Brisbane Broncos 2020 NRL preview: Team list, burning questions

Starting with a humiliating 58-0 finals defeat to Parramatta, Brisbane have endured a horror on- and off-field stretch. But, as Chris Honnery discovers in his Broncos deep dive, now is Anthony Seibold’s time to deliver.

Can the Broncos return to their former glory.

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The heat is well and truly on Brisbane this year as they look to end their longest premiership drought in club history — and put the humiliation of last year’s 58-nil finals loss to Parramatta behind them.

And Broncos coach Anthony Seibold is embracing it, describing it as being “bucked off a bull”.

Now in his second year in charge, Seibold has been challenged by the likes of club great Gorden Tallis to deliver Brisbane fans their first premiership win in more than a decade.

Tallis said there were now “no excuses” for them not to win the competition, especially with the talent in their pack and no major distractions like the great coaching merry-go-round of 2018/19.

They boast the best young forward pack in the game – headlined by Payne Haas, David Fifita and Tevita Pangai Jr, who look like they’ve somehow put even more muscle on over the pre-season.

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Can the Broncos return to their former glory.

The club now has a young general in Brodie Croft to lead them around in the No.7 jersey and his partnership with Anthony Milford has been near-perfect during their trials.

And Seibold said it’s all about getting back on the bull after last year’s poor finish.

“We learnt some lessons,” Seibold said.

“We had some good days last year, we had some challenging days last year.

“I went across to Vegas during the break to watch some pro bull riding and met up with some AFL coaches.

“We were watching the bull riding and a guy got bucked off, about two or three seconds into the ride.

Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold endured a tough first 12 months at Red Hill. Picture: AAP

“The bull went back at him again as he was trying to get back in the chute.

“It reminded us of the NRL and AFL.

“It’s a turbulent ride but as coaches and players, you’ve got to try and get back on the bull again. There were some times where we were good.

“We had some challenges. In that semi-final, we weren’t competent enough and it’s one of those rides where we got bucked off and beaten up pretty bad. You’ve got to dust yourself off and try and get back into it.”

THE BRONCOS ROSTER

Who’s in: Brodie Croft (Storm), Jesse Arthars (Titans), Jordan Kahu (Cowboys), Xavier Coates (upgrade), Ilikena Vudogo (upgrade), Jamil Hopoate (upgrade), Keenan Palasia (upgrade).

Who’s out: Gehamat Shibasaki (Knights), Troy Dargan (Rabbitohs), Matt Gillett (retired), Shaun Fensom (retired), Sam Tagataese (retired), Izaia Perese (stood down indefinitely), James Segeyaro (unsigned), George Fai (unsigned), Patrick Mago (unsigned)

Off-contract: Herbie Farnworth, David Fifita, Jamil Hopoate, Jordan Kahu, Richard Kennar, Rhys Kennedy, Sean O’Sullivan, Ilikena Vudogo.

David Fifita is clearly the club’s priority to re-sign from the end of this year. Seibold has confirmed the club was deep in negotiations with the second-rower and was confident with where they were at.

“We are really confident with where we are at in the negotiations,” he said.

“David wants to let his football do the talking and I admire that and respect that.

“As a club we want to provide an environment for David to feel comfortable and play his best footy and I think we do that.”

Unstoppable: David Fifita is an athletic freak - and the priority signing for Brisbane. Picture: AAP

BURNING QUESTIONS

Is Brodie Croft the answer to Brisbane’s No.7 problem?

The Broncos have certainly done everything they can to get him up to Red Hill, so they’d be hoping so.

Croft has come through the system of one of the best NRL clubs this decade – the Storm – so he knows a thing or two about pressure.

And his performances during the Broncos trials and their Nines campaign has been impressive.

Seibold said he has been amazed at the halves pairing’s ability to combine with each other despite only training for three months.

Who will play fullback?

At this stage, Jack Bird.

Jamayne Isaako was a shoe-in at the end of last year, but strong trials performances and his attitude at training should result in the former NSW Origin player being selected for the Round 1 clash against the Cowboys.

Bird has had a horror time since arriving at Red Hill, having his seasons cut short in both 2018 and 2019.

He has worked immensely hard to get to where he is today and his playmaking ability in the No.1 role makes him a valuable asset.

Jack Bird (C) had a shocker of a debut season in Brisbane. But is set to be given more responsiblity. Picture: Getty

It’s a big year for: Darius Boyd

Stripped of the captaincy, shifted out to the centres and threatened with playing QCup can certainly suck the motivation out of any player.

Not Boyd.

He looks faster, leaner, louder and like he’s having more fun.

More news: Expect youngster Patrick Carrigan to make his NRL captaincy debut next week if regular skipper Alex Glenn doesn’t recover in time from a hamstring injury.

What does 2020 hold for Darius Boyd? Picture: Getty

Pre-season hero: Young gun Xavier Coates has caught the eye of most people during Broncos pre-season training.

The 18-year-old has bulked up over the off-season as he pushes for that wing spot this year.

Seibold has been impressed with how the kid is looking and has touted him as a serious option for that wing position.

“Xavier was a pretty skinny kid when he arrived 12 months ago but now he’s 102kg,” Seibold said.

“We deliberately took him out of playing with about seven weeks to go last season to bulk him up.

The latest freakish winger to come off the Broncos production line: Xavier Coates. Picture: AAP

“We put him in the gym and worked hard on him physically so he would have a headstart for this pre-season.

“He’s developed really well physically. He is still learning his trade, but he is very humble and doing an education degree so he has interests outside of rugby league.

“Not only is he a special talent but he is a good person and has attributes I like as a player.

“Xavier only trained one day a week with the NRL squad last year so it was a hell of a journey for him.”

Be afraid... 18-year-old Fanitesi Niu has fancy footwork and is set to break into the NRL this year. Picture: AAP

The best player you’ve never heard of: Fanitesi Niu.

He has been earmarked as a future NRL player by Broncos assistant coach Corey Parker and there’s obvious reasons why.

He has been smashing it in the lower divisions – he’s still only 18 – and has represented both the Broncos (in the Nines) and Tonga (in last year’s Test).

He has footwork like Benji Marshall and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, combined, and plenty of speed to burn.

Broncos assistant coach Kurt Richards has also confirmed he should play NRL this year.

Stats that matter: The Broncos, unsurprisingly, topped the NRL during the regular season for post contact metres (497 per game) and tackle busts (30.9), led mainly by Payne Haas and David Fifita. Seibold will need to ensure they continue their work rate this season. However, it’s their ability to score points which hurt them. They only managed to score more than 30 points once in 2019 – their fewest in a season in club history.