Gordie’s set of six: Matt Lodge not the right fit for Broncos jersey
GORDEN TALLIS: Some of the guys the Brisbane Broncos are signing are compromising the club’s values and the legacy of past players.
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1 BRONCOS coach Wayne Bennett yesterday declared that troubled forward Matt Lodge still had a future with the club, despite getting hit with a $1.6 million bill for his New York rampage.
Brisbane were once a club that would get rid of players who had off-field dramas.
When I was there, players with a poor off-field demeanour never wore the jersey. But now the Broncos are trying to register players with chequered histories. To me, the jersey means more that.
We all know people make mistakes but if you’re going to have behavioural issues then you should go somewhere else, not the Broncos.
These guys we are signing are compromising the club’s values and the legacy of past players.
2 ON the field the biggest mistake the Broncos are making is they are not playing with enough creativity in attack. Their ability to hang tough in a battle is unbelievable.
But in trying to achieve this, they have become fixated on the stats when the most important thing is to be scoring points.
Their creative licence isn’t broad enough. They’re tough enough to throw the ball around and defend their mistakes if they make one. Brisbane’s attack is negative to the point where it’s losing them games.
3 JORDAN Kahu has made headlines this week for that crucial mistake in the loss to Canterbury. But it won’t be a mistake that happens again.
When the ball is just sitting there, there is not a player in the game that wouldn’t want to pick it up. But those players can stop themselves. Obviously the alarm didn’t go off for Jordan. It’s a no-no but Broncos fans can trust Kahu to avoid a repeat of that error.
4 THE Cowboys proved on Friday night that they can beat a big forward pack without Matt Scott.
While he’s a massive loss to them, North Queensland have been able to tweak their game and not lose any momentum.
The guys without the reputations of Scott and Jason Taumalolo, guys like Scott Bolton, Coen Hess and John Asiata, are standing up and it’s great to see.
5 MICHAEL Morgan’s performance on Friday was exactly how a player should respond when their Origin spot is challenged.
Kevin Walters said this week that Anthony Milford was ready to play for Queensland. The spot he would have to take is Morgan’s. But he is not giving it up without a fight and that was shown with how hard he went on Friday. He knows that’s his jersey.
6 I WANT to pay tribute to Cameron Smith. The guy is a freak. We are such a humble game that we never really celebrate the living.
We wait until they’re retiring or on their deathbed to talk about how truly great they are. But we should be talking about them now.
Cameron plays with more numbers around him than any other playmaker in the game but his name is up there with the likes of Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer and Allan Langer as one of the greatest playmakers.
Originally published as Gordie’s set of six: Matt Lodge not the right fit for Broncos jersey
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