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Brisbane Broncos legend Gorden Tallis slams club’s current squad

Brisbane Broncos legend Gorden Tallis unleashed on his former club for their performances, the coaching drama and the surprise person who “runs the club”.

Gorden Tallis admitted he had been back to the Broncos club just one since retirement.
Gorden Tallis admitted he had been back to the Broncos club just one since retirement.

Rugby league hall of famer Gorden Tallis has fired up deluxe at the current state of the Brisbane Broncos.

Speaking on Triple M Footy, Tallis unleashed on the club he played 160 games and won three premierships with.

But in a stunning tirade against the club, the 45-year-old club legend unloaded on the side, questioning the respect of the players and claiming Broncos had a “handshake” agreement with Kevin Walters to take over as coach.

He also claimed player agent Isaac Moses, who manages a number of players in the squad as well as both Walter and Anthony Seibold “runs the club”.

“There’s one manager has 18 players in there. The last time he did that was at the Tigers,” Tallis said.

“At the moment he runs that club. Not Paul White.

“No one runs that club except for him because he’s got 18 players and the coach.

“The club is not the club I played for. I said that five years ago and they just said ‘well you don’t like Wayne’.”

Asked why the club wasn’t the same one he played for, Tallis was blunt.

“It’s not the club I played for because there were winners there.”

Ouch.

Tallis continued: “There were players there that respected the people who walked before us. I knew everybody who played there.”

Gorden Tallis has slammed the Broncos.
Gorden Tallis has slammed the Broncos.

Former Penrith star Ryan Girdler asked if it’s a generational issue.

“Well, everyone at the Roosters knows their history of the Roosters. Everyone at Souths knew who Jack Rainer was and you’ve got to respect the past before you put that jersey on. That’s what makes the NSW jersey and the Australian jersey and what Mal bought back to the Queensland jersey, we all knew who had worn it in the past and I don’t think it’s happening there.”

The Broncos crisis has reared its head after a 36-4 loss to the Sydney Roosters dropped the Broncos to a 1-3 start to the season.

On Friday night, NRL legends Andrew Johns and Johnathan Thurston piled the pressure on underfire Broncos halves Kodi Nikorima and Anthony Milford.

“They look very disorganised, it looks like they’ve got no structure, they don’t know where they’re going,” Thurston said Channel 9.

“The halves need to take control and get them to a spot where they can attack from.”

Johns added: “It looks like the players have no idea what’s going on out there, that’s the job of your halves”.

It comes after plenty of pressure with the likes of Brad Fittler and Wally Lewis have also slammed the duo.

But Tallis said the issue is deeper and comes from a place of disrespect for the past.

“We used to train out of a dirty old gym that our groundsman used to mow, the guy who used to cook the barbecue, used to mow the grass, used to weld all our equipment together,” he said. “They have a $27 million facility where they walk around and have coffees and walk around like they own the place and they own nothing. They’ve won nothing.

“A couple of my old teammates went to the 30th anniversary and all the highlights they showed were from the old team from the 90s, they can’t show anything from the current crop of players.”

Gorden Tallis has only gone into the sheds as part of his job.
Gorden Tallis has only gone into the sheds as part of his job.

Tallis did admit he’d only been back to the club once since he retired and hasn’t gone back for a reunion for Brisbane, St George or Queensland outside of his job requirements with Channel 9.

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But he’s disappointed with how the players are playing and that Kevin Walters wasn’t given a go with the side.

“I was disappointed that a guy that didn’t have the job in Anthony Seibold got five-year deal on $700,000,” he said. “Whether Kevvie Walters was good enough, I think he had a chance to go there and fail. He was good enough twice to get them to grand finals. The only time Milford’s played good is when he was there.

“But he’s not good enough, but he is good enough to coach our greatest side, which is Queensland, the most important side to run out of Queensland at State of Origin.

“They think he’s a joker, he sacked 10 people after breaking curfew. That’s a guy who’s got some intestinal fortitude and I think the club paid no respect to the people in the past.

“From what I’m hearing, there was a handshake — they shook Kevvie Walters’ hand and said he was going to be coach, that’s the disappointing thing about it.”

“They’ve offered me to be paid to go back there — I don’t need their money, I don’t want their money. I’d rather see the club successful with the new group and watch those boys shine and be the next Shane Webcke, Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer but I’m really disappointed. And the people who made that decision, I don’t think they really care for the club because there should have been better decisions made. I hope they prove me wrong.”

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/brisbane-broncos-legend-gorden-tallis-slams-clubs-current-squad/news-story/973096b906add447588576bb9b2ea3b9