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- Oct 7, 2017
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Anthony Seibold has mandate to change Broncos, Phil Gould says, amid axing reports
By Tim Elbra - 4 hours ago
Phil Gould discusses what went wrong for the Broncos the night before their finals thrashing to the Eels.
Anthony Seibold has a mandate to drag Brisbane into the future, Phil Gould says, amid reports that the Broncos coach has tapped captain Darius Boyd on the shoulder.
Seibold on Wednesday launched his post-season review, which became a monumental task after Brisbane lost their finals opener 58-0 to Parramatta. Eight players were revealed to have been at a pub until 11pm the night before the game.
Reports have claimed that Seibold told Boyd and hooker Andrew McCullough that they were not in his plans for round one next year. Anthony Milford and Corey Oates were reportedly told that they could start next season in Queensland Cup if they don't significantly lift their game.
Boyd struggled for form in 2019 and has two years remaining on his contract at a cumbersome $800,000 per season. McCullough has fallen behind Jake Turpin in the pecking order, though Turpin was forced to play halfback at the end of this season.
Though Broncos icon and director Darren Lockyer said that Seibold had to share responsibility for the Eels final debacle, and the culture that allowed it to happen, Gould told Wide World of Sports that the coach was charged with effecting major change.
Broncos coach Anthony Seibold. (Getty)
"The fact that they've given Anthony Seibold, the new coach, a five-year deal straight up would suggest to me that there were elements inside the club or things in the club that needed to be removed first before they could move on," Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, speaking with James Bracey.
"I don't think he's under any pressure whatsoever. Well, other than the normal pressure that any NRL coach finds himself under.
"Maybe he didn't see this coming at the start of the year. I don't think anyone saw it coming but at the end of the day, they made the eight at a time when it looked like they wouldn't.
"I think this now allows the Broncos to sit down and wipe the slate clean and all of those cliche things and say, 'OK, what does it look like tomorrow, what do we want to look like in two years time' and go from there.
"They were too heavily sold on Seibold to suddenly turn around and go, 'You're not the man for the job'.
"Obviously it (the 58-0 thumping) is terrible for them, but in a way I think it's good for them. I think it's good because now they've got a real urgency and I think they've got the attention of everyone and I don't think there can be any excuse whatsoever for any player who they suddenly say, 'No, our time has come and we need to move on'; for any coach, for any whatever within their organisation."
The Broncos stand behind the posts after another Parramatta try. (Getty)
Gould said that while Seibold had looked susceptible to pressure at times, he was undertaking a huge job at the NRL's biggest club; trying to change a long-ingrained culture that was no longer working.
"I do think there's a paradigm at the Broncos where they've always thought they were the biggest and the best and they don't need to take advice from anyone else and what they were doing was right, it's worked in the past, it will work forever and I think that's maybe the paradigm that Anthony Seibold needs to break down. And I think that's perhaps what he's referring to when he says, 'We've got to look at the place from top to bottom'," Gould said.
"Because Broncos had a very, very successful period. Success built on the fact that they had huge advantages over every other club in the league, huge advantages. And probably the greatest coach that the game has seen in Wayne Bennett.
"They had a lot of advantages for a long period of time. Haven't won since 2006, that's a dry spell for them and perhaps they're still living and listening to people in the past and that's the paradigm that has to be broken."
Broncos coach Anthony Seibold (R) with captain Darius Boyd at the start of this season. (AAP)
Gould said that transforming the Broncos could be even more difficult for Seibold given that he was working within a club system created by the iconic Bennett. He said Seibold's coaching methods would also be far different to Bennett's and that he needed to find players who would buy-in to his ideas.
"He's only been there for 12 months but Anthony Seibold represents the modern day, analytical, strategic type coaching mentality that is very different to any of the coaches they've had previously. Any of them," Gould said.
"So perhaps there's been resistance or lack of understanding or lack of coachability or whatever in adapting to what he wants to do or needs to do and I think what he's looking for is like-minded footballers, modern day footballers who enjoy this. Whether or not the senior players in that club are also locked into a paradigm ... certainly the ex-senior players are locked into a paradigm, the way they speak about their former club and the way they attack it.
