Firstly why don't we have a junior system akin to theirs (pretty broad question and I'm sure we do in some regard)? I get that by sourcing players across the state that it's not as easy to have them together from a young age whereas if you're within an hours drive of Sydney, it's probably easier to keep that cohesion - but we offer scholarships and so on like any other club so we really should be capable of something similar.
Secondly, why aren't we scouring these lower divs as aforementioned to pick these exact players up. We're the richest club, why isn't our scouting system the best or at the very least, the most extensive? How are we not capable of identifying such players and going hey you can toil away in NSW Cup waiting for your chance or you can come join the Broncos and get your chance? Are we shithouse salesmen? Something doesn't compute here
I think for this one the player is generally kept with their junior affiliates, schools, etc. until Meninga is finished and then they'll get assigned to one of our feeders.
Coates stayed with Tweed (Titans feeder) until Meninga and everything finished and then he was brought across to Souths Logan.
So that differs to Sydney where if Coates was a gun junior coming through broncos the whole way he would've been Souths Logan or whatever all the way through.
I've suggested in the past that our feeder setup is pretty good geographically. The strong league corridor of Logan, a Brisbane presence with Wynnum and then a GC presence with Burleigh.
I have wondered how much broncos invest in those affiliates though. Could you try and lock them into like a 10yr partnership where broncos give them big investment for coaching, facilities, etc. that basically makes them a full blown pathways setup like they have in Sydney but across 3 geographic locations.
It sounds like we're really good at backing the wrong horse, no pun intended. How is it we're wasting top 30 spots on guys that have played a handful of games at best over a number of years? Is this again a case of FOMO? We're afraid if we offer shorter contracts and they don't fulfill their promise immediately, they'll go elsewhere and kill it? This goes back to my original point of having the production line ready - if they go on elsewhere and be successful good on them, but we've got the next in line so who cares what they do if we have an adequate replacement? I know injuries and so on for BTK and Mozer, and I can't say I'm exactly across Jett Bryce's situation but for me they should all be playing Q Cup anyway. If they're not making a meaningful impact or developing at the next below tier, perhaps we should be cutting them loose and revisiting them in a few years if they change trajectory? At a certain point you have to accept your gamble on a certain player at a certain point in their career hasn't worked out and you move on. Holding onto hope it's all going to click is just sunk cost fallacy and further reinforces bad planning and development. Out of interest and without thinking too deeply about it, who was the last player that we put a faith in for a number of years and ended up better off for? Most of the players who've played for us in recent times have come into the squad pretty early and despite various ups and downs, made a fist of it
Yeah I think we have a FOMO problem where we want to hang onto them hoping they come good eventually.
In terms of someone weve hung onto Deine Mariner could be one??
He was looking a little shaky up until basically last year and then he's exploded into a full on first grader
Willison as well... he debuted all the way back in 2021, but had his breakout year last year. Injuries and various things slowed him down, but he's here now.
Yeah and no I think. It's all well and good to identify the ones coming through but I think we just need to be more ruthless in who and why we keep a player. If it's someone that kills it everytime they play but they're perenially injured, ok - there may be some scope to keep them around should they manage to navigate their injuries which is entirely normal for a young player and getting used to the rigours of playing against men or maturing into their body.
If it's a player that's just kinda going okay but not really kicking on as expected, maybe we just need to be better at making the call, but prior to this - start the process of looking for the replacement. Mozer is probably an example of both, injuries have cruelled his chances but has he ever stood out consistently at Q Cup level? Most of the hype came from high school. At what point do we sorry Blake it's not working out, good luck to you, we've got someone behind you who we think will better fit us long term, or we've found a standout at state league level who's consistently performing and deserves a chance to show what they've got? It sucks but that's professional sport, you take the chances given to you and if you can't for whatever reason, that's it
I think this is just where the conveyor belt isnt there at the moment.
It looks like Buk is coming through, but Mozer is 22... that is prime age to be coming into first grade. I think Harry debuted at 22. The issue is more that Mozer has been on contracts since he was like 18, so it's taken 4 years of contracts to get to this prime age of development.
Are Sydney clubs having to keep guys on Top 30 contracts for that long knowing they wont really be able to contribute to first grade any time soon. Are they able to sign their gun hooking junior to a top 30 deal, but have 3 other ones running around in NSW Cup and if one of them suddenly matures just bring him in. If they lose one of those 3 in Cup go an vulture off one of the Sydney clubs to keep the reserve grade full.
In reality Broncos have 4-6 hookers running around at the affiliates... is there a reason they arent utilising those guys on T&T...
I think the gap between NRL and Qcup is too vast to be able to call on those guys which comes back to my earlier point of... can we make a big investment in those affiliates to get their systems closer to NRL and then weve got 3 clubs in reserve grade churning out that conveyor belt of talent.
