Broncos Roster, Signings and Rumours Discussion 2026

Publicly declaring Cam his 'skip' whilst still paid by our club is ****ing rancid, rank, and diabolical.

Payne has always been a weirdo but that 'pick me' energy is lame and gross, he knows what he was doing writing that.

Flog him for 80 minutes every game so that when he lands on 'Skip's' lap he's an exhausted husk of a human
 
Alfie07 said:
Is this poor form from Payno? Calling Murray “Skip” while he’s still contracted to us feels a bit off?

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I mean it's pretty shit but it's not a surprise, this is the same guy that agitated for a release mid-contract only to rescind it because he didn't like being booed. He is a genuinely great player but he is a pretty shit bloke lets be honest, I think his play on the field masks a lot of it but at a certain point it becomes pretty obvious.
 
Broncos are just too nice. DD should come out and address this before it takes off.

He should ask Payne "if his account got hacked, because he doesn't believe that that statement would come from him. Payne's a class above that kinda behavior, and I'd be very surprised to learn that it did come from Payne".

Play them at their own game, DD. 💪

And then do as some have already suggested .. and give him an end of season that he'll never forget 😉
 
We just need to run him in to the ground while we can. 80 minutes a game, no exceptions. Feeling tired? Suck it up, Skip! Injured? If it doesn't require surgery needle up and get the **** back out there. Just make sure the person delivering the orders isn't a woman.
 
Battler said:
He can look forward to his "skip" getting them up the field next year only for their bottom 2 quality spine to run around like headless chooks with zero direction.
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I wouldn't be surprised if Luai ends up there...and makes it a bottom 1 spine.
 
FACTHUNT said:
Publicly declaring Cam his 'skip' whilst still paid by our club is ****ing rancid, rank, and diabolical.

Payne has always been a weirdo but that 'pick me' energy is lame and gross, he knows what he was doing writing that.

Flog him for 80 minutes every game so that when he lands on 'Skip's' lap he's an exhausted husk of a human
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Every single game from now on until the end of the season… 80mins, not a single second rest for “skip”. Poor form.
 
Out of pure interest anyone have a place i can read the Dave Donaghy interview from today? Not so keen to pay for it 🤣
 
maximus84 said:
Out of pure interest anyone have a place i can read the Dave Donaghy interview from today? Not so keen to pay for it 🤣
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Dave Donaghy Said

“Of course we’re not happy,” he said.

“But despite where we sit on the ladder and as silly as this may sound, we’re actually not that far off.”

THE FREEFALL

“We’re all disappointed with where we are right now,” Donaghy says.

“We had an unbelievable year last year and we’ve had a challenging year this year.

“I think we’re all disappointed with where we’re sitting right now if you look at the results and the ladder, but there’s some greater context around that as well.

“Sometimes there are uncontrollables that have an impact, and that’s certainly had an impact on us this year, but it doesn’t mean you give up.

“We don’t want to be where we are, but I know the character and ability of this group.

“Even though we haven’t got the results we’ve been chasing this year, the attitude of the players hasn’t dropped away.

“They’ll keep working for each other until it turns — and it will.”

THE CULTURE

“High-performance sport isn’t for everyone,” Donaghy said.

“Everywhere Madge has been, he’s won.

“He’s an outstanding coach. His record shows he continually gets success.

“He brings professionalism and standards that help young athletes evolve and grow.

“On top of that, he’s a terrific person and a terrific club person.

“We’re going to continue investing in our football program so we can build sustainable success and we’re very happy with not only Madge, but all our staff, including Troy Thomson (Broncos’ football general manager).

“It’s no coincidence that we won our first premiership in 19 years in Madge’s first year in charge.”

REECE AND EZRA

“That’s just garbage,” Donaghy said of suggestions Walsh and Mam are unhappy at the club.

“Reece has just been really unlucky.


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Broncos chief executive Dave Donaghy has been virtually silent — until now.
More than a decade as CEO at two of the NRL’s most powerful clubs, first Melbourne and now Brisbane, has taught Donaghy to hold his nerve, and bite his tongue, amid the high-octane soap opera that is the NRL.

