NRL 2021: Brisbane Broncos reconnect with inaugural club chairman Barry Maranta
He was snubbed from an anniversary dinner and has barely been in contact with the club for more than a decade. but Barry Maranta senses things are changing for the good at the Broncos.
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The Broncos’ attempt to rebuild its fractured culture has seen the club’s founding father reconnect with the club after a decade in the wilderness.
Inaugural club chairman Barry Maranta and fellow foundation owner Steve Williams addressed the Broncos staff last week at the invitation of new chief executive Dave Donaghy.
Maranta said he had barely been in contact with the club for more than a decade.
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He said there had been no major fallout but the club had lost connection with its roots and Maranta was controversially snubbed from a 1200-strong list invited to the club’s 30th anniversary ball.
“It was a remarkable change in events to be invited back after I was not invited to the 30th anniversary, but I appreciated and enjoyed it,’’ Maranta said.
“Dave invited us to talk the staff about the things which made the club successful which was important because it had suffered greatly in the past few years. We had some very lively discussions with the management staff.
“I guess you cannot build something unless you have a foundation and it helps to know what your foundation was and we had a good chat about that.’’
One of Maranta’s messages to the staff was to be grateful for the Broncos’ dominant status in the Brisbane sporting landscape.
“They were surprised to learn that when we started local rugby league was the number four sport in Brisbane – there was rugby union and Christopher Skase got all the publicity for the Bears and Brian Kerle did such a fine job with the Brisbane Bullets basketball.’’
Maranta sensed the club is fighting its way to a brighter world after two harrowing seasons.
“The spirit of the club is audible and visible. Just meeting with the old boys there is a heart expectation about what the Broncos are about to achieve in 2022.’’
Coach Kevin Walters, who won seven games in his debut season compared to the three victories under Anthony Seibold last year, wants further improvement next year in what is the final year of his two-year deal.
“Our goal next year is to win more games than we lose. If we do that than we can (play finals footy) - but the ingredients are there,” Walters said.
“I know there is a different mentality in that dressing room now, about playing for each other and all that the club represents.
“It has taken a long time but from where we started in March and where we are now we have made some really good progress.”
Reborn Broncos send departing stars out with a bang
The Broncos’ fantastic finale for Alex Glenn, Anthony Milford and Xavier Coates was marred by a dual injury blow to Payne Haas and Jake Turpin in Brisbane’s 35-22 carve-up of Newcastle at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane finished another dismal campaign on the ultimate high, with retiring skipper Glenn, Souths-bound Milford and Storm recruit Coates departing victorious in their final games as Broncos.
But the joy of Brisbane’s commanding disposal of playoffs side the Knights was tempered by the pain of hooker Turpin’s broken jaw and superstar prop Haas hobbling off with an ankle injury.
Turpin faces a two-month recovery and could miss the start of pre-season on November 8, while Haas left Suncorp in a moon-boot and will have scans on Monday for a suspected high-ankle sprain.
Despite the loss of Haas and Turpin, the resurgent Broncos saved their best for last.
In their final regular-season game, Brisbane went out with a bang, ripping Newcastle apart to finish 2021 with seven wins as Milford and Tesi Niu ran riot to give 285-game warhorse Glenn the perfect send-off.
“It was a great way to finish for the guys, especially for Alex,” coach Kevin Walters said. “He typifies what a real Bronco looks like ... they had a real crack for Alex.”
MAGIC MAN MILF
Talk about too little, too late. Why couldn’t Milford play like this in March?
Dropped three times this season and told to find another club, Milford has come alive in the final month.
In his 151st and final game for the club, Brisbane’s $1 million man torched the Knights, scoring in the 43rd minute before slicing through to put Niu over for the 61st-minute try which had Newcastle in tatters at 34-10.
Then came the icing: Milford’s 75th-minute field goal to finish a Broncos match-winner.
RE-BORN BRONCOS
Brisbane can be a top-eight side next year and for that, Walters deserves a 12-month contract extension.
Since hitting the reset button in July, the Broncos have won four of their last nine games.
There is a new energy. A palpable positivity. Newcastle will play finals next week and the Broncos dominated them for 65 minutes. Respect in the famous Broncos jumper is back.
“We got caught out in games this year, but there is a different mentality in the dressing-room now,” Walters said. “This win will stay with us into the off-season.”
CENTRES OF ATTENTION
The Broncos are cultivating a lethal centre strikeforce in Selwyn Cobbo and Herbie Farnworth.
At 104kg, Farnworth is deceptively big. The British flyer terrorised the Knights on Brisbane’s left side with his size, step and speed and deserved his 35th-minute try racing onto a Niu grubber.
