‘I won’t be quitting’: Anthony Seibold’s defiant stance after Broncos’ brutal heartbreak in epic Sharks comeback

The Brisbane Broncos horror season has somehow got worse after one of the most heartbreaking finishes to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Sharks have delivered more heartbreak for the Broncos.

The Brisbane Broncos’ horrific 2020 season has gone from bad to worse after a heartbreaking loss to the Cronulla Sharks.

With 10 minutes to go the Broncos led 26-18 but lost 36-26 after the Sharks stormed home with three late tries to pinch victory.

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Things were looking good for the Broncos to return to the winners’ circle against the weakened Sharks who had Jesse Ramien, Josh Dugan and Chad Townsend ruled out before the game.

But the final burst from the Sharks handed the Broncos a ninth loss in 10 games and a chance of slipping to last on the NRL ladder if the Bulldogs can defeat the Eels on Sunday.

In the post-match press conference, Broncos coach Anthony Seibold was clearly frustrated.

“I suppose in some ways it’s the story of our year,” he said. “The frustrating part of it is that we’re just not good enough at defending our errors at the moment.

“You think of the first half, we offload the footy, they run 70m. We give away a seven tackle set, they go down and score. One of our players gets raked on halftime, they score on halftime. That’s just three tries where we’re just not making them work for their points.

“And we defended really well for 30 minutes and then we didn’t touch the ball for the last 10 minutes and those three tries were clearly ... we’re just hurting ourselves.”

Asked if he was worried about his job, Seibold — in the second year of a five-year contract — said he believes he’ll at least see out the season.

“I certainly won’t be quitting,” he said. “I don’t think quitting is an example this young group needs to see or wants to see.

“We made some big steps forward in the last two weeks but ultimately we lost both games and conceded a lot of points. But I think everyone can see where we were heading tonight was a better performance.

“As I said, it’s not my decision, but I won’t be quitting, that’s for sure.”

NRL Live Scores: Round 12 match centres

Returning to the field after the break up 18-14, the Sharks looked certain to score again through Ronaldo Mulitalo but somehow Broncos star Kotoni Staggs came from nowhere to make a try-saving tackle by bundling the Cronulla winger into touch just short of the line.

“He‘s on a mission, Staggs,” Braith Anasta said on Fox League. “That’s desire, that’s evidence, that’s what you want to see if you’re a fan of the Brisbane Broncos or if you’re the coach or a player or a teammate, whatever, that’s what you want to see — evidence.”

After a first half try, Staggs, a proud Wiradjuri man, celebrated with a traditional shake-a-leg dance, another great scene from the league’s Indigenous Round.

After his defensive heroics, the Broncos went up the other end, scoring through Richard Kennar with Anthony Milford linking with Darius Boyd to put the winger over.

“I know it only ties it up but that is 10 minutes to savour for the Broncos,” commentator Dan Ginnane said. ”Four sets in a row defending on their own line, some real steel, then whooshka, down the other end and immediately putting points on the board.”

Kotoni Staggs needed a breather – he was in everything.

Staggs was then back in the thick of it bustling his way over the line to open up a 26-18 lead.

But in season 2020, the Broncos are never going to do it and the Sharks fought back for three tries in the last 10 minutes to seal the unlikely win.

While the Broncos showed some positive signs, rugby league great Phil Gould said it was “not good enough from them”.

“Sharks too good,” Gould wrote on Twitter. “When game was on the line they lifted. Broncos? When game was on the line they wilted. No getting away from it.

“Sharks have a lot of good kids there. Indicates a bright future. Broncos need to face the facts. Honesty test. Not good enough from them.”

Look they lost but if your an @brisbanebroncos fan your ever got to be pleased with that effort. Good side the @Cronulla_Sharks hard luck @lynny50 but good signs b. #nrl #nrlbroncossharks

— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) July 31, 2020

Totally sucks for the Broncos, they deserved to be rewarded for the effort and passion they’ve shown tonight with a win. #NRLBroncosSharks

— Veronica Eggleton (@veggleton) July 31, 2020

Footy gods 🙏🏽 #NRLBroncosSharks #NRLIndigenous

— Scott Prince (@scottprince7) July 31, 2020

Speaking after the match, Staggs said the side had performed well but that “we‘ve got to play the 80 minutes”.