James Roberts needs emotional support, says Lote Tuqiri

Brisbane won’t get the best out of troubled star James Roberts by pushing him to the sidelines, says Lote Tuqiri. Instead, Broncos coach Anthony Seibold should be sharing the love.

Brisbane should be giving Roberts more support, says Tuqiri. Image: AAP Image/Dan Peled

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Troubled Broncos star James Roberts “needs a cuddle” from coach Anthony Seibold, reckons former Brisbane great Lote Tuqiri.

The dual code international says the grounded ‘Jet’ should not be languishing on the sidelines and needs to be handled delicately by Seibold and shown some love.

“I just think he needs a cuddle really,” said Tuqiri, a former Maroon who played in Brisbane’s 2000 premiership-winning side.

“Man-managing Jimmy is delicate. Not every player has the same personality — some take information and communicate differently.

“I just think if you look after Jimmy, he’ll look after you and I don’t think that’s happening at the moment.”

Brisbane should be giving Roberts more support, says Tuqiri. Image: AAP Image/Dan Peled

The strife-prone and injury plagued Roberts was axed for Friday night’s Suncorp Stadium clash with the Roosters but Tuqiri believes should have been picked.

“At his peak, he’s probably one of the top 10 or 15 players in the game,” he said.

“He needs to be shown some love and he’ll get out there and do the job.

“I’m not talking about mollycoddling but you have to communicate properly with a bloke like him.”

Tuqiri admitted Roberts has discipline problems — ‘at some point he does have to learn’ — but said the Broncos would be ‘crazy’ to let him go.

“He’s definitely a player you’d want to hang onto,” he said.

Seibold doesn’t seem willing to indulge players’ needs that way. Image: AAP Image/Darren England

Tuqiri and All Blacks great Christian Cullen are ambassadors for a beach rugby tournament on the Gold Coast in September.

Organised by surf boat promoter Peter Hickey and backed by Rugby Australia, the Kirra tournament will feature up to 40 teams from across Australia and NZ.

The fast-paced five-a-side game — which has no scrums or lineouts and requires players to pass within two seconds of being tackled — is popular in Europe. Hickey hopes to build it into a major event for the Gold Coast with attractions including a beach bar.

A team from Tuqiri’s native Fiji won last year’s inaugural beach rugby tournament.