NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos’ under siege from Lions, Reds in cross-code war
Two premierships and a wooden spoon? That could be the lopsided return by Brisbane’s top teams this winter and it spells trouble for the Broncos with rival codes closing in.
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The wooden-spoon stalking Broncos have been warned their woes make take years to fix as their two closest sporting rivals prepare for stunning premiership bids.
rugby union is back in the headlines in Queensland as Brad Thorn’s Red play the Brumbies in the final of the Australian Super Rugby competition next weekend.
And the Brisbane Lions are guaranteed two finals in the AFL competition and will relish every bit of clear air they get in the publicity stakes when the Broncos tortured season ends in a fortnight.
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With the Gold Coast Titans starting to aim up as well it is clear the Broncos are facing challenges inside and outside their own code.
Broncos premiership hooker Kerrod Walters said as a big as the Broncos brand was, support cannot be taken for granted.
“Brisbane is quite a big city and the Broncos is a big brand but at the end of the day there is only so much corporate and crowd support to go around,’’ Walters said.
“I remember when the Lions won three premierships in a row people switched codes and went to watch them. That is something you have to be mindful of.’’
Broncos founding father Barry Maranta said the challenges should not be underestimated and it took him back to when the club was set up in the 1980s.
“Rugby union was very big then and Christopher Skase had brought AFL to Brisbane (with the Bears) and Brian Kerle had the Brisbane Bullets and they were enormously popular,’’ Maranta said.
“We initially felt like the No 4 team in town. You have cycles but sadly what has happened to the Broncos now is not a cyclic thing. The Broncos fall is man-made.’’
Maranta warned Broncos fans not to expect a quick turnaround and said he was concerned that deep-seated problems would take time to fix. Sometimes it is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier in the Brisbane River. You just have no room to move.
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“I studied franchises around the world and once they fail they take 10 times the amount of energy to get them back to where they were. That is why you never want to see them go down. It’s not one-dimensional.
“It’s hard. You had Benny Walkers son going to the Roosters yet Benny was as Broncos as you could be. You have to turn things like that around.’’
The Broncos have just three wins for the season and remain in contention for the wooden spoon.
Originally published as NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos’ under siege from Lions, Reds in cross-code war