After ten seasons playing NRL footy, Broncos forward Matt Gillett has announced his retirement, with one glaring omission from his CV.
Gillet never won a grand final.
Now, that’s a pretty rough way to sum up the career of a man who played 12 games for his country as well as 20 for his state, being part of five shield-winning Queensland sides.
Add 200 games for his beloved Broncos and you’ve got a list of achievements of which he doubtlessly is tremendously proud.
But when you think of the all-time legends at a club, a premiership tends to be part of their folklore.
Sure, you’ve got your Nathan Hindmarsh types – who have absolutely cemented their placee in the club’s history even without winning the ultimate prize – but they’re few and far between.
Far more common are fellas who managed to hold aloft the Provan-Summons Trophy, even if it was only the once.
Think about it. What are the likes of Paul Gallen, Johnathan Thurston and Andrew Johns best remembered for? Three absolute titans of the game at any and every level, yet the top line on their career achievements are winning grand finals.
What’s more, according to Cameron Smith – who knows a thing or two about winning – grand final triumphs are the sweetest of all.
“When you finish a grand final and you’ve won it, that’s a more satisfying feeling than winning a three-game Origin series or a six-game World Cup tournament,” Smith said on the Matty Johns Podcast earlier this year.
As Smith explained, it’s the sheer amount of work required that makes the granny victory so sweet. Three brutal months of preseason, the grind of 26 regular rounds and four weeks of the finals.
“To be able to be on top at the end of that, that’s the most fulfilling feeling,” Smith said.
(Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)
And it’s a feeling Gillet will never experience.
Again, I don’t mean to pile on to the bloke. The reason I’m bringing it up is that I suspect he’s the first player in Brisbane history to be regarded as a club great, yet to have never won a premiership.
Entering the comp in 1988, the Broncos’ early years were scary dominant, claiming their first title in ’92 and having sewn up six premiership trophies by 2006 for an average of a big dance win once every three years.
Yes, they had the advantage of being a one-state team and all the other qualifiers that go with talk of their early successes, but fact is they still won just, like, all the time.
It established them as the biggest and best club in the NRL, which is a title they could still argue to hold.
But it’s now been 13 years between drinks, which means there are teenagers in Brisbane who have no concept of just how good their club was.
And there are players who have been wonderful servants for the club who will finish their time in maroon and yellow without tasting grand final success.
As an illustration, take a look at the list of players to have featured in 200 or more games for the Broncos:
355: Darren Lockyer
347: Corey Parker
304: Sam Thaiday
274: Michael Hancock
258: Allan Langer
255: Andrew Gee
254: Shane Webcke
241: Kevin Walters
238: Alex Glenn
236: Andrew McCullough
235: Petero Civoniceva
218: Tonie Carroll
200: Brad Thorn
You could say all are club legends and only two – Alex Glenn and Andrew McCullough, who both first played first grade in ’09 – don’t have a premiership ring.
But the club’s list of ‘legends not champions’ is set to grow over the coming years unless the Broncos can sort out their issues.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Off the field, they remain absolutely top shelf, as evidenced by the fact it seemed like their entire young forward pack was off-contract of late, yet pretty well all have signed on to stay in the Sunshine State capital (and David Fifita ain’t going anywhere).
But despite the organisation’s fabulous front office, they remain with a huge hole on the field – the lack of a halfback.
And maybe the issues run deeper than that because they’ve had some handy No.7s since 2006 but couldn’t get it all together.
Regardless, Matt Gillett appears to be the start of what will be a growing trend – great Broncos who didn’t win a premiership.
And a club that demands success the way Brisbane do will be pissed off about that.
Jo
Roar Rookie
This is very true. There is a line between reality and expectation. They are constantly expected to over achieve, not a bad thing to aim for, but the realism is, they are a young team at the moment. To achieve what they have achieved in the last few years for a young team ,I applaud them for.
