Anthony Seibold demands action from underperforming Broncos
After the 40-4 demolition job at the hands of Melbourne, you can’t blame Anthony Seibold for running out of patience. And the Brisbane coach has torn a strip off his underachieving Broncos.
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Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has turned up the heat on his misfiring Broncos players ahead of Thursday night’s Cowboys derby, declaring: “I am sick of talking … I want to see some actions”.
Stung by Brisbane’s 40-4 hammering against the Storm last week — the club’s worst loss under Seibold’s first-year regime — the Broncos coach challenged his troops to muscle up against the Cowboys as they fight to save their season.
NRL grand finalists just four years ago, the Cowboys and Brisbane are now fighting to avoid the bottom four, with the 10th-placed Broncos in danger of missing the finals if they crash to a derby defeat in Townsville.
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Seibold has been patient this season implementing a youth policy aimed at long-term success but the Broncos coach has appealed for his side to hit back from their Storm debacle in Townsville.
“There is no excuse for that,” Seibold said of Brisbane’s defensive capitulation against Melbourne.
“Our best performances this year have featured really gritty defensive performances, so it was really disappointing under pressure that we came up with some poor decisions (against the Storm).
“It is about doing your job under pressure. Our attention to detail was way off.
“It certainly wasn’t good enough but we have a group that is learning and now we get another opportunity against the Cowboys.
“But I am sick of talking about it (opportunities) … I want to see some actions.”
Despite their lowly positions, the latest instalment of the NRL’s greatest rivalry shapes as a sudden-death affair for the Broncos and Cowboys.
Three wins ahead of the last-placed Titans, the Cowboys are not out of the wooden spoon zone, while the Broncos could fall three competition points outside the top eight if they are beaten.
The Broncos have a terrible record in Townsville, having won just twice in the past 10 contests on Cowboys soil.
To compound their plight, the Broncos have suffered a dual derby blow, losing key duo Matt Gillett (lower back) and Alex Glenn (knee) to injuries in the space of 24 hours.
Gillett was not named on Tuesday, while Glenn was an unexpected withdrawal on Wednesday after pulling up with soreness to a knee injury sustained against the Storm, ruling him out of the captain’s run.
Rookie Gehamat Shibasaki will replace Glenn at left centre, underscoring the frustrations of Seibold’s patchy maiden campaign at Red Hill.
“Turbulent is a good way to describe the year,” Seibold said.
“There’s been some challenging days and you get a bit frustrated or agitated but that’s just human nature.
“I’m still enjoying the job. They are a fantastic young group to coach.
“We’ve got a long way to go. We are nowhere near the potential that I see in the group but it takes time and internally or externally, people want things to happen overnight.
“Unless we play the best like the Storm, you won’t learn and grow in this game.
“But I suppose I am more comfortable in my role now, knowing where we are going and what’s required.”
Seibold saluted with a 29-10 win in his derby debut in round two but he is wary of a Cowboys fightback in Townsville.
“The Cowboys are really strong through the middle,” he said. “There is no doubt their weapon is through the middle of the park through Jordan McLean, Josh McGuire and Jason Taumalolo.
“Jake Granville is very good out of dummy half. We need to make sure we do a good job on those guys defensively.
“They have always been great clashes, even the game earlier in the year was a really good game of footy.
“We are expecting a really open game, but I just want to see actions from our guys, go up there and give a good account of ourselves.”
Originally published as Anthony Seibold demands action from underperforming Broncos
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