What Broncos coach Anthony Seibold must do to save his job
If Anthony Seibold has nine games left to salvage his career and prove there is life at Red Hill under his leadership, the Broncos coach needs a radical overhaul for that to happen.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If Anthony Seibold has nine weeks to save his job at the Brisbane Broncos he needs to completely overhaul his approach to coaching.
It was a strange night at Suncorp Stadium on Friday when the Broncos lost 46-8 to the Melbourne Storm.
For 40 minutes, the Broncos played as well as they possibly could.
But if that was a brilliant effort and you were still beaten by 38 points then something is seriously wrong.
Broncos chairman Karl Morris has guaranteed Seibold will survive until at least the end of the season, when he will then undergo a performance review.
That means the coach has nine games left to salvage his career and prove there is life at Red Hill under his leadership.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
I cannot see what Seibold is trying to achieve with this team.
They have no leader or general and it is unclear who the Broncos belong to.
It is unfair to compare any of the Broncos players to Cameron Smith, but the Melbourne captain proved how important it is for someone to have ownership of a team.
Seibold has to hand the keys of the team to someone – and that should be Tom Dearden.
He may only be 19, and have eight NRL games next to his name, but Dearden is the future of the Broncos.
It was his first start at halfback in over a year, but we saw glimpses that he was willing to call the shots. He just needs to find his voice and be given the confidence to do so.
When Dearden doesn’t perform, because he is learning on the run, he has to be cut some slack.
The Broncos have been too nice to Anthony Milford by refusing to give him responsibility and he was exposed in his move to fullback.
Milford had some nice touches early when he wasn’t fatigued, but as the game wore on he was not equipped to stay in the contest.
The Broncos have failed because Seibold has been too focused on trying to coach the team rather than the individuals.
He has tried to mould the Broncos into players that they are not.
Pat Carrigan is a 22-year-old captain of the Broncos who is trying to play like Manly’s Jake Trbojevic, one of the NRL’s best forwards.
The best coaches coach the individual and Seibold should have learned that during his apprenticeship under Craig Bellamy at the Storm.
Bellamy is the master at harnessing every bit of talent from a player and using them to make the Storm a better team.
He doesn’t try to make them someone they are not.
It’s not the Broncos players’ fault that they have lost eight of their past nine matches. The team looks as though they have no plan.
If Seibold is coaching for his future then he has got to throw his manual out and come up with some new ideas.
He has to look at his players, see what their strengths are and find a way to make the Broncos great again.
If not, his performance review can only end one way.