“My back is broken. Spinal.”
Mike Tyson’s famous quote after a heavyweight boxing bout in 2003 accurately describes one of the Broncos’ many problems at the moment: a broken spine.
There’s been a lot of commentary regarding their misfiring one, six, seven and nine, with fullback Darius Boyd’s defensive issues, five-eighth Anthony Milford’s inability to effectively manage the team, halfback Kodi Nikorima failing to step up when games are on the line and hooker Andrew McCullough in the midst of a form slump.
Coach Anthony Seibold continues to show faith in his spine despite the combination showing little to no improvement over the first six rounds, ignoring the widespread calls for changes.
It’s hard to put a finger on what’s gone wrong for Darius Boyd. Defensively, he looks lethargic, disinterested and unwilling to put his body on the line, and he’s clearly lacking confidence.
He’s fallen for dummies, been turned inside out, got caught flat-footed and been steamrolled.
But perhaps the most worrying sign for the Broncos is the amount of times when opposition players have broken the front line and Boyd throws his hands in the air appealing to the referees for a penalty instead of trying to save a try.
What happened to play to the whistle?
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The problems relating to the Broncos’ halves combination is glaringly obvious. Milford and Nikorima are both eyes-up running halves trying to play structured football, and it’s not working.
The top halves combinations have a running half who plays what he sees while the other half manages the team and sticks to structures. The Roosters’ halves Luke Keary and Cooper Cronk are the perfect example.
Asking Milford to take on the responsibility of managing the team since the departure of Ben Hunt has proven to be an error of judgement.
It takes away his strengths and he doesn’t have the personality to be an on-field general.
Imagine what he could do if he had a Cooper Cronk-like halfback who would allow him to focus on his own game without the added pressure of team management. He’d consistently slice open defensive lines like he did in Brisbane’s charge towards the 2015 grand final.
This is no disrespect to Kodi Nikorima but he’s in the same mould as Milford: a running five-eighth trying to play as a structured halfback.
Andrew McCullough’s form – or lack thereof – is another major cause of concern for Brisbane.
After the first six rounds, he’s produced zero try assists, zero line breaks, zero line break assists, only two tackle busts and has failed to run for more than 20 metres in three games.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
McCullough is the incumbent Queensland Origin hooker, but it’s looking likely he will be overlooked as he’s been unable to produce the same qualities in 2019 as he has in previous seasons.
Opinions are divided as to what Brisbane’s solutions are, as each loss brings more and more scrutiny and examination.
Their shortcomings may simply be due to Seibold’s new structures compared to what they were used to under former coach Wayne Bennett. They may require more time and patience to get it right.
Unfortunately, the season is slipping away, and the time is now for the Broncos’ spine to aim up or changes must be made.
There have been relentless calls for Boyd to switch from fullback to five-eighth, centre, wing or reserve grade, Milford to fullback, Nikorima to the bench, and Jack Bird to five-eighth.
Many fans are also keen for Brisbane to blood some of their youngsters like Sean O’Sullivan or Tom Dearden into the halves and drop McCullough for 22-year-old back-up hooker Jake Turpin.
In all fairness to the current spine, they’re just one part of the Broncos woes. They have a young, inexperienced forward pack and the team’s defence has been diabolical at times.
However, from the five games Brisbane have lost this season, they had the opportunity to win four of them but were unable to close out the opposition in the dying stages.
When games are on the line, its the responsibility of the team’s spine – and the halves in particular – to step up and secure the win.
