Broncos Stability

[M.B.88]

It feels really good to have a stable and on the rise Club that we can be assured will dominate in the nrl for the years to come.

Knowing that the right people are in charge of the roster, having youth coming through, a fantastic culture really is special in the modern game.

How would you like to be the Tigers. . Titans.. manly, panthers or any of the teams that have had coach instability in recent times (ours doesn't exactly count because bennett's return was the greatest thing to happen to our club)

The only real challenges next year i feel will be us, nz, melbourne, roosters and the dogs. Everyone else are destined to fought out the bottom spots (jury is out on souths, they could come back stronger)

 

[Rhino1001]

What are the cowboys won't they be strong as well?

 

[Battler]

Dogs are going to struggle big time without Hokko and the new interchange changes (RIP Fatiano). They were horrendously overrated this year, let's see how they cope with a new halves pairing.

 

[Broncoman]

I still believe Souths will still be a strong team. They've lost Luke but they signed Damien Cook who is a fine prospect so their spine won't lose much, S.Burgess could return, GI at the back and there are some very good players in the backs and forwards.

They'll be alright

 

[austin71]

I still believe Souths will still be a strong team. They've lost Luke but they signed Damien Cook who is a fine prospect so their spine won't lose much, S.Burgess could return, GI at the back and there are some very good players in the backs and forwards.

They'll be alright

I thought Inglis was playing for us in 2015 though

 

[FGfrom50]

Chooks are probably not looking great in my opinion, a few huge losses there with Maloney and RTS on the way out. Dogs are a team not designed for 8 interchanges for the match - that'll hurt them.

Boys will be strong, but as has been over repeated - it's hard to go back to back. Melbourne are always strong. Aging greats, but still solid with one of the best coaches going. They have the stability mentioned in the OP. Souths will be good again I'd say, especially if Sam finds his way back. Tipping the Sharkies as a bit of a surprise packet. Not sure they can go all the way though.

Said it before, but the Warriors start as the team to beat next year for mine, along with the Cowboys. They've been pulling together a brilliant side over the last little while - building to something pretty special I feel. Don't underestimate the national pride caught up in that club as well. No Australian based club can claim to be representing the nation.

 

[vertigo]

The only thing we should be worried about is injuries, Josh's was bad enough so hopefully that's our big one out of the way.

So keen to see him and Blair hitting it up and defending in tandem next year.

 

[morganmorgan]

Its going to be a very successful year for us. Dogs and souths will get punished by the new rules. I'm thinking Broncos V Sharks GF 24 - 8 to us

 

[Nashy]

I'm wondering if all these people across here, Facebook and the general public, who are saying "It's ours next year" "We will be there next year" "we're going to go great", really know the game, and watch the game. Because there is absolutely no certainty that we will make the grand final.

I'd be very surprised if we got that far again.

 

[vertigo]

You think the boys will just have forgotten what happened a month ago?

Or that their defence will just fall to bits for no reason, the bonds broken, cliques formed again and poor selections to rear their head again.

That's what's unlikely.

 

[M.B.88]

I'm wondering if all these people across here, Facebook and the general public, who are saying "It's ours next year" "We will be there next year" "we're going to go great", really know the game, and watch the game. Because there is absolutely no certainty that we will make the grand final.

I'd be very surprised if we got that far again.

Why?

 

[Morkel]

Because there is a shitload of things that need to fall in to place to make a GF. That's why I'm so gutted from this year - we might not get another chance for 10+ years.

 

[Super Freak]

If history is anything to go by, Broncos likely won't be making the Grand Final next year.

Tigers '89 - Lost in Extra Time against Raiders. Didn't make the Grand Final again until 2005.
Sea Eagles '97 - Lost it at the death. Didn't make the Grand Final again until 2007.
Dragons '99 - Same thing as the Sea Eagles in '97. Didn't make the Grand Final again until 2010.

It's not like those teams were complete garbage.. They still had sides that can win premierships.

Losing on the big stage in that way, it can affect you for a long time. Players in those losses have pretty much said as much.

But, I am confident we can get back there in the next 2 years.

 

[Browny]

Teams not coached by Bennett

 

[Big Pete]

Dragons '99 - Only made it on the back of a strong finals showing and were aided by the Salary Cap situation which allowed them to basically merge two teams together to make a super team. They leaked a bunch of players in 2000 and ran into trouble with Mundine who already had a bad reputation.

Sea Eagles '97 - Had already achieved premiership glory and their window was closing. Had lost a bunch of stars following their '96 success and would continue to lose more without replacing them. The Super League merger did them little favours with Brisbane, Melbourne (an amalgamation of Super League talent), Canberra and Canterbury filling spots in the final.

Balmain '89 - The question has to be asked, were they successful because of the talent? Or were they successful because of the coach? Ryan, like Gibson before him wasn't the type of coach to stick around like Wayne and would go to club to club making appropriate changes. He was like Mary Poppins in that regard, complete with bizarre song and dance routines. Never the less, Ryan announced part-way through 1990 he was joining Wests and that Balmain would be in good hands, Alan Jones would ensure their future.

They were never seen in the finals again.

I don't think 'last second losses' deserves it's own category. Manly 2008 was the last legitimate side to bounce back after losing the year before and set a record in doing so. Then there were teams that didn't have to wait that long to bounce back like the Roosters in 2013.

Fans are confident because the Broncos are in as good a position as any. They're proud of this team and are doing their part to maintain positive vibes after a tough loss. I get the other side, and if Inside Out taught me anything, you need that to balance things out, but I'd rather be positive than negative.

 

[Unbreakable]

I think people are so confident that we'll make it back to the Grand Final or go extremely close once again is that we haven't got any worse, if anything we've become better. Losing Hodges is a blow to our experience and leadership, and he always does the odd flashy play, but in reality, we'll be better off with 26 games of Copley than 10-20 games of Hodges.

Remember the season before last? Copley was leading the league in tries and line-breaks halfway through the season until he got hooked, if he can find that form again with a good try scorer outside him (Anderson anyone?), our right will be equally as potent as our left, especially if Hunt gets Gillett some more good ball.

Not to mention another season of Hunt and Milford developing together, and another 6 months for Boyd to fully recover from that Achilles (Which I don't think he did), and we'll get McGuire back, whom we didn't have at the back end of the season.. I'm super confident that if we stay healthy we'll be in the discussion again.

 

[Porthoz]

We need a healthy roster more than anything, as no other comp is as sensitive to injuries as the NRL. Most teams have players they can't miss, most of the time, it will be their halves/playmakers, and we certainly fall in that category, where we would be nowhere near as strong if we lost Hunt or Milford, especially after losing the U20's halves to the vultures.

Our chances next season stand or fall with our halves remaining healthy imo.

 

[M.B.88]

We need a healthy roster more than anything, as no other comp is as sensitive to injuries as the NRL. Most teams have players they can't miss, most of the time, it will be their halves/playmakers, and we certainly fall in that category, where we would be nowhere near as strong if we lost Hunt or Milford, especially after losing the U20's halves to the vultures.

Our chances next season stand or fall with our halves remaining healthy imo.

This. We have zero depth now in the halves after we had the best in the league for up and commers.

This is Wayne's biggest off season test. We need another halfback. He'll find one. And we will get to test him in the WCS.