New Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold wipes Wayne Bennett’s legacy from Red Hill

Forget Wayne Bennett, this is Seibold country now. That’s the message from the new Broncos coach after he wiped away all traces of his rival’s legacy at Red Hill this week.

Broncos coach Anthony Seibold (2nd from right) is seen during Brisbane Broncos training at Clive Berghofer Field in Brisbane, Friday, February 22, 2019. The Broncos are playing the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls in a pre-season trial match on Saturday at Kougari Oval in Brisbane. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

The NRL’s spiciest rivalry – Wayne Bennett versus Anthony Seibold – has ignited with the new Broncos coach emphatically wiping away any memories of the Bennett era at Red Hill.

Blindside can reveal Seibold has ordered a series of key buzzwords, implemented by Bennett, to be taken down from the walls of the club’s state-of-the-art gymnasium at their $27 million headquarters.

When the gym was opened 12 months ago, Bennett had huge words placed on its freshly-painted walls, including “Above the Line” and “Time to be a Bronco”.

But Seibold has brought with him a new set of motivational words, including “Pressure and Effort” and “Burn the Boats”.

Anthony Seibold has well and truly left his mark on Red Hill. Picture: Darren England

The latter term is a reference to famous commander Hernan Cortes, who ordered his troops to destroy their ships during the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519. Cortes’ theory is that his men had no choice but to look forward to victory and Seibold is said to be a fan of the motto.

Before last week’s trial against Wynnum Manly, Seibold spoke candidly about the culture he is trying to build at Brisbane and admits catchphrases do not guarantee success.

“Culture is a bit of a buzzword but for me it’s your actions and it’s what you do,” he said.

“You can have your fancy words and talk about that as your culture in a flash building, but it’s your actions.

“We need to see actions from staff and players and so on, that’s your culture.”

Bennett has made his own changes at Seibold’s former club Souths, ditching the loud techno music that now features at Red Hill.

Strap yourselves in for Round 8 when Bennett’s Bunnies and Seibold’s Broncos square off at ANZ Stadium on May 2.

The Broncos were sloppy against Wynnum, although Tom Flegler (pictured) was a highlight.

Seibold gives his troops a spray

BRONCOS stars are under no illusions about the standards being set by new coach Seibold.

Blindside understands Seibold gave Brisbane players a post-match bake in the dressing sheds after their scrappy trial defeat of Wynnum Manly last Saturday night.

Seibold’s spray was audible to those outside the sheds, with the Broncos coach said to be unhappy with the side’s control and option-taking against a second-tier outfit.

“He sets high standards,” prop Matt Lodge said.

“It will take a while to build on what he does.

“Seibs will hold us accountable to what we do wrong. It’s a bit tough when there are 25 players rotating through the game, but he still holds those high standards.

“Hopefully with a full team this week (against the Titans), we can execute.”

Wayne Bennett never hid his disdain for journalists.

Bennett’s disdain for the media long gone

THE Broncos have gone on a public relations blitz in a bid to turnaround the club’s battered image following last year’s Wayne Bennett saga.

The famous Broncos brand copped a hammering last year during the club’s messy split with long-time coach Bennett.

Last year started with the Broncos being slammed for their arrogant handling of Matt Lodge’s return and finished with Bennett destabilising the richest club in the NRL until he was sacked in December.

But the Broncos have got on the front foot this season, flying some of the NRL’s top journalists and television commentators to Brisbane to smoke the peace pipe.

The charm offensive has also filtered through to the playing group, who were remarkably friendly and positive with reporters during a full-team media session on Tuesday.

Bennett’s public disdain of the media spread through his players, but new coach Seibold has had a more relaxed approach and it is showing.

If the Storm can offload Sam Kasiano they’ll be fine.

Storm salary cap drama not that bad

THE Storm’s salary-cap saga is not as serious as first feared.

It is understood Melbourne have exceeded the cap by less than $200,000 and will be compliant if they can offload prop Sam Kasiano before their Round 1 clash against the Broncos on March 14.

The Storm are prepared to provide a major subsidy to offload Kasiano, who has attracted interest from the Warriors.

Billy will scream Queenslander

QUEENSLAND Origin legend Billy Moore flew to Japan on Wednesday night ahead of the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday.

Despite a long-standing knee injury, Moore will soldier on for 42km with his wife, who is an avid runner.

“I’m ready to come second ... second last,” Moore said with a laugh.

“The weather forecast is seven degrees and rain, so it’s going to be tough. My wife is going to beat me but that’s OK, I’m a sensitive new age guy. I’m a household name in Tokyo so when I cross the finish line, I can assure readers of The Courier-Mail that I will scream Queenslander!”

Lodge rocks a Nokia

BRONCOS prop Matt Lodge has ditched his iPhone for a phone from the early 2000s.

Lodge has been rocking an old school Nokia which doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles of today’s smartphones.

Lodge told Blindside he wanted to take a break from social media and all the other distractions that smartphones have.

His Nokia doesn’t have any apps, although he can play the famous snake game on it.