NewsBite

Gorden Tallis continues his attack on the Brisbane Broncos

After giving the Broncos an almighty spray, NRL legend Gorden Tallis has maintained the rage and lashed out at his former club again.

Gorden Tallis keeps dropping bombs.
Gorden Tallis keeps dropping bombs.

Brisbane great Gorden Tallis has continued slamming the Broncos, doubling down after criticising the club for being unrecognisable from the one he played for in the 1990s and early 2000s.

On the weekend Tallis blasted the Broncos for a culture of entitlement and poor results and he maintained the rage today, taking aim at club powerbrokers and those placing unfair pressure on young players.

Speaking on Triple M’ Brisbane’s The Big Breakfast, Tallis said while he talks with former players who voice their concern about the state of things at Red Hill, “no one’s game enough to say they’re scared about where the club’s going”.

The Broncos, touted as top-four contenders at the start of the season, are sitting 13th after losing three of their first four games and Tallis blasted “poor management” for being at the heart of the club’s woes.

He also said he believes Wayne Bennett made the right call to jump ship to Souths this year — a move which has left new coach Anthony Seibold in a vulnerable position with an underperforming crop of players.

“I feel sorry for Anthony Seibold. He’s walked in on a five-year deal — the players aren’t having a go for him,” Tallis said.

“I think Wayne Bennett’s moved us all around and I think the club’s in a lot of trouble.”

RELATED: Tallis launches scathing Broncos attack

The Broncos have endured a terrible start to the season.
The Broncos have endured a terrible start to the season.

Tallis took particular issue with young stars being branded as the “next big thing” before they’d earned their stripes in first grade. Young forward Thomas Flegler has drawn comparisons to legendary prop Shane Webcke but is only in his first season while Tevita Pangai keeps getting mentioned as a $1 million-a-year player but has struggled with consistency.

Broncos icon Darren Lockyer said recently Pangai wasn’t worth that kind of money and Tallis said the club has to take the blame for building a roster built more on potential than substance.

“Every single time there’s a new kid on the block, they’re putting that much pressure on them saying they’re the next Shane Webcke, Allan Langer, Darren Lockyer, Steve Renouf or whatever and they’re not,” Tallis said.

“These guys are 20, 22, 23 — that’s what they’ve got, that’s the roster so that’s who they’ve signed.

“Do you blame the players who got put in a position that they can’t do? Or do you blame the people that put them in the position? You’ve got to start with the people who make the decision. You don’t go to the people that can’t do their job because they’ve been put in a position to do what they can’t do at the moment.”

Tallis has kept his distance from the Broncos since retiring in 2004 and when quizzed on why he hasn’t offered to return in a mentoring capacity, the former back-rower said the players shouldn’t need motivation to play in the NRL.

“If you’ve got to be motivated to play rugby league … well you’re doing the wrong job,” Tallis said.

“If you need to get motivated to have to do your daily job, you’re doing the wrong job.”

Anthony Seibold has a real challenge on his hands.
Anthony Seibold has a real challenge on his hands.

The radio spray comes after Tallis revealed one player agent manages 18 players at the Broncos, saying it gives him more power than club officials. He said Brisbane “is not the club I played for” and alleged favourite son Kevin Walters was promised the head coaching job with a “handshake” agreement, only to be snubbed in favour of Seibold.

Tallis also said the impressive facilities at the NRL’s richest club breed a sense of entitlement among players when they hadn’t achieved anything.

“We used to train out of a dirty old gym that our groundsman used to mow, the guy who used to cook the barbecue, used to mow the grass, used to weld all our equipment together,” Tallis said on Triple M.

“They have a $27 million facility where they walk around and have coffees and walk around like they own the place and they own nothing. They’ve won nothing.”

Originally published as Gorden Tallis continues his attack on the Brisbane Broncos

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/gorden-tallis-continues-his-attack-on-the-brisbane-broncos/news-story/ee07b529145e6bf0e174d258d56e63a5