Anthony Seibold demands more from his forwards after Broncos outmuscled by Rabbitohs
Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has lashed his side’s ill-discipline and horrendous tryline defensive efforts after the club’s loss to the Rabbitohs. Where does the latest defeat leave the under pressure leader?
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Broncos coach Anthony Seibold turned up the heat on his misfiring forward pack to help star back-rower David Fifita in the wake of their disappointing 28-10 loss to the Rabbitohs.
The Broncos were spirited at times but they were ultimately left to rue a 10-4 penalty-count stitch up, ill-discipline and some horrendous tryline defensive efforts as they crashed to their 10th loss in 11 games.
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Fifita was impressive in his return from knee surgery, with the Origin hulk playing the full 80 minutes, amassing 98 metres and terrorising Cody Walker when he barged over to score in the 45th minute.
But for Fifita to be a matchwinning force on a weekly basis, the Broncos cannot afford to be stuck in their own half and Seibold lashed his side’s inability to provide a platform for their Titans-bound forward.
“Dave scored a good try and had some strong carries but we have to get field position for guys like him and Tevita (Pangai Jr) to have an impact,” Seibold said.
“David did a really good job across the 80 minutes, he’s only been back training fully in the last two weeks.
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“We had no set plan to bring him off, we wanted to see how he was travelling but he got through those 80 minutes pretty well.”
Broncos prop Payne Haas slogged his guts out in midfield, charging for a superb 201 metres, but Brisbane allowed Souths too many cheap carries, highlighted by Mark Nicholls’ soft 36th-minute try for a 20-6 halftime lead.
Brisbane were caned by referee Grant Atkins, losing the penalty count 5-2 in both halves, but Seibold refused to blame the match officials for the Broncos’ latest capitulation.
“It was really frustrating,” he said. “I can’t fault the effort but the difference of the teams was the penalty counts and the end of sets.
“I never want to talk about the referees. There were a couple of decisions where we were left bewildered, especially with some of the penalties around the escorts, but it’s certainly not why we lost.
“We’re second last on the ladder and the 50-50 calls don’t go to teams at the bottom end of the ladder.
“Payne was outstanding, he is a very consistent guy and he did a hell of a job.
“It’s the most resilient we have been for a while, we turned them away a few times, I felt it was a big step forward.”
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The Broncos suffered a blow just hours before kick-off when key match-day trainers Allan Langer and Ryan Whitley were banned for COVID breaches, but Seibold said Brisbane accepted the NRL’s rules.
“I only heard about it around lunchtime, we were on a 2.30pm flight,” he said.
“I don’t know too many details other than they have been fined. It’s certainly no excuse for our loss.”
Originally published as Anthony Seibold demands more from his forwards after Broncos outmuscled by Rabbitohs