Brisbane Broncos caught in Nightmare on Caxton Street

Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold had few answers after the Broncos were thrashed 48-0 by Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: NRL Photos

Suncorp Stadium as the Serengeti. Swamps instead of sidelines. Grasslands instead of goalposts. Storm versus Broncos as one of those BBC Earth documentaries in which a pride of ravenous lions stalk, hunt and kill a herd of terrified baby deer. Watching it all unfold will be the saddest face in rugby league.

That face belongs to Anthony Seibold. Coaches box footage last week was distressing. The 48-0 submission to Wests Tigers, hardly the kings of the jungle, was so humiliating that ex-Bronco Brent Tate turned off his television at halftime.

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Who could blame him? Rarely, if ever, had the Broncos jumper been subjected to so much mockery, scorn, shame. While the scoreboard ticked over like Adam Gilchrist was on his way to a quick hundred, caught on camera was Seibold wiping his tired and despondent eyes. Caught on camera was Seibold rubbing his brow like he was drained of all emotion and energy and optimism. Caught on camera was Seibold staring into the void as though he no longer knew who or where he was. Caught on camera was Seibold shaking his head like he had nothing left to give. No anger. No frustration. Just resignation.

It was unforgettable and revealing footage. The most sorrowful, the most dejected, the most downcast, the most miserable, the most despairing and the most downright saddest of faces in rugby league.

The post-match dressing room footage was painfully awkward. Seibold walked around like he was in the presence of strangers. Nobody knew what to say, how to act, where to look.

The sort of scene that led the Broncos largest private shareholder, property tycoon Phil Murphy, to trot out his lines about impotence and Valium. What a shocking fall from grace. At their best, the Broncos lord it over the premiership. Chests out. Noses up. Basking in the best facilities. The largest talent pool. The biggest crowds. The greatest ground. They should always evoke envy, but now they’re getting sympathy. We feel sorry for them. That is their greatest indictment.

On Friday night they meet the most ruthless club in the country. Every frailty, exposed. Every weakness, amplified. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

The deer will likely yelp and squeal and concede to the inevitable. A brutal mauling. It’s a nightmare worthy of Elm Street. Betting is $1.06 for the lions and $9 for the deer. That’s generous to the deer. Never before has the Brisbane club been at longer odds for an NRL match. Never before has the club been such a bleeding mess.

Says Broncos backrower Joe Ofahengaue of the Nightmare on Caxton Street: “A lot of people are hurting. In saying that, we can’t just feel sorry for ourselves. We have to make sure we turn up with the right attitude this week and put in the effort.”

Says Ofahengaue of the mood about the deer as the lions approach: “We come to training every day and try to put a smile on our faces. We work hard but we’ve stopped turning up on game day and not putting in the effort we know we can.”

Says Ofahengaue of the likelihood of a fearfully quick and easy kill for the Storm: “Obviously no-one is going to back us. At all. It’s hard, you know. You want to block out all the outside noise. What people are saying about us, we can’t control that. But deep-down we’ve got to use that stuff as motivation. It’s on us as individuals to turn up and try to prove you guys wrong, and whoever is talking about us. We’ve got to turn up and do our best for our mates.”

Says Ofahengaue of Seibold: “He’s our coach. He’s our leader. We’re all in this together. We’re all letting each other down, staff included. We’ve got to be better in what we do. We all got ourselves into this. We’ve got to get ourselves out of this together. United.

“If we can come out of this with an effort performance, I’m pretty sure people will be sitting back at home a little bit happier than they have been in the last couple of weeks. This week’s plan is to look each other in the eyes and say we want to put in an effort.”

Says Ofahengaue of where it’s been going wrong: “Attitude. Individual mistakes. Us not turning up for our mates after mistakes. Stuff like that has been letting us down. It’s been happening too long.”

Says Ofahengaue on whether the deer actually think they can win: “I reckon we believe in each other. That’s all I can say. Win or lose, if we go out tonight and just put in an effort, like I’ve been saying, if we look into each other’s eyes and commit to not letting our teammates down, that’s good enough for me.”