On the right side, Cobbo is a gem. The 19-year-old Indigenous flyer was superb defensively, using his 100kg frame to muzzle Knights hulk Bradman Best. In the second half, Cobbo ran riot in attack, capping a fine game with an 80-metre intercept try.
BRIGHT NIU ERA
Tesi Niu sealed Brisbane’s No.1 jersey for next season with another dynamic display.
Since moving to fullback 10 games ago, Niu has charged for more than 1500 metres and is becoming more comfortable with offensive shapes, as evidenced by his slick grubber kick for Farnworth’s try to give Brisbane an 18-4 half-time lead.
Niu not only has raw speed, he can pass at pace. He will be a key part of Brisbane’s playmaking spine in 2022.
CAN KNIGHTS TEST THE OTHER TOP EIGHT SIDES?
—Joel Gould
Newcastle’s finals campaign is on the rocks before it has begun after prop David Klemmer suffered a suspected rib cartilage injury in a humiliating 35-22 loss to a brave Brisbane Broncos outfit that was also rocked by injury.
Coach Adam O’Brien hooked half Mitchell Pearce and fullback Kalyn Ponga in the 45th minute after Brisbane took a 24-4 lead. The duo had been well below their best in the opening half but the coach was not taking any chances.
The Knights will be finals fodder in the elimination final against the Eels if there is a repeat of the diabolical form dished up against Brisbane.
Klemmer was in agony after he copped a hit to the rib cage in the second half in a strong tackle and the Knights will be sweating on the prognosis.
O’Brien said the veteran prop was brave and had already put his hand up to play through the pain next week.
“It is a rib cartilage thing. I just spoke with him and I think he will get up for the game,” O’Brien said.
“ It is early days but these days they can needle the and strap them up and keep them pretty tight. It hasn’t popped out again, but he’s a tough cookie.”
O’Brien wanted to give halves Jake Clifford and Pearce more time together ahead of the finals and fine tune their rapport with Ponga at the back.
Instead, Newcastle fluffed their lines with poor finishing and bad defensive reads handing Brisbane the advantage.
“Kalyn and Junior [Pearce] have missed a fair chunk of footy and we know it is going to go up a level next week,” O’Brien said.
“They just wanted to get some minutes so we stuck to the plan. I thought there were some good pieces of play but we just didn’t ice the end of it.”
The Broncos lost star prop Payne Haas to syndesmosis and hooker Jake Turpin to a broken jaw in the first half.
The Knights rested Mitch Barnett, Jayden Brailey, Hymel Hunt, Jacob Saifiti, Sauaso Sue and Tyson Frizell for the clash, but should have put away the Broncos if they are serious about having any impact in the play-offs.
O’Brien said he was proud of his young players against Brisbane and confident ahead of the Eels where Daniel Saifiti is on track to return from an MCL injury.
“I think we fly into finals. We have nine or 10 good footballers sitting at home getting ready to play,” he said.
“[Daniel Saifiti] is training really well and I’ll be backing him in.”
Newcastle did come back at the death with Jack Johns scoring his first NRL try and hooker Chris Randall crossing as forward Brodie Jones lifted the side, but it was too little too late as retiring Broncos skipper Alex Glenn went out a winner.
CLUNKY SPINE
Pearce and Clifford had been unbeaten in their six games together before the Broncos loss and the Knights will hope the display is just a blip on the radar.
Instead of enhancing the combination, their opponents Anthony Milford and Albert Kelly outplayed them in the first half.
Ponga tried hard in his stint but a lack of cohesion and timing with outside backs Bradman Best and Enari Tuala proved costly.
BETTER NEEDED
Best needs to be better if the Knights are to go anywhere in the finals. He’s lost his mojo. A centre of his size and strength should be dominating. Best’s defensive lapses will also need to be addressed otherwise the Eels will romp home.
KNIGHTS CHALLENGE
The Knights have played the teams above them on the ladder seven times this year with an 18-10 win over the Sea Eagles their only win.
Pearce did not play in any of those seven games so his creative nous will be crucial against the Eels.
Only the Bulldogs have a worse attacking record than the Knights, due partly to the fact their best spine has rarely played together. It was the defensive lapses against Brisbane the coach must address.
SEND THEM OFF WINNERS: KEVVIE’S WISH FOR DEPARTING BRONCOS
—Peter Badel
Broncos coach Kevin Walters is sick of losing and has challenged his troops to deliver victory for departing trio Alex Glenn, Anthony Milford and Xavier Coates to kickstart Brisbane’s finals fightback next season.
Brisbane’s final regular-season game against Newcastle on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium will represent a Broncos farewell for retiring skipper Alex Glenn, Souths-bound Milford and Coates, who will join the Storm next year.
