Brisbane coach Kevin Walters says Anthony Milford needs time to find himself

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters hopes some time away from the NRL will help Anthony Milford find himself.

Anthony Milford needs some time playing footy without pressure, says his coach

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters insists he still has faith in Anthony Milford and hopes some time out of the firing line might bring out the best in the club’s million-dollar man.

Walters confirmed to The Australian on Tuesday morning that Milford had been axed and would play in the Intrust Super Cup this weekend, the decision made after the club’s highest-paid player made an indifferent start to the year.

Walters is holding out hope that a stint away from the bright lights of the NRL can help ignite Milford’s season. Asked whether he still had faith in a player who is coming to the end of a lucrative contract with the club, Walters said: “I certainly have. We are five rounds in. We are trying combinations here without much success. I just know that Anthony, we are trying to relieve the pressure from him more than anything.

“Get him back playing in Intrust (Super Cup) for a few weeks or however long it takes him to get back into form. It is just for a period.

“I expect him to be back playing with us in a month or so. He needs to go back and find himself, find his form and find the Anthony Milford we all know he can be.

“I think a lot (of players) not just him have (lost confidence). It hasn’t been a great couple of years for them. We’re trying to drag them back out of that world and it is taking time.

“We will get there with it. Anthony has been part of all that. So I feel it is time to relieve the pressure off him and he can just go and play some footy.”

Milford had two try assists in the club’s opening game against Parramatta and hasn’t had another since. Only four players in the NRL have missed more tackles than the Broncos No 6 and it is a measure of how far his star has fallen that few clubs appear to be lining up for his signature, even though he is off contract at the end of the season.

The last time Milford was coming to the end of his contract, the Melbourne Storm and Craig Bellamy pursued him and almost prised him away from Brisbane. That prompted the Broncos to hand him a mega-deal, but the days of the big money appear almost over.

“He knows that for him to secure a contract for next year, he has to be playing well,” Walters said.

“We’ll take him out of the limelight. He accepted the position. He probably doesn’t agree with the position but he has accepted it like a man, which is good. That is the first good sign.”

Walters had been positive about Milford’s game immediately following their defeat to South Sydney but wants everyone to lift after the club suffered their fourth loss in five matches.

Milford has been a magnet for criticism in recent seasons and it was unrelenting after their loss to Souths, headed by Fox League commentator Greg Alexander.

“It (pressure) has been on everyone to be fair,” Walters said. “Him more so than others. It is time for him to take a step back, take a look at himself and how he is playing, and get himself better.”

“I saw some positive things with everyone out there (against Souths). Not just him. I just need to see more of that rather than 10 or 20 minutes. That is not just from him, that is from everyone.

“I just feel he is down on confidence and he can regain that confidence and rhythm in Intrust Super Cup, and he can bring that back up to the NRL.”

In the meantime, Brisbane will head into a game against table-topping and unbeaten Penrith with Tom Dearden and Brodie Croft in the halves.

Walters has made the most significant call of his coaching career thus far. Now he wants to see a reaction from his team.

“We haven’t hit any of our targets at all this year,” Walters said. “That is what the message was about. We can carry on about all different things but at the end of the day we need to be better.”