Darren Lockyer: Time for Broncos to stand united and turn fortunes around
The current plight of the once mighty Broncos doesn’t just fall on the players or the coaches, but everyone that is involved with the club — and there’s only one way to fix it.
NRL
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It has been a really challenging year for everybody at the Broncos. Now, more than ever, the club must come together and have a ‘we’ rather than a ‘me’ mentality.
The past two weeks has been a moment of reflection for the club. The only way we will get some honourable performances in the final six weeks — including Saturday’s game against the Raiders — is if everyone takes ownership of our position.
That includes not just the players, but everyone and everything that is involved with the club.
There have been some decisions made by individuals at the club in recent times that have shone a light on the Broncos’ culture and the bigger picture of the state of the club beyond just on-field results.
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There is no doubt there are some issues that need to be addressed from a cultural perspective.
There is a line from Al Pacino in the movie Any Given Sunday that “we heal now as a team or we die as individuals” and that’s very appropriate for the Broncos at the present time.
Aside from the pub visit by up to 10 Broncos players, which is still under NRL investigation, there has also been Tevita Pangai Jr’s COVID breach and the baseless and unfortunate rumours engulfing coach Anthony Seibold.
On Pangai Jr, he has made some selfish decisions that have impacted on himself and the whole club. Sometimes those mistakes, intentional or otherwise, come with consequences.
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Tevita has been hit with his $30,000 fine from the NRL and there is now a formal process going on with his future at the Broncos.
There is a welfare aspect to consider for Pangai Jr.
Tevita can’t change the past but he can learn from it and I hope that resonates for the rest of the playing group. As a club we also need to ask ourselves, have we let him down?
Individually, we have to stop making poor decisions. As a group, we have a responsibility to each other.
At the moment, there are times on the field when we look like a team of individuals and that mindset is a reflection of what’s happening off the field.
When you go through a losing patch, it’s natural for players to have self-doubt and become vulnerable and start to become insular in their decision-making as a method of self-preservation.
It’s too harsh to say guys are being selfish because it goes beyond the players on the field.
We need to be united as a club more than ever.
We need to pull together as the Broncos and make a pledge to each other that we don’t want to let each other down.
With the player ‘bubble’ imposed by the NRL during this coronavirus pandemic, the football team is a different element at the moment because some of that support network can’t be there to provide some sound advice in tough times.
There is no way the board is comfortable with what’s going on. Our charter is to provide the best environment for the players and staff to improve themselves and become better people.
That extends to offering support for our coach.
Right now, our focus is on giving Anthony Seibold some clear air and the time to attend to his personal family matters.
We no doubt feel for Anthony. There are plenty of people at the club but life as a head coach in the NRL can be a very lonely position when the pressure is applied.
I’ve never seen a Broncos coach subjected to so much scrutiny quite like ‘Seibs’. Some of the rumours circulating about him have been completely ridiculous.
To coach the Broncos, you have to be ready to handle the relentless pressure that comes with not living up to the glory years of the 1990s. I don’t think there is a tougher position in Australian sport.
As for the pub incident involving the club, I hope the matter is finalised shortly.
It’s not the crime of the century but the bottom line is the NRL is investigating whether the players have breached COVID rules.
If the decision comes down that we were in the wrong, I don’t want us to make excuses as a club. It’s a wake-up call to everyone in the game and a reminder to everyone at the Broncos of what’s at stake.
We have to own our actions, on and off the field. Together, we must stand.