The soap opera is more magnified at the Broncos, the NRL’s richest club, a $98 million empire that has sensationally collapsed to wooden-spoon territory this season — just 12 months after breaking their 19-year premiership drought.

The Broncos close the door on the Origin period running second last with a dismal 5-11 record, triggering speculation of a club in crisis ahead of Thursday’s season-defining clash against Penrith in Sydney.

Broncos boss Dave Donaghy has slammed suggestions the premiers are an unhappy club. Picture: David Clark

Broncos boss Dave Donaghy has slammed suggestions the premiers are an unhappy club. Picture: David Clark
But Donaghy, in his most candid interview of the season, is setting the record straight.

The Broncos boss has rubbished claims of a player revolt. He also addressed Payne Haas’ bombshell signing with South Sydney, the “garbage” rumours involving Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam and insists besieged coach Michael Maguire will not be sacked — regardless of Brisbane’s finish this season.

“Of course we’re not happy,” he said.

“But despite where we sit on the ladder and as silly as this may sound, we’re actually not that far off.”

THE FREEFALL

The Broncos are in danger of becoming the worst defending premiership team in 72 years.

Since the advent of mandatory grand finals in 1954, the Wests Tigers hold the record for the biggest title crash, going from fairytale premiership glory in 2005 to an 11th-placed capitulation the following season.

But the Broncos are nervously hurtling towards an unenviable slice of history. Rocked by eight consecutive losses, they face ladder leaders Penrith, their 2023 grand final nemesis, languishing in 16th spot. Only the dismal Dragons are behind them.

A loss to the Panthers at CommBank Stadium will officially deliver the bullet to their finals hopes — and end their title defence. How on earth did it come to this?

The Broncos have gone from premiers to near wooden spooners in a stunning collapse. icture: Tertius Pickard

The Broncos have gone from premiers to near wooden spooners in a stunning collapse. icture: Tertius Pickard
“We’re all disappointed with where we are right now,” Donaghy says.

“We had an unbelievable year last year and we’ve had a challenging year this year.

“I think we’re all disappointed with where we’re sitting right now if you look at the results and the ladder, but there’s some greater context around that as well.

“Sometimes there are uncontrollables that have an impact, and that’s certainly had an impact on us this year, but it doesn’t mean you give up.

“We don’t want to be where we are, but I know the character and ability of this group.

“Even though we haven’t got the results we’ve been chasing this year, the attitude of the players hasn’t dropped away.

“They’ll keep working for each other until it turns — and it will.”

THE CULTURE

Part of the reason Brisbane bosses hired Maguire was to deliberately inject a harder edge. The Broncos don’t want a premiership every two decades. They crave the cultural bedrock that has seen Melbourne, and more recently four-peat champions Penrith, become grand-final regulars.

When Maguire arrived at the Broncos last year, there was an initial friction point. Some players complained to Maguire that they were getting stuck in peak-hour traffic because their training days were too long. They asked about going home earlier.

Maguire stood his ground. He pointed out that everyday Australians earning a typical wage, some paying their hard earned to watch the Broncos, battled the same commuter chaos. If that’s too hard, Donaghy makes no apologies in the quest for long-term excellence.

“High-performance sport isn’t for everyone,” Donaghy said.

“Everywhere Madge has been, he’s won.

Underfire coach Michael Maguire delivered a Broncos premiership in his first season. Picture: Getty Images

Underfire coach Michael Maguire delivered a Broncos premiership in his first season. Picture: Getty Images
“He’s an outstanding coach. His record shows he continually gets success.

“He brings professionalism and standards that help young athletes evolve and grow.

“On top of that, he’s a terrific person and a terrific club person.

“We’re going to continue investing in our football program so we can build sustainable success and we’re very happy with not only Madge, but all our staff, including Troy Thomson (Broncos’ football general manager).

“It’s no coincidence that we won our first premiership in 19 years in Madge’s first year in charge.”

REECE AND EZRA

The Broncos have been buffeted by incessant innuendo that Maguire has lost the dressing room. The same whispers surrounded the veteran coach last season, but Maguire overcame the brickbats to silence his critics, delivering Brisbane’s first premiership in 19 years.

The latest rumour is perhaps the most explosive yet: that superstar duo Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam can’t cop Maguire and want out. Both are contracted until the end of 2029 in deals totalling $9 million.

