VOTE Anthony Milford's future

[Kooly87]

Milf will be fine. He's finally being allowed to play his way with a coach who knows how to use him.

He's had two games. Improved fitness. Done discipline to get and stay fit. Good first preseason in years.

This thread will die come Midway through season and we'll all be cheering.

I do sincerely hope so. I can't imagine many Broncos fans who wouldn't.

Still, in a best case scenario he'll hit the ground running again from the minute Round 3 kicks off, but we'll still be taking a punt on half a season of great form at most, weighed against several seasons of up and down form, by the time we have to decide and for a roughly $900k a season investment, that's definitely not ideal, but it's likely to be all we're going to get.

I should say the same is also true for Milford from his point of view. He might well feel he's worth more than we can afford if he lights up the comp for 10 weeks or so and other clubs are throwing money at him to leave. It's a huge gamble for both parties and the sample size isn't going to be big for either party to make the right call from.

At this point in his career, he might view a 4-5 year deal at over a million bucks a season as too good to pass up if all we can offer him is taking up the one year option he currently as and we aren't 100% certain about what we can offer him beyond that.

 

[Xzei]

depending on how he is performing you would offer just under and dont consider what other clubs are offering if he is going to sign for the highest contract then adios milf,need to be the club that players took unders to play for esp considering the forward pack they are playing behind.

that being said i hope the club waits to offer anything beyond next year just to see how the rest of this year plays out for him.

 

[M.B.88]

He historically has an absolute blinder against the Titans. Look to him to be player of the match with tries scored.

They're also still going through players in media issues and may be low on troops if the stand downs hold.

This game is going to be an epic

 

[Big Pete]

Everybody on the roster is expendable and Milford is no exception. He's an incredible talent who can thrive in the right environment, but he isn't a leader or the Michael Jordan of the League.

With that said, I don't believe there is a Michael Jordan in Rugby League. If there was a Michael Jordan, it's Cameron Smith and his career is winding down. So you have to have these gun players on your roster and Milford fits into that category. Players of his ilk don't come along everyday and trying to replace them can take years.

I'd certainly consider Ponga a 'gun player' but I'm far from convinced of his credentials. I believe in the right environment he could thrive, but like Milford, he's far from a natural leader. I was far from impressed with his 2019 season and while he had flashes of brilliance, I also saw a very immature player taking some very soft and selfish options.

Kalyn still has time on his side, but if it was my money, I would not offer him top dollar. I would certainly enquire and see if he'd be interested in a move back to Brissie but I certainly wouldn't pull out all the stops if I was in the Broncos position.

If I was in the Titans position, things would be different.

 

[M.B.88]

Everybody on the roster is expendable and Milford is no exception. He's an incredible talent who can thrive in the right environment, but he isn't a leader or the Michael Jordan of the League.

With that said, I don't believe there is a Michael Jordan in Rugby League. If there was a Michael Jordan, it's Cameron Smith and his career is winding down. So you have to have these gun players on your roster and Milford fits into that category. Players of his ilk don't come along everyday and trying to replace them can take years.

I'd certainly consider Ponga a 'gun player' but I'm far from convinced of his credentials. I believe in the right environment he could thrive, but like Milford, he's far from a natural leader. I was far from impressed with his 2019 season and while he had flashes of brilliance, I also saw a very immature player taking some very soft and selfish options.

Kalyn still has time on his side, but if it was my money, I would not offer him top dollar. I would certainly enquire and see if he'd be interested in a move back to Brissie but I certainly wouldn't pull out all the stops if I was in the Broncos position.

If I was in the Titans position, things would be different.

So Milford can go, anyone can go, and Kalyn you'd have but f off if we do anything to try and get him here..

Ok

So what would you do with the roster Pete?

Super negative opinions with not much constructive thinking.. or no evidence of it anyway

 

[Big Pete]

I acknowledged Milford's issues but he's a rare talent and finding a suitable replacement would be incredibly difficult since there aren't that many candidates. Since Ponga was brought up as a potential option, I shared my thoughts.

I hope that clears things up.

 

[Porthoz]

Lose Milf and don’t think twice about it.

Not implying that Milf is at Locky's level (no one is), but that is what was being said about Locky before 2006 as well... just saying.

 

[broncos4life]

I am a massive fan of Milford but even if your not we finally have a halves pairing that looks really good. We have been waiting for this for so long and people want to get rid of it? Fucking insanity.

 

[Broncapz]

I'd offer him 900 at most. We need to actually spread the money around with our insane forward pack and guys like Niu/Athars coming up.

I think Milf would be happy to take a little less than what he would get at other clubs, if nothing because I think Brisbane have a serious belief of a premiership in the next couple of years.

 

[NSW stables]

I'd offer him 900 at most. We need to actually spread the money around with our insane forward pack and guys like Niu/Athars coming up.

I think Milf would be happy to take a little less than what he would get at other clubs, if nothing because I think Brisbane have a serious belief of a premiership in the next couple of years.

I think any halve would take a little less to play for the broncos now, simply to avoid having our forward pack run at them.

 

[Kooly87]

I am a massive fan of Milford but even if your not we finally have a halves pairing that looks really good. We have been waiting for this for so long and people want to get rid of it? Fucking insanity.

I didn't suggest we get rid of him, I just suggested we remove the emotion from the decision and look to evaluate how we spend that money, whether that is on Milford or not, as objectively as possible. What is the smartest way to spend $900k in the NRL marketplace with the highest likelihood of return on investment.

You might like Milford, but you'll be filthy if he turns out another 3 years of 2019 form and in the meantime we've lost 2-3 other guys you rate highly because we've overpaid for the performances Milford is turning out. The Broncos have been devastated in the last couple of seasons by our highest paid players (not just Milford) turning in performances that are a long way below what similarly priced players were regularly delivering, be that through long term injury or a woeful lack of form.

