2026 NRL General Discussion Thread

1910 said:
Matt Cameron aligned all their pathways and started the Built from Within program- a Gus recruit and worked out if we have a kid at 16 what do we want him to do at 18, 20 at 21. What's a Panther front rower do? What's a Panther half do? So, Jim Jones can go and watch a 16-year-old and know exactly what a Panther winger looks like. Cameron is now CEO, so he's gone up the chain and understands all the parts.

Jim Jones knows exactly what Cleary wants and how he wants a player to pass, kick, walk, run, make a sandwich. He can find a 17-year-old and they are learning that from day one. He's their Cyril, been doing it since 91 he's that old school drive to watch a carnival, meet mum type.
Click to expand...

This is what we seem to be missing IMHO. We seem to end up with biggest, strongest, most physically talented kids. But are they also smart, which cogs in the team are they. How does a Broncos back rower play, and are our recruitment team looking for this? Are our Cup teams aligned as well?

It's easy when you have had a coach for a long time, we were probably the same with Bennett until he left the first time around I guess and I think it's the major issue with a revolving coach door. But for me, and I'm sure plenty here will agree, this is the critical part we seem to be missing and everything else flows from it. I don't believe the club has a clear idea of what the finished puzzle looks like, so we're just grabbing pieces and making them fit even if they don't - when we all know that a good team is more than the sum of its parts individually.

Second part is recruitment - if we don't know how a Broncos centre is supposed to play, how can we recruit one? What does a Broncos 2RF do? Are we actually looking for the right kids? Again this comes back to the above - without a clear picture, recruitment becomes 'pick the best of the carnival' and it's just about sheer talent. I'd argue that attitude and drive is more important, or at the very least on par. Cronk vs Milford for example.

This also flows through to patching roster holes as well. What type of player do we look for in a certain position, if there's no certainty around what that role's job actually is? Do we sign a hulking prop or a leaner, smaller, faster mover? What's the game's meta, what does the club need for the way we want to play?

The third part is the pathways - once you've got the above sorted out, then the pathways need to be training the kids in "the way we play". Academy through Cup to NRL, all on the same page. I'm not sure if it is, but that also comes back to not knowing what the Broncos puzzle is supposed to look like. Role clarity is so important.
 
LittleDavey said:
This is what we seem to be missing IMHO. We seem to end up with biggest, strongest, most physically talented kids. But are they also smart, which cogs in the team are they. How does a Broncos back rower play, and are our recruitment team looking for this? Are our Cup teams aligned as well?

It's easy when you have had a coach for a long time, we were probably the same with Bennett until he left the first time around I guess and I think it's the major issue with a revolving coach door. But for me, and I'm sure plenty here will agree, this is the critical part we seem to be missing and everything else flows from it. I don't believe the club has a clear idea of what the finished puzzle looks like, so we're just grabbing pieces and making them fit even if they don't - when we all know that a good team is more than the sum of its parts individually.

Second part is recruitment - if we don't know how a Broncos centre is supposed to play, how can we recruit one? What does a Broncos 2RF do? Are we actually looking for the right kids? Again this comes back to the above - without a clear picture, recruitment becomes 'pick the best of the carnival' and it's just about sheer talent. I'd argue that attitude and drive is more important, or at the very least on par. Cronk vs Milford for example.

This also flows through to patching roster holes as well. What type of player do we look for in a certain position, if there's no certainty around what that role's job actually is? Do we sign a hulking prop or a leaner, smaller, faster mover? What's the game's meta, what does the club need for the way we want to play?

The third part is the pathways - once you've got the above sorted out, then the pathways need to be training the kids in "the way we play". Academy through Cup to NRL, all on the same page. I'm not sure if it is, but that also comes back to not knowing what the Broncos puzzle is supposed to look like. Role clarity is so important.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree....
But when the rules change ...
Broncos don't adapt quick enough...
 
LittleDavey said:
This is what we seem to be missing IMHO. We seem to end up with biggest, strongest, most physically talented kids. But are they also smart, which cogs in the team are they. How does a Broncos back rower play, and are our recruitment team looking for this? Are our Cup teams aligned as well?

It's easy when you have had a coach for a long time, we were probably the same with Bennett until he left the first time around I guess and I think it's the major issue with a revolving coach door. But for me, and I'm sure plenty here will agree, this is the critical part we seem to be missing and everything else flows from it. I don't believe the club has a clear idea of what the finished puzzle looks like, so we're just grabbing pieces and making them fit even if they don't - when we all know that a good team is more than the sum of its parts individually.