Walters’ immediate focus is giving Glenn, Milford and Coates a successful Broncos send-off, but soon after the triumvirate hit the Red Hill exits, the coach will get serious about making Brisbane a finals force.
While Brisbane have offloaded the wooden spoon this season in his first year in charge, Walters concedes he will not tolerate the Broncos missing the playoffs for a third consecutive campaign in 2022.
“The finals is a given at the Broncos and it hasn’t happened the last few years, which really annoys me,” he said.
“When I think of the Broncos, I think about winning and we need to send Alex (Glenn), Anthony Milford and Xavier Coates off in the right manner with a win.
“I have set very high goals for next year. We are the Broncos and we have shaped the roster in a very positive way.
“We have Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell coming in (as new recruits), so winning more games than we lose is the expectation.
“When you play here at the Broncos, it’s about winning. We haven’t done that this year for different reasons, but I feel we have set ourselves up for next year so we can be more realistic with where we are.”
Glenn did not train on Friday due to a stomach bug, but Walters insists the retiring skipper will be on deck for his Broncos finale.
Winger Corey Oates will spend time in the back row if Glenn is unable to play the full 80 minutes.
“’Lexi’ is a bit off colour, but he will be good to go,” he said. “We have trained ‘Oatesy’ in the back row, so he might have some time there.”
The Broncos have conceded a club-record 673 points and 116 tries this season, but Walters is determined to finish strongly with Brisbane’s seventh win of the season against the Knights, who will play finals football.
“We have made some progress this year and this game is as important as any game for us,” Walters said.
“We need to finish off the season strongly and I believe we can do that.
“Whatever happens (on Saturday) will stay with everyone for the next six months, so we need a good performance to take us into the pre-season next year.”
THE ‘PRANK CALL’ THAT LAUNCHED A 285-GAME CAREER
Wayne Bennett, the super coach who signed Alex Glenn, has lauded the Brisbane captain’s fighting spirit in overcoming a career-threatening back injury to become the most professional player in Broncos history.
Glenn’s decorated 14-year career at the Broncos will officially come to an end on Saturday when the retiring skipper plays his 285th game in Brisbane’s final regular-season showdown with the Knights at Suncorp Stadium.
Right until the end, Glenn is fiercely devoted. Not even an eleventh-hour stomach bug, which saw Glenn miss Brisbane’s final training session on Friday, will stop him running onto Suncorp one last time, 4459 days after his Broncos debut in 2009.
It was Bennett who put Glenn on the path to Broncos immortality. The New Zealand-born Glenn was a 19-year-old painting houses on the Gold Coast when Bennett personally phoned him armed with a Broncos contract.
Even when Glenn hung up on Bennett, convinced it was a prank call, the master coach persisted.
Indeed, persistence has been the narrative of Glenn’s career after a back injury as a teenager sidelined him for three years.
“I just rang Alex back and convinced him I was the real deal,” Bennett says with a laugh.
“Alex has had a wonderful career. He should be proud when he runs for the Broncos one last time this weekend.
“Alex was the last player I recruited before I left the Broncos in 2008 (to coach the Dragons).
“Andrew Gee (former Broncos football manager) and myself went down to meet with Alex and his mum on the Gold Coast.
“His mum was a tragic Broncos fan and from the moment I met Alex, I liked how he presented himself.
“We got a deal done and the rest is a 285-game player for the Broncos who has never put a foot wrong.
“He has been a wonderful ambassador for the Broncos.”
Glenn will walk off into the Suncorp sunset on Saturday as the fourth most-capped player in Broncos history, behind only triple centurions Darren Lockyer (355), Corey Parker (347) and Sam Thaiday (304).
Bennett says back-rower Glenn’s strength has been his team-first simplicity. Low maintenance. Just get the job done.
“Alex has never been a superstar, never stolen all the headlines,” Bennett said.
“But he is a great example for all young aspiring NRL players. Alex was prepared to do whatever was required for the team. He has never put himself before the team.
“You look at the great players who have played for the Broncos and Alex has finished in the top four.
“Alex always had a great attitude, worked hard and made himself into the ultimate professional.
“As a coach, Alex was a dream. You never had to worry about him. He just gave everything of himself and had great care for his teammates and the Broncos.”
A veteran of 12 Tests for New Zealand, Glenn said he doesn’t fear the next chapter of his life.
“I am pumped. I am ready for the end,” he said.
“There is no chance I will be playing local league next year. I will be hanging them up. This is the last footy game I will play and I’m looking forward to the next challenge.
“Whenever I’ve put on that maroon-and-gold jersey, I wanted to walk off and look my mates in the eye and they know I did my job.
“I hope my teammates can look me in the eye and know I did that for them.”
Originally published as NRL 2021: Brisbane Broncos reconnect with inaugural club chairman Barry Maranta
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