Anthony Seibold future in hands of Broncos powerbrokers after latest calamity leaves club at rock bottom
The Broncos have no heart or effort. They boast plenty of talent but have little desire to compete. That hardly reflects well on coach Anthony Seibold who knows his future at the club is hanging tenuously.
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Coach Anthony Seibold has conceded he is powerless if Brisbane’s board decides to sack him after the Broncos slumped to an embarrassing new low on Saturday night.
The Broncos were booed off Suncorp Stadium after suffering their fifth straight loss in a 30-12 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans.
In the space of a month the Broncos have gone from fifth on the ladder to 15th – and they will drop to last if the Bulldogs beat Wests Tigers on Sunday.
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The nature and circumstances of the latest defeat should sound alarm bells in the Broncos’ boardroom.
The current Brisbane team has no heart or effort. They boast plenty of talent but have little desire to compete.
Whether that is Seibold’s fault is the $2 million question Broncos CEO Paul White and chairman Karl Morris must find the answer to.
Seibold admitted his fate lay in the hands of Broncos powerbrokers but he believed he was the right man to lead the club.
“I’m trying to stay in the present, I’ve got a five-year deal here and I think I’m the right person to try and bring this group through,” he said.
“If the board think otherwise, or Paul White thinks otherwise, then they’ll tell me.
“I’m not looking over my shoulder. I’m working as hard as I can. I’ll get up and go in the morning.
“If they make the decision that they don’t think I’m the right person, I don’t think they’ll be asking me for my opinion.
“I signed a long-term deal here and the last five weeks have been super challenging. My first two years as a coach I was able to get sides to the play-offs.
“After seven rounds last year we’d won two games and were able to make the playoffs. That’s still our aim.
“If the board call me in and ask for an explanation I’ll give them some feedback but I don’t think that will happen. I think they’ll just make the decision.”
The Broncos are not a club that should ever be in a rebuilding phase.
They amassed $52 million in revenue last year and spent $49 million in the pursuit of the club’s first premiership since 2006.
They are not the NRL’s paupers that run on the smell of an oily rag like the Titans, whose salary cap is a mess but still found a way to smash the Broncos with a performance built purely on effort.
In his second season at the club, Seibold is contracted to Brisbane until at least the end of 2022 after being awarded a four-year contract with an option in the Broncos’ favour for 2023.
But the Broncos’ big wigs must seriously consider whether the team is responding to his coaching methods after the club hit rock bottom.
“I haven’t seen a lot of improvement from an execution point of view,” Seibold admitted.
“I’ve seen a lot of individual effort. We’ve got to continue to build.
“We’ve got some players coming back. There’s no doubt we’ve missed some players.
“I’ve got no doubt about the message, we’re just putting ourselves under so much pressure.
“It’s not just my message. We share the message across our coaching staff.
“We’re aware of what’s required and how we need to prepare. I don’t see any shortcuts with our preparation.”