Milford might get back to 2015 form, that possibility still definitely exists, some might even say it's likely now that he has a genuine Halfback alongside him again. I'm simply pointing out that 2015 was a long time ago now, and the possibility also exists that we're going to retain a guy on top dollar who has already shown us plenty of indicators that he isn't worth that sort of cash consistently. 2019 Milford exists just as much as 2015 does, so it's a big decision and a fairly big gamble either way. All I'm suggesting is before lock ourselves into Milford again for a few more years, we should genuinely consider whether there are less risky options with higher upside potential that might be available for similar money.

As a final aside to all this, who's to say we even need a gun Halves 'pairing' anyway? Canberra just made a Grand Final with a ball running Wighton and a journeyman in Aiden Sezer, but they had a World Class Dummy Half and a Fullback in red hot form. Melbourne have clearly decided to bail on running two gun Halves as well with Croft now gone, and they can do that because they have the best Dummy Half in history. The Roosters had Cronk and Keary, but they have the luxury of seemingly no salary cap limitations to inhibit their spending.

The game is moving away from two gun Halves and I think the clubs that are slow to recognise and adapt to this will be on the back foot and looking like dinosaurs before long, if they aren't already. Clubs with elite Dummy Halves are the ones ruling the roost and if I was an NRL club right now I'd be making getting the best Dummy Half money can buy my number one priority. Straight after that I'd be looking for an elite Fullback as well. A Dummy Half who can play 80 minutes and attack around the ruck and control the tempo and play, coupled with a Fullback who can either ball play as well, or can bust a play wide open and get into broken space - this is the blueprint for being successful in the NRL in 2020.

 

[broncos4life]

I didn't suggest we get rid of him, I just suggested we remove the emotion from the decision and look to evaluate how we spend that money, whether that is on Milford or not, as objectively as possible. What is the smartest way to spend $900k in the NRL marketplace with the highest likelihood of return on investment.

You might like Milford, but you'll be filthy if he turns out another 3 years of 2019 form and in the meantime we've lost 2-3 other guys you rate highly because we've overpaid for the performances Milford is turning out. The Broncos have been devastated in the last couple of seasons by our highest paid players (not just Milford) turning in performances that are a long way below what similarly priced players were regularly delivering, be that through long term injury or a woeful lack of form.

Milford might get back to 2015 form, that possibility still definitely exists, some might even say it's likely now that he has a genuine Halfback alongside him again. I'm simply pointing out that 2015 was a long time ago now, and the possibility also exists that we're going to retain a guy on top dollar who has already shown us plenty of indicators that he isn't worth that sort of cash consistently. 2019 Milford exists just as much as 2015 does, so it's a big decision and a fairly big gamble either way. All I'm suggesting is before lock ourselves into Milford again for a few more years, we should genuinely consider whether there are less risky options with higher upside potential that might be available for similar money.

As a final aside to all this, who's to say we even need a gun Halves 'pairing' anyway? Canberra just made a Grand Final with a ball running Wighton and a journeyman in Aiden Sezer, but they had a World Class Dummy Half and a Fullback in red hot form. Melbourne have clearly decided to bail on running two gun Halves as well with Croft now gone, and they can do that because they have the best Dummy Half in history. The Roosters had Cronk and Keary, but they have the luxury of seemingly no salary cap limitations to inhibit their spending.

The game is moving away from two gun Halves and I think the clubs that are slow to recognise and adapt to this will be on the back foot and looking like dinosaurs before long, if they aren't already. Clubs with elite Dummy Halves are the ones ruling the roost and if I was an NRL club right now I'd be making getting the best Dummy Half money can buy my number one priority. Straight after that I'd be looking for an elite Fullback as well. A Dummy Half who can play 80 minutes and attack around the ruck and control the tempo and play, coupled with a Fullback who can either ball play as well, or can bust a play wide open and get into broken space - this is the blueprint for being successful in the NRL in 2020.

There was nothing wrong with his 2019 form. Our issues in the halves last year and the last few years is the guys in the 7 not the 6.

 

[Kooly87]

There was nothing wrong with his 2019 form. Our issues in the halves last year and the last few years is the guys in the 7 not the 6.

Sure, let's agree to disagree on 2019, but right there you've hit the nail on the head. Most of the guys in Milford's price range can get the job done regardless of who they have in the 6 or 7 beside them. These guys are marquee players who can generally carry a side consistently on and off the field, and Milford, unfortunately, is not. You need to remove the emotional attachment and look at Milford as objectively as you would any non-Broncos players in the marketplace.

Croft came cheap at $400K partly subsidised by Melbourne. He's got a two year deal, but he won't be that cheap next time around. If Milford only works when we plug in someone of Croft's calibre next to him, then something has to give elsewhere if we want to retain them both. If that something is a Fifita or a Haas or a Staggs next time around, Milford is going to look like a pretty expensive investment indeed.

 

[Xzei]

Could be worse we could be paying him Ben hunt money

 

[theshed]

Could be worse we could be paying him Ben hunt money

don’t give the dragons any ideas.

 

[Big Pete]

Hardly surprising but at least it ends any speculation.

 

[The Strapper]

Hardly surprising but at least it ends any speculation.

Yes agree but I don’t buy the “multiple teams showing interest” line at least not at his current money. That is just his manager talking him up.
The real test will be how he performs this season and next to whenever contract extension talks open.
Now that he has picked up his option I would like the broncos to wait until well into next season before deciding on his future.

 

[Alec]

Did they even have training after the first two rounds up until last week or whatever?