Brisbane Broncos chairman Karl Morris vows to fix club’s ill-discipline issues and rebuild franchise
Broncos chairman Karl Morris insists the club’s problems are ‘not deep rooted’ and has vowed to rebuild the NRL’s glamour franchise as a club legend calls for urgent action to start now.
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Broncos chairman Karl Morris has put the entire club on notice, admitting Brisbane’s current crisis is damaging their $52 million brand as he vowed to stop the rot and rebuild the NRL’s glamour franchise.
In an exclusive interview with News Corp Australia, Morris insists there is not a toxic cultural problem at the Broncos but concedes the spate of recent dramas are a bad look for the one-time NRL powerhouse.
The Broncos’ brand has been tainted by the Tevita Pangai Jr bikie barber-shop saga and there has been incessant speculation over the future of coach Anthony Seibold amid Brisbane’s shock slide to 15th place.
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The Broncos have also been under investigation by the NRL for a possible biosecurity protocol breach after 10 players attended a Brisbane pub earlier this month.
The Broncos are hurtling toward the darkest season in their 32-year history and Morris promised he is listening to fans as he moves to haul the club out of their on and off-field mediocrity.
“A significant amount of the criticism is well deserved,” Morris said.
“We have to do better and that is from the board right down to the players and I will make sure this is addressed.
“I understand the fallout is significant because we know we are letting a lot of people down.
“Of course we are thinking about this. The board communicates regularly on an almost weekly basis. We are putting the building blocks in place to make sure the club gets back to where it should be.
“I don’t think there is a culture problem, it is not as deep-seated as that.
“We have had some ill-discipline which has reflected badly on the whole organisation and unfortunately that has damaged and upset a lot of people. We have to stop those sorts of issues.”
Morris has come under fire from Broncos greats who have slammed the club’s plight and questioned why Seibold is still at the helm, albeit not for the next two games following a protocol breach for family reasons.
Chief executive Paul White will depart the club in October and the Broncos have been accused of stalling key decisions after Morris announced a review would be held at season’s end.
Former Broncos captain Gorden Tallis urged Morris to stop wasting time and start making moves to restore the Broncos to an NRL powerhouse.
“They need to start drilling now,” Tallis said.
“If nothing changes then nothing changes.
“The time for talking from Karl is over. The fans, members and players need action now.
“There has been a lot of talk coming out of the club but it’s actions that people will take notice of.
“What are they waiting six weeks for? I don’t understand what they’re waiting for.
“If they can make decisions now they will get a six-week head start. You need as much time as possible to get some traction moving forward with the changes you want to make.”
The Broncos started the season with back-to-back wins before COVID-19 suspended the season for two months. They have only won one game from their past 11 and are in danger of collecting the club’s first wooden spoon.
A last-placed finish would not be accepted by Broncos supporters, but Morris said it was not the time to discuss Seibold’s future.
“After the first two games I thought ‘how good are we going’,” he said.
“There is no doubt that for a whole range of reasons, the pandemic, the change of rules and the lockdown ... these factors have made it an extremely trying and difficult year.
“I have spoken to Anthony and he is fine. We respect his family issues. He has to sort that out first.
“I’m not making any comment in regards to Anthony’s future. I have to respect his privacy and that’s what I will do.”
Originally published as Brisbane Broncos chairman Karl Morris vows to fix club’s ill-discipline issues and rebuild franchise