Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold should follow lead of Dean Pay, Paul McGregor and walk away
Paul McGregor can see his Dad, Dean Pay went to Bunnings. Anthony Seibold needs to know that life outside the NRL coaching furnace isn’t so bad. And for that, he should quit the Broncos now, writes DAVID RICCIO.
Broncos
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Paul McGregor bounced into work last Monday.
The Dragons players even spotted a light shuffle as the coach jogged down the staircase from his office inside WIN Stadium at Wollongong.
Nobody could be certain until later in the week, but it was as though he’d just been told that Friday night would be his last game as coach.
The hard-running centre for the Steelers, who had the ability to evade the opposition with a stride so wide that made it almost impossible for defenders to tackle both legs at once, was free again.
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His press conference to declare his departure after seven years of lost opportunities at Saints on Thursday was emotional, but it was also expansive and forthcoming.
It was as though an elephant had climbed off his back.
“The biggest thing is, I can go and see Dad on Saturday,’’ McGregor said.
“We’ve got a cabin down at Berrara. I’ll go down there for a couple of days and just rest up.”
It was also about as relaxed as you’ve seen the 52-year-old who Dragons fans have spent the past two years calling their most-wanted man.
Have you ever seen McGregor smile more, during and after a game, than on Friday night at Bankwest Stadium?
Let’s hope Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold reads this.
Because on Friday, Dean Pay was headed to Bunnings.
The former Canterbury coach has been sleeping like a baby.
“I haven’t seen him happier in three years,’’ one of Pay’s closest mates told this column.
It wasn’t so long ago that Pay’s best sleep was when he closed one eye, while the other scanned video of his opposition or for knives in his back.
But now, Pay has only been watching footy, if and when he feels like it.
Other times he’s been cooking a barbeque or fixing the back fence.
Seibold needs to know that life outside the NRL coaching furnace isn’t so bad.
And for that, he should walk away from the Broncos now.
There is nothing to gain by the 45-year-old returning to the helm of Brisbane for the remainder of this year, or beyond.
If it hasn’t already been achieved, he and the Broncos need to reach a financial settlement that allows him to move on from a job that has been tainted since the day he started in 2019.
What can be gained by his return as head coach of Brisbane following 14 days of isolation after needing to stay in Sydney last week for family reasons, is the discussion currently being had by Broncos management.
With his return would come the spotlight again, so too the headlines and the press conferences devoid of answers.
Of late, the Broncos CEO Paul White has stepped in almost every pot-hole possible when it comes to making decisions that benefit the club.
But surely, even he can see the timing that Seibold’s current hiatus brings.
The disturbing level of just how far people have gone to muddy Seibold’s reputation via text messages based on nothing but fabrication last week, is about as callous as any NRL coach has been forced to endure in recent memory.
It‘s gone way too far and it’s not his fault.
But unfortunately, this is where the Broncos are at.
The last thing Seibold would want to be seen doing, is quitting.
But if stepping down from your job to take care of yourself and your family is viewed as walking away, I for one, could live with that.
By parting ways with their coach during this small window of opportunity, the Broncos have a perfect chance to start again — while Seibold can focus on more important things while also maintaining a shot at salvaging his coaching career in the future.
The odds are, this whole show is going to get worse at the Broncos, before it gets any better.
The Broncos have never looked more certain to lose their last six matches of a season to finish with the wooden spoon for the first time in the club’s 22-year history.
What coach would risk that on their resume, if there was a chance to avoid it? As we saw at South Sydney, Seibold can coach. Just not at the Broncos.
Like it or not, he never really stood a chance at Red Hill.
Because in the eyes of the many great Broncos players and their ‘Old Boys’, Seibold took the job that was supposed to go to Brisbane’s favourite son, Kevin Walters.
And in this game, the Broncos ‘Old Boys’ look after each other. As they should.
In return, Seibold doesn’t have the high-profile support to soften a loss, offer an excuse here, or a reason there.
He’s been running one-out for two seasons.
And there’s a big difference between coaching to win — and coaching to save your job.
Seibold has spent the majority of this year doing the latter. Early on this season, Broncos board member and club legend Darren Lockyer tried to defend the mounting losses, but even he now accepts that for one of the most famous brands in Australian sport, playing finals football anytime soon, is merely a mirage.
“Ideally we turn around quickly, but at the moment with a young group, it‘s probably going to take a little time before the Broncos are back up there fighting and vying for the top four,’’ Lockyer told 2GB last week.
There’s an opportunity over the next week for the Broncos.
And there’s also one for Seibold, who should look at McGregor and Pay to understand that to find the spring back in your step, means that sometimes, you have to walk away.