Brisbane Broncos: Supporters far from happy while Anthony Seibold remains in charge
Angry Brisbane supporters need some convincing as to whether besieged coach Anthony Seibold should stay on at the helm of the struggling club in damaging poll as trouble lurks below surface, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
NRL
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The Broncos board has declared its short-term support for coach Anthony Seibold but a series of secret phone calls have revealed worrying cracks which need urgent attention.
The club’s board met on Friday to discuss and also talk with Seibold but before the meeting had several lengthy phone calls with players who expressed concern at the widening lack of rapport between the coach and some players, a disconnect further exposed by their cringe-worthy lack of on-field commitment.
The Broncos will now attempt to solve the age-old, chicken-and-egg riddle of every ailing club ... do you blame the coach or the players for the five-match losing streak?
Issues to be addressed include:
THE GAME PLAN
There have been issues among some players about the rigidity and complexity of Seibold’s game plans.
Players could understand how Seibold’s older and wiser South Sydney team, with Sam Burgess, John Sutton and the scheming, information-hungry Adam Reynolds, could lap up the fine detail but the Broncos are a young team with no true leaders struggling to absorb anything but the bare basic instructions.
When under siege, and on the back foot, the Broncos’ best-laid plans tend to explode on the tarmac.
None of this, however, excuses a lack of effort and urgency.
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THE SELECTIONS
Insecurity is rampant in the team because it is playing so poorly. Further changes are required and that breeds more insecurity.
“There are a lot of changes in their teams,’’ Kangaroos coach and Fox Sports analyst Mal Meninga said.
“There are not a lot of combinations coming out of it all. Even the bench to me reeks of ‘I am not quite sure where I am playing them’.
“They had two backs on the bench against the Titans.
“They are all over the place.
“They are not sure who their halves are. Will they persevere with (Anthony) Milford and (Brodie) Croft? I think everyone is confused.’’
CLASH OF PLANS
The instant the Broncos signed Seibold on a five-year deal the club’s expectations headed off on a dangerously different trajectory to those of its restless, premiership-hungry fans.
Seibold is playing the long game and was given permission by chairman Karl Morris and the board to take a couple of years to sort out his roster.
It’s a move at odds with fans who agree with the sentiments of Ben Ikin, who once said: “I’ve never heard the Broncos to ever previously talk about development years.’’
An interesting question to ponder is, if the coach been hired for two or three years instead of five, would Josh McGuire have been released to the Cowboys, Andrew McCullough to the Knights, James Roberts to the Rabbitohs and Kodi Nikorima to the Warriors?
A shorter-term contract would have put the coach under heavier pressure to produce instant results which, perversely, may have been good for him because he would have recruited more for “the now’’.
RECRUITMENT
The Broncos have snatched at success. Because so much money and time has been spent retaining their much-vaunted young forwards the recruiting around them has been patchy with old-timers Ben Te’o and Issac Luke plugging gaps.
“I can see that parts of the Gold Coast Titans’ jigsaw puzzle are coming together but with the Broncos it is almost as if the puzzle has been thrown on the floor,’’ former State of Origin forward Billy Moore said.
“The worrying thing for me is that I am not seeing improvement in the Broncos and (we) are actually seeing players going backwards.
“I cannot think of a player in the side who is playing better than he was last year.’’
THE FUTURE
Former Test star Cooper Cronk may have been one of the best rugby league has seen at executing a game plan, but he believes the time has come to temporarily throw away the sheet music.
Simplify everything and just worry about how – rather than what – you are playing.
“When you lose five in a row and your coach is under pressure tactics go out the door,’’ Cronk said.
“It comes down to show some heart, determination, passion – whatever it takes to get the job done.
“If I am a player at the Broncos, I am rolling up my sleeves and I am ready to go and fight tooth and nail for every inch and see if that makes a difference.’’