Seibold ‘wanted to hide away’ after coaching nightmare... a Gus Gould phone call changed that

Anthony Seibold went from Dally M Coach of the Year to a messy divorce with the Brisbane Broncos. A Phil Gould phone call changed his nightmare.

Anthony Seibold revealed a key phone call from Phil Gould.

Anthony Seibold went from Dally M Coach of the Year to falling out of love with rugby league after his tumultuous period at the helm of the Brisbane Broncos.

When you add in the attacks of vicious online trolls, Seibold told SEN 1170that all he wanted to do was “hide away”.

But the former NRL coach has opened up on how a phone call from Phil Gould helped get him back on track along with the “reinvigorating” impact of the new chapter in his career.

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Speaking to SEN 1170 in a wide-ranging interview, Seibold admitted he “fell out of love” with rugby league and coaching after his experience at Brisbane.

“There is no doubt about that,” he said.

“I’ve loved rugby league since I was five or six. I loved playing it. I did my teaching and transitioned to coaching. I loved everything about it but in the end I’d had a gutful.

“It bruised me a fair bit.”

It also left Seibold “embarrassed” and wanting to “hide away”, that was until a phone call from Gould.

The now Bulldogs supremo had a few simple questions for Seibold, asking if he had taken his kids to school that week or taken his wife to breakfast.

“No, I haven’t,” Seibold would reply to each of the questions.

It was enough for Gould to offer some timely advice.

“He said: ‘Mate, don’t you dare hide behind the curtains’,” Seibold revealed.

“’Hold your head up high. There will be other opportunities for you. Take your kids to school tomorrow’.”

It was enough to spark Seibold into action.

“I was feeling sorry for myself and that sort of punched me in a nose a little bit,” he said.

“I thought: ‘You know what, I am being selfish’. It was a hard period but I’m through the other side and there’s been some positive things to come out of that experience as well.

“It almost doesn’t feel real, like that was me sometimes.”

While the Broncos descended to historic lows under Seibold’s watch, the club was still a shadow of its former self in 2021 under new coach Kevin Walters.

The poor results are not vindication for Seibold though, who takes no pleasure from the trouble at Red Hill.

“Selfishly, human nature would suggest you don’t want people to succeed if you didn’t succeed,” he said.

“The reality of it is that I gave a lot of those young kids their debuts to and still keep in touch with. Of course I wanted them to do well and I think they will do well as they experience more games and more ups and downs on the NRL rollercoaster.

“Am I angry about a couple of things that occurred there? Of course, I am. The reception I got and the support I potentially didn’t get.

“You can’t be bitter. I’ve left that in the past. It was challenging but I think I’m a better coach and a better person for having gone through a pretty crap experience.”

Sebiold said that while he would not want to go through it again, he learned plenty about himself and added the move from South Sydney was ultimately in his family’s best interests.

“It was challenging, there is no doubt about that,” he said.

Anthony Seibold still gained plenty from the challenge. Pic Annette Dew

“Would I want to go through it again? No, I wouldn’t. But you learn a lot about yourself... about what you would do differently.

“It was a business decision. It was a five-year deal with a sixth year in my favour. I knocked it back a couple of times and in some ways I felt almost like negligent to the family if I continued to knock it back.

“Financially, it was a deal that not only looks after my family but my parents. I made a decision around that.

“It is a wrong decision if you look at it from the respect of results. There were certainly some good things to come out of that Brisbane experience. Giving opportunities to guys like Xavier Coates and Kotoni Staggs.”

While Seibold may have endured plenty of dark days at Red Hill, he is now enjoying the “reinvigorating” impact of his new job with the England Rugby Union team.

Sebiold will be England’s defensive coach leading in to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, building on a longstanding relationship with head coach Eddie Jones.

“I just thought it was too good of an opportunity and challenge to knock back,” he added.

“He is one of the world’s best coaches, in any sport. England are a big team. It’s been a good challenge, really exciting, and it’s been reinvigorating.”

Seibold went on to reveal that along with Gould, Jones had also been a key source of advice and support during his time at Brisbane.

“Eddie is a big South Sydney Rabbitohs supporter, talks almost 24-7 about rugby league and loves it,” Seibold said.

“He actually contacted me when I took over as head coach there. We met up for lunch at Coogee in the back-end of 2017. It was supposed to be an hour meeting but we spent four or five hours there, just talking about our coaching experience.

“Obviously I was picking his brain. He took a bit of a liking to myself and followed my journey.

“During the tough times at Brisbane he always stayed in touch almost weekly some times. I said he didn’t have to do that, it said a lot about him.

Anthony Seibold is now working with England. (Photo by Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

“I used him as a bit of a mentor and sounding board away from the game. Sometimes in rugby league and the NRL you get a bit insular. He has been really good to me over the last four or five years.”

As for whether a return to the NRL could be on the cards in the future, Seibold is not too sure just yet.

“There’s a couple of ways I think about it,” he said.

“I’m loving what I’m doing with England. The enjoyment I got from the Newcastle experience, helping other coaches initially and then working with the other group in the back-end.

“Then what I’ve done with Eddie, the three Tests I was involved with in England was an exceptional experience.

“I’m not too sure what is next. Sometimes I feel it’d be great to come back again but who knows.”

Originally published as Seibold ‘wanted to hide away’ after coaching nightmare... a Gus Gould phone call changed that