Broncos in locker room scuffle after rat hunt leak

BRISBANE has dismissed an explosive report which claimed its players devised a plot to expose a rat within their ranks.

Former Titan and new Broncos recruit James Roberts with coach Wayne Bennett at his first training session with the club. Broncos training at UQ St Lucia. Pics Tim Marsden

A HEATED scuffle exploded in the Brisbane Broncos’ locker rooms this week over an incredible plot to identify a rat within the club’s player ranks, according to a report.

In a story strongly denied by the Broncos, players reportedly had to be pulled apart in a heated confrontation before a training session leading into their 26-0 win over St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.

Broncos senior players set out to identify a mole in their own playing ranks by telling three players, including the main suspect, different versions of a news story and then waited to see which version flushed out on the other end and was reported in media.

It worked perfectly, according to Triple M Brisbane Marto and Ed Kavalee For Breakfast host and former Wallaby great Greg Martin, who said the senior players easily identified the mole and sensationally plastered a picture of a rat on the player’s locker.

A Broncos spokesman said no scuffle took place.

The news story surrounded reports this week Queensland State of Origin forward Matt Gillett is being shopped around to the Dragons because of the club’s salary cap pressures.

Martin says the club is in turmoil over the rat hunt and is the main reason the club produced an ugly performance on Thursday night, despite cruising to an easy victory.

It was reported by The Courier-Mail on Wednesday Gillett was being hunted by the Dragons as a marquee recruit for 2017.

The reported scuffle between the player identified as the rat and the player believed to have posted the picture on the locker reportedly occurred during Wednesday’s capt’s run training session.

Martin said no punches were thrown, but there was “pushing and shoving”.

Right in the middle of it.

“I’m just telling you what I know — they might watch Game of Thrones just like you,” Martin told Triple M.

“This has been festering for a week, remember that story two days ago, back page of Courier Mail, Matt Gillett being shopped around to St George, I’m hearing that ain’t true.

“Yes, he is being shopped around by his manager, but not to St George. That was a plant to discover something.

“There’s a bit of trouble in the ranks at the Broncos. There’s a leak. There’s been far too many stories.

“They like to keep some things close, there’s been a few too many stories coming out of the Broncos. Nothing too serious, but they’re worried about someone within their ranks, the players and the core group of the Broncos.

“A lot of footballers talk to their managers and their managers are often the blabber mouths.”

Martin claims the players cooked up a scheme to identify the potential mole following their win over the Gold Coast Titans last Friday.

He said the coaching staff was not involved in the plot.

“They had some suspects who the leak was and they cooked up a couple of stories that only that suspect would know,” he said.

Dressing room drama.

“They said: ‘I’ll tell you something to one player then I’ll tell you something to another player and I’ll tell you something to another player’.

“One of the stories was about Gillett going to St George. And when it appeared, bang, they knew who leaked it.”

Martin said that leak resulted in players posting a picture of a rat on the suspect’s locker.

Then things got out of hand.

“That person had a picture of a rat placed on his locker in the dressing rooms,” he said.

“A scuffle ensued between the player with the rat that was placed there and the player that he thought had placed it there.

“Training started and (coach) Wayne Bennett had to settle everything down, that’s how they went into last night’s game against St George.

“Wayne Bennett didn’t drive it, this little group of players said ‘we’re sick of somebody, if we are going to be such a tight team we can’t have anybody leaking stuff’.

“The player didn’t mean to leak it he just told his manager. He may have a blabber mouth manager.”

Bennett admitted after his team’s win on Thursday night he was far from impressed with their on-field performance.

“I just didn’t like the way we played tonight. It was a disjointed game,” Bennett said.

“The first half never really happened, for either team.

“To their credit we lost a game three weeks ago against Penrith because we couldn’t close a game.

“Tonight we made sure we held on.

“We just couldn’t get momentum. We are at our best when the game was flowing and the game wasn’t flowing.”