Anthony Seibold finally gives a dose of reality to misfiring Broncos
The over-hyped Broncos have struggled under their new coach so far this season and, at last, Anthony Seibold is swinging the axe writes MIKE COLMAN.
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Looks like it’s no more Mr Nice Guy.
The sight of James Roberts and Jamayne Isaako running around with the Reggie Reserves at Monday morning’s training session would suggest Anthony Seibold has finally run out of patience with his misfiring Broncos and reached for the bottle marked ‘Harsh Reality’.
You can’t blame him – although it’s pretty certain someone will.
Last week when he made the massive call to demote Kodi Nikorima and gamble the farm on wet-behind-the-ears Tom Dearden before the biggest game of the season, not everyone was impressed.
Braith Anasta on Thursday’s Fox Sports pre-match show accused Seibold of a “knee jerk reaction to outside noises” and described the move as a “sign of weakness”.
Weakness? I would have thought it was a sign of strength, as was his handling of Roberts and Isaako. The only thing wrong was that a few others didn’t get a pull-through as well, his captain included.
After all, what choice did he have?
After two wins from eight starts the Magic Round is looming as anything but magical for Seibold.
You’d have to think he must be wondering what the heck he is doing up here when his old team Souths are carving their way through the comp like an icebreaker on a Mediterranean cruise.
You only had to look at the opposing coaches’ boxes towards the end of Thursday night’s demolition derby to see who got the short end of the stick in the great Broncos-Rabbitohs switcheroo.
There was Seibold looking like someone had just told him his winning Lotto ticket was a fake, and Wayne Bennett flashing the biggest smile we have seen from him since … well, ever.
You have to wonder whether Bennett was so happy because he was coaching the Bunnies or because he wasn’t coaching the Broncos.
When Bennett started putting together the current Brisbane side it was touted as being the best collection of young talent the game had ever seen.
And it’s true, there is plenty of potential there in the likes of Tevita Pangai Jr, David Fifita, Joe Ofahengaue, Matt Lodge and Payne Haas – but are they really as good as we’ve been led to believe? More to the point, are they that much better than every other club’s young breed?
If you look around it seems like the competition is full of 18, 19, 20 and 21 year-olds who are either, in the words of the late, great Rex Mossop, “perambulating mountains who can run like a deer”, or will-of-the-wisp backs with blinding pace, silky ball skills and confidence oozing from every pore.
The difference is that at other clubs youngsters like 18 year-old Bronson Xerri, 19 year-olds Campbell Graham and Zac Lomax, 20 year-old Nick Cotric and 21 year-olds Kalyn Ponga, Victor Radley, Sitili Tupouniua and Latrell Mitchell are surrounded by experienced players.
At the Broncos the youngsters are in the majority because the club had to release old hands like Josh McGuire, Jarrod Wallace and Korbin Sims – and up and comers like Jai Arrow – to afford them.
Seibold inherited a team of the future when he arrived at Red Hill. Bennett took over one that was primed and ready to go.
The big question is: would Bennett have had any more success with the current Broncos team than Seibold has managed so far this season?
There’s not much doubt about which team both of them would prefer to be coaching.
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