“That’s just garbage,” Donaghy said of suggestions Walsh and Mam are unhappy at the club.

“Reece has just been really unlucky.

“He was playing the house down on the Gold Coast and ended up with a facial fracture (in round 5) that set his season back.

“I was just talking to him the other day. He can’t wait to get back after Origin.

“And the club has been really good for ‘Ez’ ... I know how much he loves playing for this club. He’s missed the last few weeks with a shoulder injury, but he’ll be back and I’m sure he’ll prove the doubters wrong yet again.”

THE COACH

“You can quote me on this ... Madge will be our coach,” he said.

“We signed Madge on a three-year deal.

“We had an amazing experience last year, but as a club, we always felt this was going to be a three-year exercise to get us to the place where we’re consistently pushing for sustainable success.

“For a long time this club has been up and down.

“We’ve had good years and lean years.

“Let’s call it for what it is: it took the club 19 years from 2006 until we won another premiership.

“We don’t win that comp last year without Madge.”

ROSTER CRISIS
  • worst injury toll in Brisbane’s 38-year history
  • after 18 rounds, the Broncos have already used a whopping 32 players
  • Brisbane have blooded six debutants — the most this season with the Storm and Titans.
  • The Broncos have been forced to deploy 10 different combinations in their starting spine.
  • Their first-choice spine — Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Cory Paix — have played just six games together.
  • The Broncos have twice needed dispensation from the NRL salary-cap auditor to field a 19-man squad.

“It’s never just one thing, but injuries have been a significant factor,” Donaghy said.

“I accept it’s not just us that’s been impacted. You look across the league and different clubs have been hit at different times.

“After about round eight we were in reasonable shape, then we hit a period where we’ve had more injuries than I’ve ever seen before and the form line has reflected that.”

“It’s not ideal from a player availability and connection point of view, you can’t discount the impact that has,” Donaghy said,

“Our injuries have had a big impact through our middle forwards and given the changes to the game and the rules this year, we’ve seen how important that space is.

“We’ve had a number of key players miss significant time.

“It’s extraordinary that all of the top four teams from last year (Raiders, Storm, Bulldogs and Broncos) are outside the top-eight right now.

“But we’ll worry about ourselves, we’re not achieving our targets yet.”

RED HILL REVOLT

“We’ve signed several guys and we’ve got players who will be recommitting,” Donaghy said.

“Players wouldn’t be staying at the Broncos if they are unhappy.

“If they feel that way, I’d be happy to give them a release and there would be no hard feelings.

“You hear many odd and peculiar stories. None of them have names to them, just schoolyard gossip. But that’s part of the landscape we operate in. Sometimes it feels like a soap opera.

“What we know is that we’ve got a great club, a proud club, great facilities, great people and a great environment and the most unbelievably loyal fans.

“We had a great experience winning the comp last year.

“We’ve fallen behind on our targets this year, but there’s still a lot of footy to play and a lot of momentum we can build.

“The bottom line is ‘Madge’ (Maguire) makes players better. There are a lot of players that want to play for the Broncos.”

PAYNE-FUL TRUTH

“I don’t think his decision has destabilised the season,” Donaghy said.

“It’s been enormously well-publicised, if not over-publicised, why Payne wanted a change.

“Just last week, Payne left NSW Origin camp to come and be around the team for the Sharks game.

“That shows how much he cares about this club and the group.

“Player movement in the NRL is just part and parcel of our landscape, but I don’t see that as having had an unusual impact on the group or the club.

“We moved quickly after Payne let us know. Payne did the right thing by the club by giving us early notice – it allowed us to sign Mitch Barnett. So we’ve replaced an Origin front-rower with another Origin front-rower.

“Payne has been an amazing servant of our club for a long time and the door will always be open to him.”

THE FUTURE

“You never say never. While there’s hope of us making the finals, you take it, but we’re certainly leaving our run late,” he said.

“I’ve see the effort and the fight. I still see a really hungry group that’s had a lot of disruption.

“But we’re getting our full squad back together after Origin and I’ve got every confidence they’ll piece it together.

“I certainly know the guys won’t die wondering.”
 
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