But for the Broncos, they are consistently failing to deliver.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Not an 80 minute player no more. Would be good for start and finish of games but need another threat from dummy half
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Macca ain't a 80 min player no more. Need a back up hooker from the bench and Niko is the man for the job
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
And he had the nerve to suggest he's trying too hard. Comical.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
What happens if the spine doesn't show up again tonight? Will Seibs have the courage to make changes? Bennett would have
Kurt S
Roar Pro
Boyd is running lame and was for most of 2018 as well. It took until around origin time last year to make a clean break, from memory. He did start to pick up some form at the backend of last season. He is injured for sure. He is not putting his body on the line in attack. He is probably out there to marshaling his troops in defense but that is not happening either. So the only real thing to do is to replace him until he gets back to fitness. The only other thing they could attempt is to hide him in the centres but he would have a target on his back. Hooker has been poor. Whatever has happened to McCollough has been serious. He is pedestrian and unenthusiastic. He needs a rest on the sidelines. Nikorima is a talent. Where best to use that talent in this team is the challenge. I’d try him at hooker because I want him on the field. But it would be understandable if he came off the bench as an impact player in the second stanza of each half. Milford shows signs of brilliance but he is not yet and maybe never will be a leader and it seems that if he is bogged down in set plays he loses his spark. Either let him run or put him to fullback. Defense is the first big issue for Broncos. They need to start trusting the players beside them and stop running up out of the line so often. As badly as they have been playing, and they have been playing poorly, they still are getting across the line so they have points in them through individual effort. Get the defense sorted and the trust that instills in each other will bring on a bunch more points in attack. It is going to be interesting to see how this coaching plays out this year. The board alienated a lot of people by allegedly having eyes only for Seilbold from the very start. If Seilbold does not get decent results there are going to be a few board members in a very uncomfortable situation being asked questions of their judgement. Time will tell………………………………… To the Admin, why don’t my paragraphs show up after I have send my post? If I go back to edit, the formatting and paragraph spacings are there..
jimmmy
Guest
Only stirring the pot Rellum. All’s fair in love and recruitment.!
matth
Roar Guru
We may well find out
Paul
Roar Guru
Surely results would still play a part in whether the Broncs keep Seibold, Matt? I'm not saying it will happen, but I couldn't imagine this Club keeping a coach if he takes them to a bottom 3 finish? Not after so many seasons of making the finals.
matth
Roar Guru
Not a bad idea.
matth
Roar Guru
He has a 5 year contract, the Broncs will give him at least two. Especially since he’s had no influence on the roster yet. His acid test will be how he recruits over the next off season.
matth
Roar Guru
I’d be including Lodge. He has been nothing but quality, I can’t remember him having too many bad games, just some handling errors in one game. The rest I agree with.
Larry1950
Guest
Bennett had the same mob of cattle last year? He had Thaiday, Sims & McGuire in the pack & got smashed on their home ground in a semi by thirty points!
Rellum
Roar Guru
You get that the abive team has lost Lodge, Bird, Glenn and Boyd to be replaced by Taylor and Holmes. If I was NQ I would not just assume Holmes would sign with them if he comes back. There would be many offers and the Broncs will need a fullback.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
You guys !!!! Why not 1 Teddy 2 Oates 3 Mitchell 4 Roberts 5 Turbo 6 Ponga 7 Who ever is the in form halfback at the time. Teddy and Mitchell will be hard to prise from Uncle Nick but the Broncs can work it out.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Maybe Seibld’s is misfiring then...? I had a boss that used to say “a fool with a tool is still a fool”
souvalis
Roar Rookie
It does,perhaps its most significant on field role..it also among other things analyzes the physical demands on the player and periods of increasing vulnerability to injury..its then in the hands of the coaches,with the variables,to bring out the hook or not.. NRL wrote it up back in 2017..theres quite a bit of literature on it out there..
Nico
Roar Rookie
Brisbane's defence has been pretty average ever since they lost McCullough to injury in mid-'17. They were massively found out with big losses to Parra and Storm to round out the year. They rot continued in 2018, which ranks among Brisbane's worst ever for points conceded (although this season is well on track to surpass it). The difference was despite their leaky defence, the Broncs were still finding ways to win against most of the top sides. They seem to stand back and wait for the other team to come at them, conceding big metres in the process. I can't see changing the spine around making much of an impact until the defensive frailties are addressed
Josh H
Roar Rookie
If Holmes is going anywhere in the NRL it'd be to the Cowboys, has no connection to the Broncos but he was born and grew up in Townsville Some reports have even stated that Val has confirmed NQ is his plan B
The Barry
Roar Guru
I don’t think GPS measures fatigue, although a good coach should be able to. The GPS doesn’t decide when to bring players on or off…yet. Robocoach…
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Its not the job of the GPS unit in the back of the jersey to track and monitor player fatigue to the guys on the computers sitting next to the coach ?