Zak
Roar Rookie
The Broncos team have been treated with kid gloves by the NRL and broadcasters for so long that it has negatively effected their performances in semi finals footy. The poor spoilt players are too used to playing every Friday night with a cushy 7 day turn around between games, when semi finals come around they are not used to playing on Saturdays and Sundays with a shorter turnaround in games. Get a second Brisbane team in the comp to appease the broadcasters and make the Broncos play more Sunday and Saturday games with a shorter turnaround between games and they might actually get used to playing on different days in September semifinal time. A good example is in 2019 they played a game in Brisbane during magic round and it was classified as an away game for the Broncos. Stop treating them with kid gloves and pampering them so they can build some resilience
steveng
Roar Rookie
HaHaa good one CP, as recruiting Seibs will continue that ordinary trend, bum bum!
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Broncos should have retained an Insurance Company (NRMA( as their main sponsor. After all bowing out 58-0 was certainly A TOTAL LOSS OR PERHAPS A TOTAL WRITE OFF!
mushi
Roar Guru
There's no complacency just misguided effort. They prioritise athletesover talent. Now that's fine if it is a moderate prioritization, but they've seemingly gone absolute. It's an odd recruitment strategy as they don't have to be so definitive
Tom
Guest
Thurston did win a premiership at the Bulldogs in 2004
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
"Well played by Kia though. Every brand wants to be seen in September..." .....hahaha.....damn you fella! :angry:
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Nah. That’s not what’s happening with the Broncos. They were one of the top tier teams a few years ago. The last two seasons have been the result of a roster rebuild and an inexplicable coach cleanout. There is no sign of complacency at Red Hill - they have sacked the captain and have publicly put senior players on notice. There is also no denial of the reality of where the team is at among the fan base.
Nat
Roar Guru
"????" was another emoji on my phone and it was giving an indication of where 'up" is! I love having to explain a joke! I'll admit I had a laugh when Kia cam on board. Mostly for the fact Audi was their MV sponsor and a few of the staffies enjoyed their little euro showbox. Reflective of the team's performance I say. Well played by Kia though. Every brand wants to be seen in September ;)
Paul
Roar Guru
They remind me to a degree of the Dragon's in the 1990's and even into the new millenium, GH, good enough from season to season to be there or thereabouts, but never good enough to get the big prize. As a long time fan, thought that was okay, till it dawned on me in the late 2000's we hadn't won a premiership since 1979. 30 years between drinks is way too long and the Broncs are heading the same way - maybe?
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
"....it’s an upward trend bro!" ....yeah, sure it is Nat. I know 58-0 reasons why it's not! :laughing: I also notice that your boys are now wearing the 'Kia' logo. In all honesty I hope the Broncos have as much luck and fortune as the Dogs did whilst wearing that logo - particularly our last three seasons - and I say that with all sincerity Nat! ;)
Hammerman
Guest
Until they get a real halfback and stop giving long huge money contracts to uninterested, fading or injury prone "oldies" (read Boyd, McCulloch etc) they will not win another premiership. They should pay Croft whatever he wants and rebuild the young team around him and they will have a real shot.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
They needed most of QLD state of Origin team+ two of NSW to win their first title. Your not going to get that these days with the salary cap. There was supposedly a salary cap in those days, but no one would doubt that Brisbane through that decade was way over it. Brisbane were great entertainment in that decade and won through good attack rather than holding players down.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Suffers from having a diverse skill set. He’s one of those really solid second rowers that have to fill in at centre every now and then.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
The broncos played in the grand final, losing after full time in 2015. They played in semi finals in 2016 and 2017, losing to the team that won the premiership in 2017. They got bundled out early in the finals in 2018 after finishing 5th on the ladder. Only 2019 could really be described as a bad season.
Tom
Guest
Matt Bowen never won a premiership but everyone thinks of him as one of the NRL's best and most popular players of his time. Strange logic
Nat
Roar Guru
Very good servant for a long time and worn the C on a number of occasions. Still runs good lines and strong in D but might get surpassed by the next gen sooner than later.
Nat
Roar Guru
????it's an upward trend bro!
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Is it just me or would Alex Glenn have to be one of the most under the radar players ever? I remember he had a bumper season several years ago where, as a forward, he scored about 15 tries in the one season for the Broncos and I thought, “ Who’s this joker? “. Used to get picked for New Zealand a bit. Is he still playing? He got picked for some rock out in the Pacific Ocean last year I vaguely recall.
RudyZarzoff
Guest
Hallelujah to that brother Crispy.