Under-fire Brodie Croft knows he must lead from the front if Broncos are to snap losing run
Far from daunted, Brodie Croft insists he is fuelled by the ‘Alfie’ legacy at the Broncos, but he knows the onus is on him to step up and lead the besieged club ‘out of these dark times.’
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Besieged Brodie Croft has opened up on the pressures of wearing the Broncos’ No.7 jumper made famous by Allan Langer and admits the buck stops with him to haul Brisbane out of their form crisis.
If anyone can empathise with Croft‘s current plight, it is rival Warriors playmaker Kodi Nikorima, who squares off against his former Broncos club in Saturday night’s bottom-four battle at Central Coast Stadium.
Just 14 months ago, Nikorima was in possession of the iconic Brisbane No. 7 jumper before he was released by coach Anthony Seibold, who went in search of a halfback that could break the Broncos‘ 14-year title drought.
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Seibold identified Storm recruit Croft as the man to deliver the club‘s seventh premiership, but after steering Brisbane to back-to-back wins in March, the wheels have fallen off at the Broncos scrumbase.
It‘s been 103 days since Croft tasted victory at Red Hill and after five consecutive losses, the latest a 30-12 debacle against the Titans, there are doubts as to whether he is the halfback to stamp his mark on the Broncos.
But as he prepares for a showdown with Warriors pivot Nikorima, Croft refuses to blame others for Brisbane‘s free fall to 15th spot and says he must spearhead the Broncos’ fightback.
“The coaching staff entrusted me with the job and I need to step up and lead, it‘s as simple as that,” he said.
“I have been frustrated with the results and myself personally, I need to take control of this group and lead them around.
“I did well in the first two rounds but since coming back (from the COVID break) we have lost our way and I have to take ownership of that.
“I can‘t shy away from what’s going on. It’s not in my blood to give up in times of adversity.
I want to help get the Broncos through this period and I will do whatever I can do to turn this team around and build that pressure on the opposition and start getting the results that we want.”
Reports out of Melbourne suggested Croft wasn’t the chosen one to lead the team consistently.
While he played halfback in 19 games last year, winning 18, and was part of the Storm‘s grand-final loss to the Roosters in 2018, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy axed Croft on the eve of the finals.
It was a crushing call but Croft accepted it and moved to the Broncos.
He may yet prove the Storm wrong. Croft is still two weeks away from his 23rd birthday, an age when many playmakers, including the man he was groomed to succeed in Melbourne, Cooper Cronk, are still developing as game managers.
But Croft accepts the Broncos don‘t have time for excuses.
The Langer shadow looms large over any Broncos No.7 and Croft stares at “Alfie” every day, with Brisbane’s greatest halfback now working with him as a member of Seibold’s coaching team.
Rather than be daunted by the Langer legacy, Croft is fuelled by it.
“I felt this way at the start of the year and I will say this now, it‘s a privilege to be at the Brisbane Broncos wearing the famous No.7 jumper,” he said.
“I don‘t see it as a burden at all.
“I am grateful for the opportunity and it‘s up to me to take it with both hands and keep leading these boys around. It’s my job and I want the challenge. I want to lead us through these dark times and get us to the other end.”
Croft has shown some classy touches in his first seven games for the Broncos. There was his superb 40m solo try against Parramatta in round three and his deft kick for Herbie Farnworth’s second-half try to give the Broncos hope against the Titans last week.
But just minutes after setting up Farnworth’s try, Croft produced the disastrous kick out on the full which took the wind out of Brisbane’s sails and put the Titans back in control.
It was that moment which rammed home the importance of Croft making the right tactical decisions in Brisbane‘s nerve centre.
“I’m my harshest critic and I won’t shy away from the mistakes I make,” he said.
“In the context of the match last week, we were just starting to get a roll on and then I kicked out on the full. That was poor execution which really hurt us. Little things like that are the difference between winning and losing and is putting the pressure back on us.
“I have done some good individual things this year but to be honest I need to be throwing more punches and doing more for the team. It‘s more important that I make sure we are completing our sets and being disciplined and on the back of that providing talk to organise the team.
“I need to be smarter in terms of getting the ball out if we need a break or if we have to apply some pressure. I need to come up with the plays to get repeat sets.”
Seibold has come under pressure to axe Croft in favour of 19-year-old halfback understudy Tom Dearden but the Dalby product welcomed the challenge.
“Tom Dearden is a great young player and he is a good person as well,” he said.
“I like the competition that we have with each other but I don‘t feel it personally. I like competition at this level and there’s other halves at this club like Anthony Milford and Tyson Gamble, so there’s young halves coming through and I have to keep bettering myself.
“Kodi Nikorima has been playing really good footy for the Warriors and I have enjoyed watching him play. It will be a good challenge and I will make sure I‘m up for it.”