Darren Lockyer says the time has come for Anthony Milford to take control of the Broncos
ANTHONY Milford has reached a critical juncture in his career, writes DARREN LOCKYER, and the Broncos can’t keep waiting for him to work things out.
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ANTHONY Milford has reached a critical juncture in his career.
He has arrived at a point faced by every talented playmaker — attempting to make the successful conversion from gifted individual talent to a seasoned, well-rounded game manager.
The body language of Milford — and the entire Brisbane team — surprised me in their season-opener against the Dragons. They looked tired, fatigued and low on energy.
It is wise never to hit the panic button after one round (the Broncos won the premiership in 2006 after being flogged 36-4 in Round 1 by the Cowboys), but there were a few signs that weren’t ideal going into a new season.
One of those was the inability of Brisbane’s halves to build pressure at Kogarah.
Which brings me specifically to Milford and his scrumbase partner Kodi Nikorima, and what they need to do to get the Broncos machine humming.
Ben Hunt’s departure to the Dragons has amplified the pressure on Milford to be the main man at the Broncos.
We all know Milford is a wonderful talent, and he is simply lethal when he plays on the front foot behind a dominant pack, but he needs to build subtlety and tactical smarts into his skill set.
It’s unfair to expect Milford to play in the military style of Cooper Cronk, and he may never be as good as Johnathan Thurston.
But if you look at JT’s evolution, as he got older, he got wiser at managing a game. He was also eager to learn.
Like Milford, JT was a brilliant teenager who was skilful, but as he aged, what made him the player he is today was learning the nuances of the game.
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When to kick. When not to kick. Playing for repeat sets. Doing little, seemingly boring things in the eighth minute with a view to winning in the 68th minute.
Instead of just relying on his natural style, Milford needs to work on other facets of the playmaking craft.
Experience will come with time, but there has to be a level of intent from Milford to better himself.
To go to the next level, it’s not about Milford coming up with flashy, miracle plays out of nothing, it’s about building his overall game to take control of the Broncos team.
He could learn a lot by watching other experienced players.
The great players apply strategy, chiefly, working to pin the opposition in the corner of the field in a little 10mx10m zone.
Sometimes you don’t have to hold the ball for five tackles.
It can be just as effective producing a clearing kick on play three and making sure your outside backs are chasing up field and putting pressure on the kick returners.
Storm skipper Cameron Smith is the master of that tactic.
He has no issue kicking on play three because he executes plays to build pressure for the next 50 minutes of a game.
Milford has to have that commitment to watch someone like Smith and Thurston and learn the art of building pressure.
Indeed, the Dragons taught Milford and Nikorima some lessons on Thursday night. They kicked to the corners and attacked Brisbane with their defence.
It would be foolish to write-off the Broncos after one tough night but there’s no point in sugar-coating the reality.
It’s important they bounce back with a strong performance against the Cowboys this week.
Thurston returns to Suncorp ... there’s no better way for Milford to learn than facing the best.
Originally published as Darren Lockyer says the time has come for Anthony Milford to take control of the Broncos