Gorden Tallis has fired up at the Broncos players after their late season collapse, claiming that they are too pampered and haven’t earned the right to play at the club.
Speaking on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast, the former Queensland great was pushed by the host on whether he thought that the current crop at Red Hill were too pampered.
“I do,” he said. “They train out of a $25m facility that has never won a trophy. They need to go back over to the old shed we trained out of that won six trophies.
“That’s just my opinion. That’s not being old school, I think you have to earn the right to live in the new house.”
Tallis went on to say that the 2022 team thought that they had achieved something by merely playing for the Broncos, rather than winning things with the club, and added that despite the club having the pick of talent in the state, they were failing to make the most of it.
“They reason they wear that Broncos brand – and the reason that I wore that Broncos brand – is because Wally Lewis wore that jersey. I know who wore that jersey.
“Wally Lewis is the most important signing, him and Gene Miles, with Wally just above him. When he signed, every kid in Queensland wanted to wear that jersey.
“From that moment on, they had the pick. Slowly, with the Cowboys getting better, the Titans and Redcliffe coming in, the scouts going and picking areas – it has been picked apart in the last ten or fifteen years, but they still get the pick of the state.
“Their goal now is that they play for the Broncos, not that they win trophies for the Broncos.”
Brisbane slumped to a record end to the season, becoming the first side to miss the top eight even though they were in the top four with six weeks to go.
Though the fall was spectacular, Tallis said that overall he still considered the season an improvement.
“I think from where they were at to where they are now, that was where they were going to finish,” he said of a team that came ninth. “But from where they were five weeks ago, I’m disappointed.
“But, if you take out the last month (of the season) and you put that in the middle, and they come home on a seven game run, we go ‘gee whizz, those couple of games in the middle weren’t that good’, but if you put them at the end, we go ‘gee wasn’t that disappointing’. I thought they were an 8th to 10th side, in that bracket.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“They can’t do it with a rookie fullback, a rookie five-eighth and a rookie number 9. No-one can do it. That’s what people have overlooked.
“They’ve got Jake Turpin, Cory Paix and Billy Walters. They’ve got Tesi Niu, who’s so small that the Cowboys isolated him with bombs.
“When I watch Brisbane, I watch really close because it’s my old club. Last year they make the finals with the games that they’ve won. The year before that, they make the finals.
“Three times Brisbane have made the finals in the last eight years they’ve won less games than they won this year. So I think it’s a successful year from where they were at, but if they don’t improve by 25% next year, it’s a disappointment.
“That would put them in about 5th spot, and then the bonus is if they can get to that next level.”
mushi
Roar Guru
A lot of the content is reasonable but then it's contradicted. They ended around where he thought but they should still be punted from the facilities? Is that solving a problem he's said is recruitment based. Let's not forget his radio show is the only known source of the "upset" players. Even his Triple M stable mates have started questioning the validity of the claim
Lord Ted Said
Roar Rookie
I find cooper Cronk the worst. Get your septum straightened son. Furthermore go and see Locky’s throat specialist. And Maybe don’t parrot everything that everyone can already see with your critical analysis…then you’re good to go…
Lord Ted Said
Roar Rookie
Yes but he is saying what is typically obvious, like all these twits. Definitely not hard to work out. It’s the same with every code. The worst thing about modern sport. That and frikkin eardrum blowing music between every goal, kick, scrum, water break etc.
Cat Brown
Guest
Hands up if your sick of Gordie. He got rid of Siebold and got his good mate Kevvie the job. So before it was the coaches fault now it's the players fault.
matth
Roar Guru
The headline didn’t really match the content. Gordy has to be careful talking about how tough he is, because I still remember him in 2000, when he called for the dead rubber to be scrapped and proceeded to lose the third match by 50 or so.
mushi
Roar Guru
Definitely Beny, if Gordie lived in John's world he would have gone missing after the farah backstabbing
Nat
Roar Guru
Well, aren’t the Knights and Tigers in trouble…
Randy
Roar Rookie
I think your last comment is on the money, there is too many old boys still having input into the club. I don't believe for 1 minute that Kevin Walters is a better NRL coach than Anthony Siebold but the ex bronco/state of origin boys have such a loud voice in brisbane that anyone that isn't a good salt of the earth Kweeeenzlannnddaaa will get run out of town.
xyclon
Guest
He isn't wrong, a club like the Broncos should be at the very least making the 8 every season, this current crop of players seem not as hungry as they should be.
xyclon
Guest
Ultimately its the players, Kevvie is not on the field.
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Gordo wanted to play for the Broncos so bad he sat out the 1996 season. Can not question his feelings about the Broncs And I far prefer his "off the cuff" opinions than the scripted and rehearsed efforts of Ennis. Anasta, Joey & Co
Rellum
Roar Guru
What is with the comments here, Gordy is just saying what we all thought after the end of the season, the team is mentally weaker than the other teams in the comp. It is not hard to work out. You would think the team was in the thick of the action based on the comments here
max power
Guest
$25 mil is pretty poor compared to the 50 and 75 mil being thrown at facilities for sydney clubs. they probably do not have a barbers chair. one of the biggest Bronco issuesis their old boys who think they know everything
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
And don't forget the magic sponge Andrew, and that smelling salts to cure concussion
andrew
Roar Rookie
Gordon will probably want them wearing the old ankle high black boots and oranges for half time.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
“They train out of a $25m facility that has never won a trophy. They need to go back over to the old shed we trained out of that won six trophies." The shed did not win any trophies. If the Broncos of his era had had the new facility they might have been better and won more than six trophies. Asking for the squad to stop using the new facility is unrealistic. It will not happen, and he should know better than to ask for it.
Jock
Guest
Reasonable assessment. The Broncos methodology is also fair enough. Elite spine players aren't available so you seek to improve the young talent you have, like so many successful sides have done in the past, the present example being the Panthers, but add virtually any side that's had a successful era. While not mandatory, plenty have a physically dominant spine member. I'd like Farnworth to be fullback. He can fit that role and has a sensational fullback motor. You get a better passing game and he can become one of the best in the world. Walsh, Mam, Nui etc can fight out for the five eight / centre combination. This is a time for recognition of what's required. The really good coaches nail it.
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
:laughing:
the outsider
Roar Rookie
I wouldn't accept baggage from either of them without checking the contents!
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
You think :happy: