Darren Lockyer says it’s time for million dollar man Anthony Milford to earn his money in Brisbane
LEGENDARY Broncos five-eighth Darren Lockyer believes Anthony Milford is feeling the strain of being the club’s $1 million man and has urged him to work harder to ignite Brisbane’s season.
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LEGENDARY Broncos five-eighth Darren Lockyer believes Anthony Milford is feeling the strain of being the club’s $1 million man and has urged him to work harder to ignite Brisbane’s season.
On the eve of Saturday night’s crucial Broncos-Sharks clash in Sydney, Lockyer says Milford needs to be mentally tougher to cope with the expectation of being the highest-paid player in Brisbane’s 30-year history.
In his fourth season at the Broncos, Milford is mired in the worst form slump of his Brisbane career and was outpointed by Maroons ace Cameron Munster in last week’s 32-16 loss to the Storm.
Now Milford faces another daunting scrumbase assignment, this time against Cronulla’s former NSW Origin pivot Matt Moylan, who is running into ominous form at his new club.
If anyone can understand the pressure of wearing the Broncos’ No.6 jumper made famous by Wally Lewis, it is Lockyer.
The 355-game icon was the last man to skipper Brisbane to a premiership in 2006 and says Milford needs to take more control to help the Broncos snap the longest title drought in the club’s history.
“The pressures of his big deal and playing at a big club is affecting Anthony,” Lockyer said.
“I’m not at training every day so I can’t answer if he has a great attitude, but most people, including Broncos fans, want to see more from Milford.
“The money just compounds the whole issue.
“The best players in our game, regardless of what they are on, respond to challenges and find a way to perform.
“That’s what makes the champions of our game. They have an attitude and a mental toughness about them that they perform under pressure.
“Milford and Kodi Nikorima (halfback partner) were quiet again last week and they need to be more assertive in the way they play.
“This is Anthony’s chance to hit back and prove to people he is capable of being the playmaker the Broncos need him to be.”
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While Milford’s short kicking game has improved markedly this season, his offensive potency has been affected by Brisbane’s patchy form.
Milford hasn’t made a line break in his past 640 minutes of NRL and his running metres are down 25 per cent on last year’s average of 100m.
In 13 games so far this season, he has two try-assists, compared to 15 last year (from 23 games) and a career-best 16 from 26 games in 2016.
Lockyer believes Milford’s self-belief and game-management isn’t being helped by the collective inconsistency of his Broncos teammates.
“Milf, like the team, is doubting himself and that happens when you are down on confidence,” he said.
“That’s the space Anthony is in right now, he’s struggling for confidence.
“He’s obviously not in the form he is capable of. You don’t want to put too much pressure on the kid but the reality is when you get paid big money, there is pressure to perform
“The Broncos had won four of five before the Storm game but in my eyes there has only been one game, against the Roosters, where I felt they could do something this year.
“To turn things around, Anthony has to work harder during the week to give himself the best chance of success.”
Originally published as Darren Lockyer says it’s time for million dollar man Anthony Milford to earn his money in Brisbane