After crashing to yet another embarrassing finals loss, questions will need to be asked of the Brisbane Broncos and the direction they are heading in.
The Broncos’ premiership hopes were extinguished for another year after they were humiliated 48-18 by the St George Illawarra Dragons on their own home turf, the result ensuring that their longest premiership drought extended into a twelfth completed year.
Wayne Bennett’s men had entered the clash against the Red V as hot favourites after thrashing the Sea Eagles by 48-16 in their final regular season fixture, the margin enough to see them finish sixth, but not enough to move ahead of the fifth-placed Penrith Panthers.
It had emerged during the week that Bennett allegedly radioed messages to his players via the trainer to stop scoring when they were 32 points up, believing his side had a better chance of beating the Dragons than the Warriors, who they would’ve faced had they managed to score an extra point.
On the other hand, the Dragons limped into September with their form having deteriorated since the start of July, losing six of their last nine matches to drop from the top of the ladder to seventh place.
Additionally, they hadn’t won at Suncorp Stadium since Round 4, 2009, suffering ten straight losses in the intervention, including two crushing finals losses on either side of their 2010 premiership win.
Tariq Sims of the Dragons. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
But the form guide completely went out the window as the Dragons produced easily their best performance since Round 3, coming from 10-2 down in the first half to completely take control of the match and register their biggest ever score, and win, over the Broncos.
Back in Brisbane as a Dragon for the first time since leaving the Broncos at the end of last season, Ben Hunt rediscovered his pre-Origin form to torture his old side for the second time this year, and answer his critics after what had been a tough past few weeks for him and his new side.
He had made headlines during the week after coming public with his battle against mental health issues, which many attributed to his individual form slump which came in the wake of Queensland’s State of Origin series defeat in June.
Hunt aside, Tariq Sims was also impressive as he scored a hat-trick of tries in the first half, and also engaged in a long-running battle with his brother, Korbin, who will join him in the Red V next season.
Making the Dragons’ win all the more impressive was the fact that they finished the match with only one fit man on the bench after Gareth Widdop, Jack de Belin and James Graham all failed to see it out due to varying injuries.
It was also their first win in a finals match since they took out the 2010 premiership.
As for the Broncos, the heavy defeat brought to an end another inconsistent season which had started for them with a similarly dismal loss to the Dragons, having gone down by 34-12 at Kogarah Oval in Round 1.
It was clear that, while they did manage to reach the finals for the 25th time in the past 27 years, they were left to play catch-up for the rest of the season, eventually finishing sixth.
The 500 points they conceded during the regular season was the most of any of the eight finalists, and the most they’d conceded in a season since 2010.
It was also a sad way for veteran Sam Thaiday to bow out of rugby league, the 33-year-old having announced his retirement in a creative way when he turned up to a retirement house dressed as an old man back in July.
Coincidentally, his debut match, back in 2003, was also one he’d rather forget as the Broncos copped a 40-4 hiding at the hands of a Bulldogs side featuring a very young Johnathan Thurston in the halves.
His retirement leaves current captain Darius Boyd as the only player still remaining from the club’s 2006 premiership, and given the current state of affairs at the club, it appears unlikely the 2010 Clive Churchill Medallist (from his time at the Dragons) will win a second premiership ring with the Broncos.
As mentioned above, Korbin Sims has also played his last game for the Broncos and will link up with brother Tariq at the Dragons, while centre Tom Opacic will head north to join the Cowboys.
The club’s finals capitulation will lead to numerous questions being asked as to where the Broncos are at going forward, and what can be done to snap what is currently the longest premiership drought in club history.
One will surround the future of coach Wayne Bennett, who is contracted to the end of next season, while another will centre on the club’s biggest recruit, Jack Bird, who could only manage eight games in his first season at Red Hill after struggling with a sternum injury.
There is every chance Bennett, who will turn 69 on New Years Day, may not start next season, and that the club are already seeking out potential replacements, with current Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold top of their hit list.
Coach Wayne Bennett (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Seibold has impressed in his first season at Redfern, overseeing the NRL’s best attack and a return to the finals for the club after a period of regression following their 2014 premiership win.
It is therefore no wonder the Broncos want to lure him back home.
After arriving in Brisbane with high expectations, Bird could only muster eight games, but it appears he will stay at Red Hill for now despite reports that he was unhappy and was seeking a return home to Cronulla, where he was part of their 2016 premiership win.
Re-signings aside, the Broncos haven’t been able to land a big name for 2019, but that could change in the coming months as we reach the business end of the season.
And if this year has shown anything, it’s that there is clearly a lot of work to do at the club if they are to end its longest premiership drought and mount the dais again in 2019.
Ben Lewis
Roar Pro
Perth needs to come well before Brisbane...
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
I actually thought Nikorima had a very, very good game in a well beaten side. Made a couple of bad plays when things were getting desperate but that’s always going to happen. Roberts as well. I feel bad for Sims. Was a shocking way to exit the club and looked absolutely sick towards the end of his stint and after finally coming off. Didn’t deserve a game like that after the form he’d been in leading up to it.
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Panthers was slightly lower wasn’t it? I think the NRL website has that game just a hair lower.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Very few "experts", at the start of the season, had the Broncos making the finals, so to do so despite all the unsettling drama around Bennett, should be seen as a decent result. Inconsistency plagued Brisbane this year and they picked the wrong time to turn up in feeble mode.
