NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos warn underperforming players to find form or face the sack
Broncos chairman Karl Morris has backed coach Anthony Seibold but issued a furious warning to underperforming stars after yet another terrible effort against the Knights on Thursday evening.
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The Brisbane Broncos’ highly paid flops have been put on notice – find form or face the sack.
Club chairman Karl Morris has backed coach Anthony Seibold but issued a furious warning to the likes of million-dollar five-eighth Anthony Milford and veteran centre Darius Boyd after yet another terrible effort against the Knights on Thursday evening.
“If we’ve got a capitulation of very highly paid players who just aren’t performing, sooner or later you’ve got to act on that,” Morris said. “That’s the conversation we’ll be having.
“The board’s role is to talk to Paul White and Anthony Seibold about this.”
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The Broncos will hold a scheduled board meeting next week to discuss the disastrous resumption from COVID-19 in which they have lost 34-6 to Parramatta, 59-nil to the Roosters, 20-18 to the Sea Eagles and 27-6 to the Knights.
Their TAB price has blown from $11 before round three to win the title to $41 after the four straight losses. In the wooden spoon market they were $81 but have now firmed to $15.
Morris was in Gosford for the game on Thursday night to watch the capitulation first hand.
“Poor discipline, poor defence and a very ordinary game to watch,” Morris said.
“We’ve got a board meeting next Friday and we’ll be asking some questions.
“The board has got to be supportive of Anthony Seibold. Anthony will present to the board. We can’t panic this early in the season. His job is absolutely safe.
“I’m positive he’ll get it together. I have complete faith in him.
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The Broncos are finding life after Wayne Bennett as difficult as the Newcastle Knights where the seven time premier coach left behind such a mess they won three straight wooden spoons.
Morris and the board understand that.
“It was always going to take some time to get back on track,” he said.
“We knew Anthony was inheriting some difficult contract issues with the roster he inherited.”
Boyd and Milford are not the only two highly paid players who are not delivering.
There is concern about how front-rower Matt Lodge has returned so sluggishly from a knee injury in recent weeks and struggling with the faster game and new rules.
He made only 66 metres against the Knights. Milford had just four runs for nine metres. The Broncos’ only try on Thursday night came from an intercept.
“There’s no doubt we need more from our elite players,” Seibold said.
“There was plenty of effort there at different times but we’re not playing smart. Maybe I need to look at making some changes.”
WHITE TELLS PLAYERS TO FIX MESS THEY MADE
Brisbane boss Paul White, too, has put underperforming Broncos stars on notice, warning players to fix their attitude or risk putting their futures in jeopardy at Red Hill, writes Pete Badel.
Breaking his silence on Brisbane’s form crisis, White turned up the heat on Broncos players and demanded an immediate turnaround in performance for next Saturday’s derby clash against the Titans at Suncorp Stadium.
Furious Brisbane supporters took to the club’s social-media platforms to lash the Broncos after their 27-6 capitulation against the Knights, with many calling for the sacking of besieged coach Anthony Seibold.
But White and Broncos board member Darren Lockyer have shifted accountability to the players. They are demanding Broncos stars find a tougher mental edge to prove they are committed to the fans, Brisbane’s $52 million brand and breaking the club’s 14-year premiership drought.
“There’s no excuses here,” White said.
“When we lose, everyone at the club hurts and if there’s anyone not hurting after a performance like that then they have to question their place at the Broncos.
“I’m hoping the response of the playing group this week (against the Titans) reflects that.
“This is a talented group of players, they showed that in the opening rounds against the Cowboys and the Rabbitohs (with two consecutive wins), but at this moment in time they need a change of mindset.”
In a diabolical month since the NRL’s restart, the Broncos have conceded 140 points in four games and suffered a club record 59-0 loss to the Roosters.
The Broncos are in danger of missing for the finals for just the third time in the past 29 years and White has appealed for Brisbane’s huge fan base, which includes 37,000 members, not to walk away.
“We all bleed,” he said.
“We’re not trying to dismiss this. We played some wonderful football for the first two games of the season but clearly we haven’t managed the transition out of COVID well enough at all.
“We understand our members and supporters and sponsors demand far more than what is being delivered – and there will be an appropriate response on the field in the weeks ahead.
“How we act in the tough times defines who we are as individuals and as a club – we trust the path we have mapped out and the players and coaching staff we have here at the club – and we ask our members and supporters to stay the course with us.”
Lockyer added: “The entire Broncos playing group needs a good honest conversation to say, ‘Why are we like this? What are we doing and how do we fix it?’
“Only the current group can find the answers. There is no magic fix.”
Broncos skipper Alex Glenn said Brisbane players could not afford a fifth consecutive loss to the Titans this week.
“We have to fix it right away,” he said.
“We have to have some tough conversations. Do you want to be playing for this team? We’re a professional team and we have to have each other’s backs.”