Paul White puts Broncos on notice after copping medicine last season

Brisbane boss Paul White knows the club were handed what they deserved in last season’s massacre at the hands of Parramatta in the NRL finals, and he’s laying markers to ensure it won’t happen again.

Brisbane’s season came to a crashing halt against Parramatta last year. Picture: Mark Metcalfe

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Broncos boss Paul White says the entire playing group is “on notice”, with Brisbane stars warned to lift their game or risk heads rolling as the club fights to break a 13-year premiership drought.

As Brisbane’s leading top-liners prepare to launch their pre-season next week, White made it clear Broncos powerbrokers will not tolerate a repeat of the inconsistent 2019 campaign which ended with a disastrous 58-0 finals exit.

White has recommitted to a new 12-month contract with the Broncos, a decision partly motivated by his desire to ensure high-level stability as coach Anthony Seibold looks to preside over his first full pre-season at Red Hill.

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Brisbane’s season came to a crashing halt against Parramatta last year. Picture: Mark Metcalfe

The messy coaching swap saga involving Wayne Bennett last summer was a ruction Seibold could have done without, but there are now no excuses when Brisbane’s 30-man squad reassembles in the coming weeks.

White is acutely aware the Broncos have not won a premiership since 2006 and says there is no room for complacency as Queensland’s flagship sporting club enters a new decade with playing careers on the line.

“This season (2020) is hugely important,” White told The Courier-Mail.

“Everyone is on notice. Everyone is on notice that we have to be better next year and I can assure our members and fans that there is a real deep determination to turn that result around and have a great season in 2020.

“We copped our medicine and we needed to cop our medicine with that (season-ending loss to Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium).

Broncos boss Paul White has put the squad on notice. Picture: David Clark

“It’s up to Anthony (Seibold) and his coaching staff to get those additional efforts out of our players. But knowing the playing group, they will be stinging from last year and they will be motivated to turn things around. They are a good group.

“Everyone has to fight for their position, they will be competing for their positions and I like that.

“Let the pre-season begin and let’s see what happens in round one.”

Brisbane’s playing group are under no illusions about Seibold’s quest for excellence in 2020 after a string of one-on-one performance reviews last month.

Internal club testing showed many Brisbane players were simply not fit enough to consistently compete with big guns such as the Roosters and Melbourne last season.

Brisbane haven’t won a premiership since 2006. Picture: Matt King

Now a new era of hard work, accountability and mental resilience under Seibold is about to commence.

While disappointed with last season’s capitulation, White sees enormous promise in Brisbane’s roster, pointing to the rapid evolution of Payne Haas and David Fifita into Test and Origin stars.

“There were also some great positives that came out of last year,” the Broncos CEO said.

“The real positive is that Anthony Seibold has his hands on the team from day one, the younger group are already training and the senior guys will be back in the next couple of weeks, so I’m really looking forward to that.

“The great thing is our younger players have all had a full season of first grade under their belts.

“Look at what Payne Haas is doing with the Australian team and look where he started last year.

“David Fifita is another great example, he had a stellar year under Anthony Seibold and we have high hopes our young guys will go to another level.

“We’ve got the great foundations there that plenty of clubs would be envious of ... but we do need to work hard.”

Former Broncos skipper Justin Hodges says Brisbane players will face enormous scrutiny in the opening rounds to quickly exorcise the demons of the Bankwest massacre.

“It’s a massive year for the squad,” he said.

“The good thing is ‘Seibs’ gets a full pre-season. Last year was a bit of a changing of the guard from Wayne Bennett and Seibs had to change things pretty quickly.

“There will be more expectations on the squad this year, so they all have to buy in and make sure they start the season well.”