Max power
Guest
That’s not true . Storm had the lowest crowd Should the Broncos be given a medal for their crowd? Watch how many go to South v dragons this week
Unnamed Sauces
Guest
“Winners have parties, losers have meetings” - Josh McGuire
Larry1950
Guest
Nobody seems to be giving Brisbane credit for pumping up the crowd numbers over the weekend, if we relied on Sydney spectator numbers to reflect the quality of the games in the first weekend of the playoffs you'd think the NRL was in trouble. I think Melbourne got the second biggest crowd when up against an afl final next door, if that's right then the argument for culling Sydney based clubs is justified.
Larry1950
Guest
Don't agree with the doom & gloom, rather be in the Broncos position in the next 2 years than a club like the eels whose big signings are Ferguson (alcopops anyone?) & a couple of older overpriced forwards. The dragons will swap Ah Mau for Korbin Sims, no gain there. I'd be happy if the Broncs can run out a pack of solid defenders including Gillett, TPG, S'ua & Glenn to go with their young guns. Roosters signing Sean O'sullivan will get the halfback spot as he's your more classical organiser with a good kicking game, pushing Nikorima to the interchange where he's suited as a replacement for McCullough when teams are tired. I wouldn't be surprised to see A J Brimson at the Broncs also because he's tight with his Qld U20's coach Hodges & hasn't yet resigned at the Titans. Could cover half, 5/8, fullback & left centre which is the Broncos real weak spot in the backline with Kahu's defence found wanting & attack non existent after his injury. Happy for AJ to come in for Jack Bird & save us money, get the feeling he'll never settle & might prove disruptive. What I hope happens is that young pommie Andre Savelio gets to play a full season next year, his injury started the rot of forwards injuries which just kept coming.
Nat
Roar Guru
I was never as confident on the GF as some but fair dinkum, don't the talking heads say that about each team every week? The only bloke who did show up was Fifita. Losing Sim next year is not a huge loss considering the forward stocks but credit where it's due, he's better than when he arrived. Until next year, I'll be happy to watch this one play out.
dolph fredderman
Guest
This side has no issues scoring but defence is horrendous. Too many players with terrible attitudes when it gets down to the gritty defence, boyd isnt the right captain nor the right person at fullback tbh hes had his time, he hasnt done nothing the past two seasons yet consumes 750k yearly of the salary, when your team is struggling the captain leads the way with a tough carry, good kick etc he hasnt done that at all no idea why he was handed captaincy and please get a proper halfback and a coach who will rough these players up cause theyre too comfortable under bennet
Larry1950
Guest
Whilst disappointed, I'm a pragmatist & can put this tipsy Turvey season into perspective. Getting a heap of first grade exposure for young forwards like Pangai Jnr, Haas, Fifita, S'ua and Staggs can only help them over the next few years if they keep them. Right side defence was found out Sims but hopefully Gillett, arguably the best one-on-one defender in the comp will help. Additionally, it appeared to me that Pangai Jnr & Oates played injured, they missed Glenn badly for his calming influence & then Ofenghaue going off threw out the balance. I know the dragons had injuries as well, but the bronco's leaders failed to step up. I've noticed that Kahu has been in awful form since the broken jaw & that's one spot they need to fix as he's just a passenger at the moment. Trade Bird for a left centre would be a positive move (Ramien).
Edward Kelly
Roar Guru
Maybe they could get behind a second Brisbane team, for the good of the NRL.
Kaks
Roar Guru
I'd keep him as a utility/impact player. However as a starting half? Definitely not.
Gloria
Roar Rookie
Not a single presenter on fox or 9 included the Broncos as a top 8 team at the start of the season, so they have actually performed well beyond expectations this year. With a very young side they are heading exactly in the right direction. Silly article based on empty fluff.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Green and McCulloch are close to the two least threatening runners of the ball in the spine department in the comp I reckon. They would need to be way above average in other departments to stack up in my opinion and they're not. In saying that there is a big chance opening up for spine players next year and beyond to step up to the plate with the old guard finally winding down.
Paul
Roar Guru
So your conspiracy theory is, Korbin plays really badly, tries to hurt a number of future team mates, looks like getting a few weeks to think about it before he debuts for the Red V? Hmmmmmm
Emcie
Roar Guru
He was the one organising the defence with Macca out though. Not saying they could have won if he didn't get injured, but it certainly seemed to contribute to gap between the scorelines and the scoring really opened up once he left the field
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
I think the Nikorima experiment has gone on too long. He just doesnt have it IMO.
Dirk Diggler
Roar Rookie
Nat wasn't it just last week some in the media were saying they could go all the way this year?? The errors started coming once they had to chase points and with the brain explosions from Sims. He's lucky he didn't get pinged for a hot shot as well in the second half. There's alot to like about the new generation of forwards coming through for the Broncs but some of their more experienced players like Oats, Roberts, McCullough, Kahu, didn't play well even Pangai Jnr was well below his best. Milford/Nikorima rocks & diamonds again
thomas c
Guest
I'd chalk it up to well documented attitude problems and a failure to execute. I think Bennett would have told them to keep things simple and try and gain the upper hand territory wise. In terms of next year, I think Mago, Joe O, Lodge should give them decent go forward in the middle, while gillett, fifita, Sua, TPG seem like they can make meters on the edge (on the back of the props). Bird is interesting. While I don't see where he fits in, he might bring something they lack. The broncs seem to be weirdly fragile, while the sharks are combative all day long. (I'd also note that all the teams this year have had some "off days". If the storm or roosters fall apart in a finals game, then maybe you can shrug it off: "ah, it happens to the best of 'em". I think all of the 8 seemed fragile.)