NRL 2020: Brisbane Broncos mess epitomised by Brodie Croft ‘epic fail’

The Broncos lurch from one disaster to the next and a high-profile recruit who’s failed to deliver may be lost to the NRL for good.

Brodie Croft is under the gun.

Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold’s gamble on halfback Brodie Croft has backfired badly, with suggestions the No. 7’s days as an NRL player are numbered.

Croft was back-up to Cooper Cronk in Melbourne but couldn’t cement his spot in first grade after the Queensland playmaker moved to the Roosters for the final two years of his career.

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The Storm were happy to let Croft go when the Broncos came calling, instead putting their faith in the likes of Jahrome Hughes and Ryley Jacks to do the business alongside Cameron Munster in the halves.

Croft was talked about as a Cronk clone in the early days of his career but that comparison has faded as he struggles to have an impact in a Broncos side that has won just one game from eight since the season restarted in late May.

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Seibold, in the second year of a five-year deal, is under enormous pressure to keep his job after the Tigers thrashed Brisbane 48-0 on Friday night and Fox Sports’ chief rugby league reporter James Hooper says the coach’s recruitment of Croft is one glaring example of what’s gone wrong during his tenure.

“Anthony Seibold is an intelligent bloke. I do feel for him for the amount of blowtorch he’s copping at the moment, but the damning indictment is Brodie Croft,” Hooper said on Sunday night’s Big League Wrap.

“He went out and signed Brodie Croft, superstar signing from a club that no longer wanted him, backed his own coaching ability to be able to turn Brodie around. It’s an epic fail on every level.

“End it. The experiment is done, I’m not sure (Croft) is going to make it as an NRL player. If he didn’t make it at the Melbourne Storm he’s not going make it in the team he’s in at the moment.”

Brodie Croft hasn’t been able to guide Brisbane out of its mess.

Former NSW hooker Michael Ennis said for all the talk about mistakes made by Seibold and those in the Brisbane boardroom, ultimately responsibility comes down to the players, who have failed to deliver in 2020.

Ennis singled out million-dollar five-eighth Anthony Milford, who is not living up to his massive pay packet.

“Anthony Milford, given his performance, I know he’s been under the blowtorch but he simply cannot be picked this weekend. His form is just not up to it,” Ennis said.

“At what point do we start asking more of the players?”