Broncos Announce Hodges & Parker as Co-Captains

[Painin the Haas]

IMO, that sums up exactly what did happen.

he still started in every rep team and the broncos didn't fall compeltely away like Parramatta has, their is much more suspect captain choices than Thaiday was, he stood in as captain for press conferences for queensland when smith was sick he must of been well thought of with 3 other captains in the team

Clubs usually sack the coach before the captain, Tim Mannah has seen 3 coaches as co-captain already. Just saying the situation didn't seem that bad to sack a guy who bleeds maroon and gold and that is coming from someone who was on the Parker train after 2011 when the captaincy came up.

 

[Russell Coight]

Agreed, I was supporting Parker when Lockyer retired but when you choose your Captain unless he is absolutely falling away with form and leadership you stick with him. Doesn't sit right with me poor Sammy taking a hit for others faults.

However Parker deserves it and so does Hodges defintely after his 2013 he carried the team from centre, now that is special[/QUOTE

Although granted i do think Sammy was under performing, the fact he was selected by hook as captain in the first place wasn't the right move and thats clearly evident now, but again Hook doesn't take the heat for that someone else does.

 

[Big Pete]

Change the record.

 

[bazza]

I have mixed emotions about this...

Although a great player, Thaiday shouldn't of been given the captaincy in the first place as he was never a player that was a natural leader like Locky, instead is a flare type player.

He didn't know how to handle the expectations of being captain of such a great club, and hence the added load of the captaincy took a toll on his own personal performance.

But to completely strip him of the captaincy and then not include him as one of the Co-Captains is a kick in the guts. If Parker and Thaiday were made Co-Captains for the 2014 season, it would of been a better look for the club, knowing that he is still considered one of the leaders in the team.

Thaiday was picked as captain by the club, not by his own decision, and now to remove him completely is a bit harsh and can really ruin a players confidence. Look what happen to Benji Marshall when he was stripped of the NZ captaincy. Since then, his NRL career went downhill.

Thaiday recognised he needed help in the captaincy department, and to make him a Co-Captain would of been the better option.
In my opinion the situation at the Cowboys would of been better, where Thurston and Scott are Co-Captains, even though Thurston makes most of the calls. Similarly Parker could of been the more dominant Co-Captain, freeing Thaiday of some responsibility, but still maintaining him as one of the leaders of the team.

 

[Nashy]

I think it's a fantastic move by the club. I don't buy that Thaiday decided this himself, but who am I to comment on that.

Thaiday IMO is lazy, and very rarely rallies his troops. Hell, you never seem to see him barking orders on the field. I've never watched and thought he was a good captain, and I've never watched and thought he was this amazing player that people make him out to be.

While I don't want to lose him from the second row, him not being the captain is the best news I've heard from the Broncos in quite a while.

 

[Splinter]

There was no real standout for captain 2 years ago and there still isn't. Parker was probably the best available.

CP good points
He would die for the club. He will lead the team by example in training and on the field.

Problem areas
Can he. Keep calm dealing with referees, last year he was skating on thin ice a couple of times when speaking to them.
He is passionate and may vocally deal harshly with his own team mates after mistakes. Will he be able to rally the troops?

Sam was not the right man.

Glenn has all the attributes in his character to captain this team and would be the best choice EXCEPT he has to be able to hold his place in the team and that is under threat, ruling him out for the time being

 

[jarro65]

I just hope this decision doesn't reduce Parkers impact for the team !!

 

[Brett]

Just watched that clip with Sam at the media conference. My god - he's the fattest I've ever seen him at the moment. His face looks like he's eaten a swarm of bees. I really hope, for his sake, he can get match fit in about 8 weeks.

 

[Splinter]

I just hope this decision doesn't reduce Parkers impact for the team !!

Agreed
He could start worrying about everyone els and not his own game. He is meticulous with his preparation though

 

[Morkel]

A lot of us kind of guessed that the captaincy was promised to Sam during his last contract negotiation. Which was when there was strong interest from other clubs and he was playing at his peak (won dally-m second rower that year). If that is true, then either he demanded it, or he was honoured by the offer and took it on. In any case, him losing it for poor performance is a good thing, because it shows that the team comes first. If it was indeed affecting his performance, making him co-captain changes nothing. He'd still have the team performance's weight on his shoulders. Let him worry about his role only. The confidence of performing at his best on-field should be enough to counter the disappointment.

But I also agree that this on the surface it's taken the heat off Griffin's performance. IMO this is the last straw. Everything that the fans have been calling for has been done. All the deficiencies, like poor fitness, poor recruitment, poor performance in key positions, it's all been done. Except booting Hook. If all these changes don't amount to significant improvement then Hook is gone and deserves to.

 

[Morkel]

Just watched that clip with Sam at the media conference. My god - he's the fattest I've ever seen him at the moment. His face looks like he's eaten a swarm of bees. I really hope, for his sake, he can get match fit in about 8 weeks.

Who knows, maybe it was the last straw - he came back overweight and the club said that it's not good enough. The official stance is that he has a big motor so can carry the extra weight. But I've always wondered that if the weight is purely there for impact & momentum, surely it would be better to have that weight in muscle, where it increases strength as well, not just useless blubber. The only negatives of increased muscle is that it'd need a higher level of weights training to maintain it, and possibly a higher chance of straining a muscle or damaging a tendon or ligament. But still, 5kg of muscle over 5kg of excess fat would have to be better IMO.

 

[Unbreakable]

Good move, I think Parker will be great as captain, far more level headed than Thaiday, hopefully the Broncos will gain some respect with him as captain.

 

[Russell Coight]

Didn't Parker have a pretty average record as our captain when he was vc, and standing in for Locky?

 

[Foordy]

lol @ Fox Sports news saying Thaiday was only captain for 1 year

 

[Morkel]

Didn't Parker have a pretty average record as our captain when he was vc, and standing in for Locky?

You have to allow for the face that when Parker is captain, more often then not our best 5-7 players are also out.

 

[Foordy]

Didn't Parker have a pretty average record as our captain when he was vc, and standing in for Locky?

yes ... but the majority of the games where Parker stood in for Locky was due to origin... meaning we had half a dozen of our best players also missing

 

[GCBRONCO]

I think in the long run its the best decision for everyone, Thaiday needs to concentrate on his own game which is a shambles atm regardless of where he plays, some players can handle the captaincy role through their direction/decision making on the field or their actions, other's just can't, this was coming, if it wasn't in 2014 it would have been 2015 if he had another dismal season on the field as both a player and in the captaincy role.

 

[Alec]

Didn't Parker have a pretty average record as our captain when he was vc, and standing in for Locky?

Yeah, but during the Origin period.