He was the reigning Dally M coach of the year, had been part of the club and was desperate to return to Queensland to take charge of a roster many believed was on the verge of a premiership.
It seemed a match made in heaven. Instead, it has been more akin to a personal hell. Seibold, having endured months of torment, will leave the Broncos with his reputation in a state of disrepair, albeit with a seven-figure settlement likely burning a hole in his pocket.
He would trade that in no doubt for a sliver of success and a chance to do things again. To prove what many of us already know — that he can do the job. The results may indicate otherwise, but there is a good coach in Seibold.
Maybe a great one. I remember speaking to Broncos chief executive Paul White and chair Karl Morris the night Seibold won his Dally M, having taken South Sydney to a preliminary final amid talk that he was Brisbane-bound.
I heaped praise on him, having spent time with him over the course of the year at the coffee shop on Sydney’s northern beaches owned by former Penrith centre Ryan Girdler.
Seibold lived nearby and on the handful of occasions we caught up, I found the conversation both educational and illuminating. I still believe he can make his mark in a cutthroat profession, where the scoreboard ultimately dictates success or failure.
Seibold is 45 and has time on his side. Just not in Brisbane. The bell has tolled. The Broncos simply haven’t worked out and it seems a formality that a financial agreement will be reached to end his time at the club.
The reasons are many, some obvious, others more subtle. He has been savaged from all sides. He never won over sections of the media in Brisbane, nor many of the old boys who wanted Kevin Walters to be given the job and made Seibold the outlet for their disaffection with Broncos management.
The club’s poor results made him an easy mark. They provided weekly ammunition for the critics who suggested the Broncos had blundered in handing a long-term deal to someone who had little experience as a head coach.
Those critics will no doubt take great delight in his demise. At times, Seibold failed to heed the advice of those around him. He was urged by some within the building to dispense with veteran Darius Boyd, yet he stayed loyal to the former captain to the bitter end.
Others suggested he should have dumped Anthony Milford. Instead of axing the underperforming half, Seibold moved him around, hoping that a change of positions would be the elixir.
He kept faith with Brodie Croft when the ex-Melbourne half was struggling for form and confidence. Meanwhile, young half Thomas Dearden was kept on ice, only now showing us that he may have been the answer all along.
Still, there was hope earlier this season when the Broncos won their opening two games prior to the Covid pause. They looked like the side everyone thought they would become.
The pre-season was spent climbing mountains in Tasmania with a new-look leadership group designed to give the younger players their voice.
They had it. Then Covid hit and when the Broncos returned, something had changed. There was a different feeling in the dressing room. No one, least of all Seibold, was able to get to the bottom of it.
An outfit that looked so unified in the opening two rounds, played like a group that was fractured and divided. The dressing room became an uncomfortable place and the club found itself in a downward spiral, which has continued to this day.
Amid all that, there was an injury toll that has been as bad as any in the NRL this season. At times, they have had $5m — more than half of their salary cap — pacing the sidelines. Last weekend alone, they were stripped of Milford, Jack Bird, Alex Glenn, Jake Turpin, Tevita Pangai Junior, Thomas Flegler, Corey Oates and Matt Lodge.
Symbolically, talks over Seibold’s exit come as they prepare to face the Sydney Roosters. The game between the sides earlier this season was arguably the darkest day in a year with little light. The Broncos were eviscerated and they never recovered.
They have lingered at the bottom of the ladder since, only Canterbury’s abject performances saving them from sliding into last spot. The way they are going, they may not win another game this year.
The Roosters may tear them to shreds on Friday night, most likely with someone other than Seibold in the coaches box. Seibold has spent the past two weeks in a covid hold, dealing with a family matter and attempting to track down the parties responsible for a scurrilous social media campaign designed to ruin his career.
He has also been seeking some certainty over his future. He believed both he and the club needed it. Decisions needed to be made about the playing roster. They couldn’t be made while uncertainty surrounded the coach.
Seibold couldn’t wait until the promised end of season review. There were decisions that needed to be made now and he wanted the club’s imprimatur that he would be there in 2021.
He was either the boss or he wasn’t. He wanted the club to effectively back him or sack him. He has his answer.
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The Brisbane Broncos got it wrong. Horribly wrong. Sadly, so did I. Anthony Seibold seemed an inspired choice when he was hand-picked to replace Wayne Bennett.