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Opinion
Dear Broncos, I know, the last thing you need to hear is more criticism.
As a fan of 28 years since I knew what footy was, I’ve been through everything with you. From the glory days of six premierships to Ivan the Terrible and missing the finals for the first time in forever, I’ve stayed strong and will continue to do so. That does not mean some harsh truths can’t be issued and it’s time to get real about the situation.
Depending on who you ask, the problems range from the roster and players that don’t care, the injury toll, the coach to the culture. While there’s issues across all of those areas, that’s not the problem at the rotten core of this situation. Anthony Seibold has been given a bad situation to try and manage.
Anthony Seibold. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Jack Bird and his cool million dollars sitting on the sideline indefinitely destablises the centre/wing situation and adds pressure to the halves. A very expensive and very over-the-hill Darius Boyd forces his inclusion and causes the least damage to the team at centre.
Brodie Croft isn’t the game manager we need yet, which causes Anthony Milford to kick and lead the team far more than is desired. Alex Glenn, Matt Lodge, Jake Turpin, Xavier Coates, Corey Oates, Tesi Niu and Jordan Kahu have all been struck down by injuries, most for the season.
Tevita Pangai Junior can’t stay on the field due to suspensions or haircuts. The COVID-19 break didn’t benefit us but everyone dealt with that, which rules it out as an excuse.
In Seibold’s defence, the culture is problematic and that predates his arrival. A coach can only do so much on that front, a culture needs to be cultivated from within through senior players and ex-players reminding everyone what it means to be a Bronco.
This brings me to what I see as the real problem that the Broncos have – the board. CEO Paul White and chairman Karl Morris are the issue here. While you can’t attribute the club’s decline to any one person, the wheels have been falling off this sputtering wreck for some time and to paraphrase Geoff Toovey’s famous post-match rant, somebody needs to be held accountable.
Sacking the coach is not the answer, it rarely is. Especially a coach with several years left on his contract. Seibold, at a minimum, deserves the same chance that Ivan Henjak and Anthony Griffin had.
For a long time, the Broncos were the club to be at – a cut above, a standard setter, a proven winner and a prized destination. Arrogant, sure, but that arrogance was earned. We kept players for less than market value because the Broncos oozed success.
You only need to look at the David Fifita situation to remind ourselves that the past is the past and our new reality is grim. Ever since Cyril Connell passed away in 2009, the recruitment for the Broncos has been lacking. Connell produced countless stars such as Wendell Sailor, Shane Webcke, Lote Tuqiri and Darren Lockyer to name a few.
Since then, we’ve caught lightning in a bottle with Payne Haas and David Fifita but only have one on the books for the future.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Who is responsible for recruitment? Peter Nolan. Wayne Bennett was once quoted as saying the following, regarding Nolan’s recruiting skills: “I didn’t initially employ Peter as a scout, but he’s been a player and a coach so I’m sure he has some idea”. That is confidence inspiring.
Who did the board appoint prior to this? Andrew Gee. Remember the mysterious $300,000 that went missing? It feels like a lifetime ago but that was the first warning sign.
It’s widely accepted Gee took a bullet for the club but I put this to you – what kind of high-performance, success-oriented club needs bullets like this taken? One where the culture surrounding the club is in disarray.
What stops players doing stupid things off the field more often than not? A great culture. What drives a great culture? Great hirings. Who does the great hirings? The board. It’s time for the Broncos as an entity to clean house.
As Phil Gould proved at Penrith, when you have a successful front office managing the operations, the football team is free to thrive. When there’s a culture of hiring mates and not proven quality recruiters, you get what you have now.
For your sake and ours, bite the bullet and get this done. Love it or hate it, the NRL is a better product when the Broncos are flying high and we’re well overdue.
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