Broncos coach Anthony Seibold reaches out to club’s former stars
Anthony Seibold has reached out to the club’s powerful old boys as the new Brisbane coach strives for harmony following the toxic Wayne Bennett saga which ripped the Broncos apart.
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Anthony Seibold has reached out to the club’s powerful old boys as the new Brisbane coach strives for harmony following the toxic Wayne Bennett saga which ripped the Broncos apart.
The Sunday Mail can reveal Seibold has met with a posse of former Broncos players and officials to ensure Brisbane’s stakeholders are united in their quest to break a 13-year premiership drought this season.
The Broncos were embroiled in a political civil war last season, with Bennett’s 34-year friendship with CEO Paul White collapsing under the strain of the master coach’s fight to secure one final contract at Red Hill.
Amid the fallout, Broncos legends Chris Johns and Glenn Lazarus savaged the club, lashing the Broncos over a job-interview process they labelled “shambolic” after favourite son Kevin Walters was overlooked for Seibold.
But Seibold has moved to restore peace. A fortnight ago, Bennett’s successor held a dinner with the likes of Allan Langer, Trevor Gillmeister, Gavin Allen and inaugural CEO John Ribot attending the Seibold Supper.
The contingent convened at well-known Italian restaurant La Dolce Vita at Milton. The Italian phrase translates to mean ‘The Sweet Life’ — an appropriate mentality for the Broncos this season as Seibold plots sweet success by delivering Brisbane’s seventh premiership and first since 2006.
Seibold said he was pleased to reconnect with Brisbane’s greatest servants, some of whom he played alongside during his stint as a Broncos lower-grader in the early 1990s.
“I had dinner with a crew of them,” Seibold told The Sunday Mail.
“We had some great people there like John Ribot, Gavin Allen, ‘Gilly’ and ‘Alfie’ Langer.
“I’m trying to build positive relationships.
“I know all those guys. I came to the Broncos as a kid and while I didn’t play first grade, I had four or five years here in the Broncos lower grades.
“I was an immature teenager from Rockhampton when I came here and now I’m back as an adult and a man who has been to a few clubs.
“Of course I would love the old boys to be invested in us and jump on board.
“My priority is the players but where I can I will build positive relationships with other connections to the club.”
Former Brisbane centre Johns, the newly crowned chairman of the official Broncos Old Boys organisation, insists there is no animosity towards Seibold.
“Personally, I have no bad blood with Anthony,” Johns said.
“A few of the older boys caught up for dinner with him recently.
“My criticism of the Broncos was the interview process and the way it was handled. But that was not a shot at Anthony Seibold — I had no issue with him applying for the job.
“It’s not about egos or personalities. All the old boys care about is the club. There is nothing personal at all. We wish Anthony every success and hopefully the Broncos can start achieving and winning premierships again.”
When he was formally appointed as Brisbane’s new coach in November, Seibold told The Sunday Mail he had built positive ties with club legends at his former club South Sydney.
“One thing I would like to do is engage the old boys where possible and where needed,” he said.
“I feel I did that at the Rabbitohs. I engaged guys like (Souths icons) Michael Cleary, Bob McCarthy, Ronny Coote, David Boyle, Les Davidson … the list goes on.
“The relationship I had with the Souths legends was tremendous and I would like to do the same with the old boys at the Broncos.
“Kevin Walters is one of the best people I have ever met in rugby league and they (Broncos old boys) are very loyal friends of ‘Kevvie’.
“But I’m not aware of the old boys being critical of the current team, the players or myself.
“Ultimately, it’s now up to this current group of players to create a legacy. They don’t need to live in the past … they need to create their own memories.”
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Originally published as Broncos coach Anthony Seibold reaches out to club’s former stars
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