Brisbane Broncos captain Alex Glenn wants another crack at the job in 2021 after suffering his toughest season ever this year
Alex Glenn has only managed to play five games in his first season as Brisbane Broncos captain and wants another crack at the job next year under the club’s new coach.
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Alex Glenn has vowed to fight for the Broncos captaincy under Brisbane’s new coach after revealing 2020 has been the toughest season of his decorated career.
Glenn will make his return from a knee injury in Saturday’s derby against the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium as the Broncos battle to avoid collecting the club’s first wooden spoon.
Glenn has missed the past eight matches following an illegal “cannonball” tackle in the Broncos’ 26-8 win against Canterbury, Brisbane’s last victory.
While being sidelined, the Broncos have slipped further down the NRL ladder and are now sitting in 15th spot, only one win above the Bulldogs, with three rounds to play.
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Glenn, 32, has only made five appearances in his debut season as skipper due to hamstring and knee injuries as well as a nasty leg laceration.
A veteran of 264 NRL games, Glenn has never played less than 20 games in a year and said his 12th season had been his toughest yet.
“It’s easily been the hardest year of my career mentally,” he said.
“I’ve never had this much bad luck with injuries before. It’s really tested me mentally, especially with the bubble (COVID biosecurity protocols) situation as well. It’s been challenging in so many ways.
“It’s allowed me to learn about how I can help the team away from the field. How I can coach the boys and still help them prepare for battle every weekend without playing.
“It’s been hard but in a way I’ve learnt a lot as well.
“We don’t want the club to have its first wooden spoon under my captaincy. We’re going to make sure we try to get three wins in these last three games. It’s a tough task but anything is possible.
“We want to give ourselves every opportunity to finish strong, but most importantly not finishing up as wooden spooners.”
Glenn was in tears after the Broncos’ Round 8 loss to New Zealand and felt helpless at times sitting on the sidelines as Brisbane slipped further into crisis and coach Anthony Seibold was sacked late last month.
Seibold fell out-of-favour with certain Broncos players but Glenn insists he had a good relationship with the coach and the playing group felt somewhat responsible for his departure.
“I got along really well with ‘Seibs’ as a lot of the boys did,” Glenn said.
“You never want to see people go through some pretty tough stuff. I felt for him and his family. It took a huge toll on them.
“When I spoke to him over the phone I could hear how broken he was and I really felt for him. You never want to take a job that puts so much stress and strain on your family.
“I don’t know the full story of what was happening outside of football, but it obviously took a huge toll on his family. I really felt for them.
“I could tell in his voice it was getting to him a fair bit. It was hard.
“It is a results game and we do feel bad. If we were winning games this wouldn’t be the situation right now.
“As a player, you tend to feel bad because we weren’t performing and getting the results. He was at the top of the iceberg and got the bad end of the stick for our results not coming through. You do feel bad.”
An ambassador for sports streaming service Kayo, Glenn is itching to return to the field against the Titans and stop the Gold Coast from registering two wins in a season over the Broncos for the first time ever.
The former New Zealand Test forward is contracted to the Broncos for the 2021 season and said he wanted another crack at the captaincy under Seibold’s successor.
“I am definitely 100 per cent committed to playing next year,” he said.
“This year hasn’t been the year I wanted as captain. Next year I want to make up for it.
“No one plans to be injured for so long but in a way it’s helped my body heal. I want to rip into pre-season and make sure I’m on the field for every game next year giving my best for the team.
“There’s no doubt in me being committed to this club and playing some tough football next year. That’s all I want to do.
“With a new coach comes their own vibe on a team. I’m not guaranteed to keep my captaincy but I hope I do because I know what I bring on the field and the way I can lead this team.
“I have struggled so much (this year) because I’m a person that likes to lead through my actions and I haven’t been able to do that on the field. It’s been hard for me.
“It’s up to the new coach. I can only control what I can and that is finishing the season strong and making sure my body is ready to go in pre-season.”
WATCH ALEX GLENN'S COMEBACK GAME FOR THE BRISBANE BRONCOS AGAINST THE GOLD COAST TITANS LIVE AND ON-DEMAND ON KAYO FROM 5.30PM ON SATURDAY.
Originally published as Brisbane Broncos captain Alex Glenn wants another crack at the job in 2021 after suffering his toughest season ever this year