Second part is recruitment - if we don't know how a Broncos centre is supposed to play, how can we recruit one? What does a Broncos 2RF do? Are we actually looking for the right kids? Again this comes back to the above - without a clear picture, recruitment becomes 'pick the best of the carnival' and it's just about sheer talent. I'd argue that attitude and drive is more important, or at the very least on par. Cronk vs Milford for example.

This also flows through to patching roster holes as well. What type of player do we look for in a certain position, if there's no certainty around what that role's job actually is? Do we sign a hulking prop or a leaner, smaller, faster mover? What's the game's meta, what does the club need for the way we want to play?

The third part is the pathways - once you've got the above sorted out, then the pathways need to be training the kids in "the way we play". Academy through Cup to NRL, all on the same page. I'm not sure if it is, but that also comes back to not knowing what the Broncos puzzle is supposed to look like. Role clarity is so important.
Click to expand...

I don't like buzz words, but alignment is one I talk about constantly and you can only have it if you have the same staff.

Bunn knows with absolute certainty what Bellamy wants.

The disconnect at the Broncos is that the coach keeps changing, you can't have alignment when the coach changes and you have to change what he wants. The Broncos have had to change their type of player four times in the last six years.

Bellamy tells Bunn I want a bench player, and Bunn goes and finds Wishart because he knows exactly what he wants because they have worked together for so long and he doesn't bring players back to Bellamy that he doesn't think will pass.

Jim Jones knows exactly what Cleary wants.

The Broncos haven't had that alignment for a long time.

The best clubs have stability in coaching and recruitment. Geelong with Scott and Wells, Storm with Bunn, Ponissi and Bellamy, Dolphins have had three chairmen in 50 years and they're all former players that are great businessmen and smart.
 
So when the Broncos admin do their usual factfinding missions overseas with other sports orgs, what is it they're looking to glean? Is it purely on how to make more money or? Because academy to first grade pathways are a fairly consistent thing in european football, you would think they would take notice and attempt to replicate this.
 
Seems to me that the club need to lock in the coach and anyone that doesn't fit, out you go. It makes sense that those with stability have the chance to get everything in place behind the top coach. It'll also be interesting to see what happens with Panthers and Storm when Cleary/Bellyache leave, our downfall was pretty quick after Bennett left the first time and I'd argue the club hasn't had a clear vision of how they want to play ever since.

Seibs could have been long term if he'd have had better advisors/assistants/whatever it is that he's so clearly missing, because technically he is very good. I think that's what the club banked on and it of course didn't play out.

I believe Kev was never going to be long term but again, could have had a good crack if he had hired assistants who plugged his deficiencies. He didn't do that and paid the price. But he was also critical to the club's rebuild after Seibold burnt it all down, and absolutely deserves the plaudits for that. 2023 should have been a prem.

With Madge we have a bloke with a reputation, though all reports are that he's learned a bit and has settled a fair bit too. There is no questioning his winning chops - at every level. The bloke can clearly do it, the question is around whether his way is sustainable in the long term.

If the single greatest indicator of long term success is a long term coach, then this is what the club must focus on to the exclusion of all else. If Madge is not for the long term, then they need to find who is. If they think Madge IS, which I suspect is the case, then they need to let him take the reins of the entire operation. Which he can't do at the moment obviously because he's down a critical staff member and has his hands more than full with this season's cluster****.

It would still be possible to achieve some form of alignment without knowing who the coach will be I guess, but that would then need the club to have a clear vision and finding a coach who will support that. The coaching staff collectively, as well as the affiliate coaches, can all be on the same (or similar enough) pages to work towards the vision - if there is one. It seems Ikin was starting to put this together in his short time here?

So, then, if that alignment is so critical - what steps are the club making to achieve it? Does the club have a clear vision of how the Broncos play? Seems like a huge gap tbh if this isn't locked in.
 
LittleDavey said:
Seibs could have been long term if he'd have had better advisors/assistants/whatever it is that he's so clearly missing, because technically he is very good. I think that's what the club banked on and it of course didn't play out.

I believe Kev was never going to be long term but again, could have had a good crack if he had hired assistants who plugged his deficiencies. He didn't do that and paid the price. But he was also critical to the club's rebuild after Seibold burnt it all down, and absolutely deserves the plaudits for that. 2023 should have been a prem.
Click to expand...

You know the funny thing is that Kevvie and Seibs could actually make a really good coaching team as they complement each other.

Kevvie as head coach. He is a really good man manager, but can struggle tactically at times.

Seibs as assistant. He's not a great man manager, so he has struggled as a head coach, but is a proven assistant coach who is good at the tactical side of the game.
 
New Posts

Unread

Back
Top