"But I would think there's an element in the club of the modern-day young players who probably do enjoy Anthony Seibold's coaching and where it's going and whether or not that's being held back by senior players in the club who think, 'Well, this is not what we do and this is not how we do it...'
"When you walk into a new football organisation that's needing change, it's the first thing that some people will say: 'Well that's not how we do things'. That's the default position unfortunately, but I do think the Broncos as a club are probably guilty (of that) and now's the time to move on."
Anthony Milford during Brisbane's 58-0 finals loss to Parramatta. (Getty)
The removal of Boyd would strip the Broncos of their current five-eighth, while $1 million per season star Milford has also been put on notice after an underwhelming year in which he was switched to fullback; a position for which he did not have adequate fitness.
Reports have suggested that injury-prone star Jack Bird, who has played mostly centre, would be allowed to leave Brisbane if he had an offer from another club. Matthew Johns has suggested that Brisbane might try to lure Bird's former Sharks premiership teammate, NFL hopeful Valentine Holmes.
Teenager Thomas Dearden has been branded the Broncos' long-term halfback, though Andrew Johns urged Brisbane to buy Canberra No.7 Aidan Sezer. A raft of other players have been touted as possible Broncos recruits: Melbourne's Brodie Croft, Canberra's Sam Williams, South Sydney's Cody Walker, Cronulla's Chad Townsend and Warrington's Blake Austin.
Amid their playmaking shortcomings, Brisbane are also trying to keep outstanding young forward David Fifita, who is attracting $1 million per season bids from rival clubs. Gould said that the Broncos may have to shift their focus from trying to hold on to an unprecedented glut of forward talent.
"There's no doubt they need some playmakers, they've got to work out what they're doing with seven, six and one, they really do," Gould said.
"And that's up to the management, that's up to the roster management and the club to understand that. Now, if they've invested a lot of money in a lot of young forwards and a lot of young forwards coming through, to get what they really want to help them win games, maybe that's got to be sacrificed a little bit for the positions that they really need, or they need to go out and find some solid, experienced interim players until the young players they've invested in (mature).
"Now, I would hope and I would think that a club like the Brisbane Broncos would have a halfback academy, you know 30 or 40 kids from the age of 15-17 or 18 years of age and out of that, you hope that a blue-chipper comes through and someone that's going to do it. But they're not going to win you games until they're 21, 22, 25 and peak at 27, so there's still a long ways off there."
By Tim Elbra - 4 hours ago
Phil Gould discusses what went wrong for the Broncos the night before their finals thrashing to the Eels.
Anthony Seibold has a mandate to drag Brisbane into the future, Phil Gould says, amid reports that the Broncos coach has tapped captain Darius Boyd on the shoulder.
Seibold on Wednesday launched his post-season review, which became a monumental task after Brisbane lost their finals opener 58-0 to Parramatta. Eight players were revealed to have been at a pub until 11pm the night before the game.
Reports have claimed that Seibold told Boyd and hooker Andrew McCullough that they were not in his plans for round one next year. Anthony Milford and Corey Oates were reportedly told that they could start next season in Queensland Cup if they don't significantly lift their game.
Boyd struggled for form in 2019 and has two years remaining on his contract at a cumbersome $800,000 per season. McCullough has fallen behind Jake Turpin in the pecking order, though Turpin was forced to play halfback at the end of this season.
Though Broncos icon and director Darren Lockyer said that Seibold had to share responsibility for the Eels final debacle, and the culture that allowed it to happen, Gould told Wide World of Sports that the coach was charged with effecting major change.
"The fact that they've given Anthony Seibold, the new coach, a five-year deal straight up would suggest to me that there were elements inside the club or things in the club that needed to be removed first before they could move on," Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, speaking with James Bracey.
"I don't think he's under any pressure whatsoever. Well, other than the normal pressure that any NRL coach finds himself under.
"Maybe he didn't see this coming at the start of the year. I don't think anyone saw it coming but at the end of the day, they made the eight at a time when it looked like they wouldn't.
"I think this now allows the Broncos to sit down and wipe the slate clean and all of those cliche things and say, 'OK, what does it look like tomorrow, what do we want to look like in two years time' and go from there.
"They were too heavily sold on Seibold to suddenly turn around and go, 'You're not the man for the job'.
