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Opinion

Broncos, the game has changed, but the battle has not

Roar Rookie
18th July, 2020
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Roar Rookie
18th July, 2020
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What a difference a few months can make.

After starting the year with two wins from two starts, the Broncos were being talked up as premiership likelies along with the Raiders and Roosters. The young Broncos forwards seemed unstoppable and were being heralded as the best pack since the dominating Broncos teams of the ’90s.

Our Broncos had shown real promise, but the game plan was largely built on one-out running – large forwards cannon-balling into the defence, dominating in tackles and smothering the attack.

And then the world changed. On March 23 the NRL suspended the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, a break that was to last until May 28. When we emerged the game had changed. The NRL had decided to move from two referees to one, which included a decree to pursue a vision of faster moving games with less stoppages. Most importantly ruck infringements would be penalised with an automatic six-again call.

In the return round, it could be seen that the game was now favouring the mobile running forwards who could play long minutes and work all day in defence. Defensively, the players who were quick to recover and get back into the defensive line were thriving. In attack fortune was swinging the way of the creative ball players. Mitchell Moses, Luke Keary, Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster were killing it, and even the old legs of Cameron Smith adapted well.

Cameron Smith

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

There was much more space to use and the well trained structures and systems of teams were crumbling. The mindful players with game vision were exposing teams who lacked the ability to think and adapt on the fly. Successful sides had fast play the balls, bodies consistently in motion, and frequent offloads that kept pouring pressure on the defence often earning the rewards from the officials.

And so the Broncos were found out to be a one-trick pony. The dream had died and the new reality was apparent. Now, eight games into the new world, we have still not learnt the new style much akin to touch football. In a case of natural selection (eat or be eaten), the Broncos have failed to adapt, evolve, and change.

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Yet we are seeing no humility from the players in the approach.

There is no doubt the Brisbane Broncos’ stocks are limited. The cattle yards are empty. There is certainly no next most likely to step up into any key position in the team at present. There is no superman to ignite some magic or provide some inspiration to a squad that looks tired, helpless and lost.

And yet it would seem this is no excuse in the cut-throat wold of professional sport for what now is almost guaranteed to be the worst season in the club’s history.

Anthony Seibold

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

We don’t need to look any further than a dogged, resilient and passionate Canberra, who knocked off the reigning premiers  – the Roosters – on Thursday night. What an incredible display of determination over the odds. A broader view can be taken with Craig Bellamy and the Storm, whose stocks seem to be plundered each year and still manage to finish at or near the top of the table in the regular season.

Potentially the largest real impact to the Broncos is the lack of a Queensland Cup competition this year. This is where the boys earn their right through scars and hard knocks, often playing against seasoned campaigners who love nothing more that to inflict pain on the young up-and-comers. These games are arguably tougher for the youngsters than NRL games as there is a target on their backs. There is nowhere to hide. These games turn boys to men.

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In graduation from the Q Cup, a first-grade spot comes arguably comes more from desire and persistence rather than God-given talent or skill. Even then the first-grade spot is never assured, and rightly players are constantly facing the threat of relegation to the lesser competition, suffering the indignity being dropped and excluded from the elite group. This system builds character, creates discipline and corrects ego.

However, in 2020, there is no consequence for failure and no system of correction. By failure I do not mean losing footy games, it is simply falling short of club and individual standards. Never has it been more true for the Broncos that the standard walked past is the standard accepted. The clichés from senior players echo loud.

“We are preparing really well” means little on game day if the heart is missing or the players just do not show up.

Payne Haas

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

There will be times in any professional environment where we appear to do things well, maybe even perfectly, however the results are just not going our way. If we focus on daily development and govern ourselves to common standards, we should be able to accept that eventually the universe will correct itself and results will go our way.

The Broncos of old did not seek praise or glory or acknowledgement. They worked for each other, the club, and dare I say it, the coach. This was a system where no individual was bigger than the unit as a whole – adjustment was swift, but delivered cleanly and fairly. These ideals have been lost at the Broncos.

This week there are none with the earned right to pull on a Broncos jersey, however there are only a very select few in the playing group that understand this.

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Now in the face of hardship, the Broncos decide what version of themselves they want to be. Facing the obstacle is the only way through and this starts with governing the standards, attitude and approach. This is our true battle now, as it has been in the creation of dominant teams of old.

We must begin with quiet humility, discipline and respect.

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