. Teo, Norman, Beale. Before that Folau couldn’t wait to get out of the joint, Inglis took a quick look and did the same. Not sure if it is pigheadedness or a need to appease News Corp and the shareholders but to say they are on the slide is a gross understatement. Maybe White is running the place too much as a business and not more like a football club – perhaps Wayne the answer you’re looking for is the answer to that question.
Mushi
Guest
Really? So you don't believe decades of research into people's decision making around choosing jobs and employers You also don't believe that having access to 50k a year juniors that plays in the first 17 is an advantage over clubs paying a guy 100 to 150k You believe coaching has zero impact on the game You believe that the nrl is a perfectly efficient market so each team pays for the exact same value?
Ozziejoebujjere
Guest
Bet your uniform was pretty consistent when you used to drink with Gee at Rowers Jonesy. Chambray shirt, country road belt and tan deck shoes the order of the day.
jonesy
Guest
couldn't agree more RE- jerseys.
jonesy
Guest
No, that was andrew gee.
turbodewd
Roar Guru
Do the Brisbane Broncos really exist?! They change their jersey every year so I dont know who youre talking about Wayne. (If they had some Aussie pride they would do what AFL teams do, stick with ONE bloody design FFS - yes, I do fire up on this issue, NRL uniforms are a joke. Except for Souths...and St.George most of the time.)
Mick Day
Guest
Its not The halves. As Gordon Tallis regularly points out, it is the go forward and whether the forwards lay the platform for the halves or not. It's why Souths are leading, why the Roosters are on an amazing turn around and why the Panthers are the darkhorse. There forwards are giving time and space. Watch your kids junior footy and its the same!
liatrevlis
Guest
Well goooooleeee where's the bruncs #1 supporter today ?? Normally as a lot to say about everyone else , but a chance to put the boot in and he is MIA , Were are ya oik ???? Come on ,,, stop hiding ,,,,,, it's O. K to not finish in the 8 ,,,, again , he he he he
alfie
Guest
Kevin Walters may of been considered you would of thought to replace hook and kerney.there must be a change of culture and some wise recruitment decisions to turn things around. The Broncos brand has always been associated with the team to beat.They need their mojo back desparatlyaptain.. It would be very interesting to see the break down of the salery cap spend,its hard to see from this years roster where it has been spent,surly they must be well under the cap and have enough salery cap left to purchase 2 or 3 players with some pace which is saddly lacking.in attack. Is the the captaincy worth looking at surely the captain needs to be on the field for the full 80 minutes.Thiaday plays well in Oragin when he is not burdened with being captain.wallace would be a option for captain.Perhaps prince or hnt at half wallace at stand off.
Glenn Innis
Guest
Spot on Clem, their just another club now,albeit with a huge supporter base.
Mike from tari
Guest
The Broncos have been using players out of position, their no.9 started in the under 20's as a 5/8, so he is not a natural, Prince is a half back playing 5/8, Wallace is a5/8 playing half back, Thaiday is a second rower playing prop, Hoffy is a fullback on the wing! Norman is not sure what position he should be in, therefore get rid of Hook.
eagleJack
Guest
So Griffin's just been given a contract extension.... Interesting.
djcooper
Roar Guru
Isn't it funny that it was only a couple of years ago (when Locky was still playing) that many good judges stated that the Broncos had the best batch of rookies coming through i.e. Glenn, Norman, MaGuire, Hoffman, Hunt etc. Unfortunately some of these guys just haven't lived up to expectation and it may be time for a clean out. A lot of people are saying that Hook isn't the problem but a couple of key points include Thaiday's form in Origin as a wide running second rower and the halves lack of creativity. Unless he makes some drastic changes soon then he will soon end up with Henjack on the scrap-heap.
JimC
Guest
Very astute article. It was indeed the loss of K to AFL that upset teh Broncos succession planning
Clem
Guest
Simple the years of almost exclusive access to Qld are over. They are now just like any other club, playing on the same field with the same issues.....