"Obviously it (the 58-0 thumping) is terrible for them, but in a way I think it's good for them. I think it's good because now they've got a real urgency and I think they've got the attention of everyone and I don't think there can be any excuse whatsoever for any player who they suddenly say, 'No, our time has come and we need to move on'; for any coach, for any whatever within their organisation."
Gould said that while Seibold had looked susceptible to pressure at times, he was undertaking a huge job at the NRL's biggest club; trying to change a long-ingrained culture that was no longer working.
"I do think there's a paradigm at the Broncos where they've always thought they were the biggest and the best and they don't need to take advice from anyone else and what they were doing was right, it's worked in the past, it will work forever and I think that's maybe the paradigm that Anthony Seibold needs to break down. And I think that's perhaps what he's referring to when he says, 'We've got to look at the place from top to bottom'," Gould said.
"Because Broncos had a very, very successful period. Success built on the fact that they had huge advantages over every other club in the league, huge advantages. And probably the greatest coach that the game has seen in Wayne Bennett.
"They had a lot of advantages for a long period of time. Haven't won since 2006, that's a dry spell for them and perhaps they're still living and listening to people in the past and that's the paradigm that has to be broken."
Gould said that transforming the Broncos could be even more difficult for Seibold given that he was working within a club system created by the iconic Bennett. He said Seibold's coaching methods would also be far different to Bennett's and that he needed to find players who would buy-in to his ideas.
"He's only been there for 12 months but Anthony Seibold represents the modern day, analytical, strategic type coaching mentality that is very different to any of the coaches they've had previously. Any of them," Gould said.
"So perhaps there's been resistance or lack of understanding or lack of coachability or whatever in adapting to what he wants to do or needs to do and I think what he's looking for is like-minded footballers, modern day footballers who enjoy this. Whether or not the senior players in that club are also locked into a paradigm ... certainly the ex-senior players are locked into a paradigm, the way they speak about their former club and the way they attack it.
"But I would think there's an element in the club of the modern-day young players who probably do enjoy Anthony Seibold's coaching and where it's going and whether or not that's being held back by senior players in the club who think, 'Well, this is not what we do and this is not how we do it...'
"When you walk into a new football organisation that's needing change, it's the first thing that some people will say: 'Well that's not how we do things'. That's the default position unfortunately, but I do think the Broncos as a club are probably guilty (of that) and now's the time to move on."
The removal of Boyd would strip the Broncos of their current five-eighth, while $1 million per season star Milford has also been put on notice after an underwhelming year in which he was switched to fullback; a position for which he did not have adequate fitness.
Reports have suggested that injury-prone star Jack Bird, who has played mostly centre, would be allowed to leave Brisbane if he had an offer from another club. Matthew Johns has suggested that Brisbane might try to lure Bird's former Sharks premiership teammate, NFL hopeful Valentine Holmes.
Teenager Thomas Dearden has been branded the Broncos' long-term halfback, though Andrew Johns urged Brisbane to buy Canberra No.7 Aidan Sezer. A raft of other players have been touted as possible Broncos recruits: Melbourne's Brodie Croft, Canberra's Sam Williams, South Sydney's Cody Walker, Cronulla's Chad Townsend and Warrington's Blake Austin.
Amid their playmaking shortcomings, Brisbane are also trying to keep outstanding young forward David Fifita, who is attracting $1 million per season bids from rival clubs. Gould said that the Broncos may have to shift their focus from trying to hold on to an unprecedented glut of forward talent.
"There's no doubt they need some playmakers, they've got to work out what they're doing with seven, six and one, they really do," Gould said.
"And that's up to the management, that's up to the roster management and the club to understand that. Now, if they've invested a lot of money in a lot of young forwards and a lot of young forwards coming through, to get what they really want to help them win games, maybe that's got to be sacrificed a little bit for the positions that they really need, or they need to go out and find some solid, experienced interim players until the young players they've invested in (mature).
"Now, I would hope and I would think that a club like the Brisbane Broncos would have a halfback academy, you know 30 or 40 kids from the age of 15-17 or 18 years of age and out of that, you hope that a blue-chipper comes through and someone that's going to do it. But they're not going to win you games until they're 21, 22, 25 and peak at 27, so there's still a long ways off there."
