NEWS Broncos star’s horrific fall from grace

[Galah]

That's the issue i have with player contracts, particularly those who sign long-term deals, or deals that will be their final contract. If you know full well youre in your final ever contract, why would you try? You need to have some actual pride in your work to put the work in and clearly Boyd has none.

NHL ( I know different sport) but they brought in a buyout system to combat exactly this. But as usual we are way behind these sorts of things.

 

[Locky’s Left Boot]

I heard something fascinating yesterday. The reason the Broncos have been releasing players this season is so they can pay Darius out for the next 2 years this year. The Broncos have released approx $2m worth of players this year and can now front end Boyd's contract and terminate. He will likely announce his retirement to save embarrassment of 2 years in reserves, but will still receive full payment.

This sounds feasible but if it’s even remotely true it is a fucking shambles that we have had to resort to making a complete write off of our season to start moving forward because of this situation. He is far from a club legend as I stated in another thread, let him sit in reserve grade and we will find out whether he has the desire to make it back to grade attitude wise or whether he just wants to take the piss and cash his cheque out of spite.

He is hardly hard done by. He has been on good fullback money since 2009 at St George, he got given overs in his last contract length wise with us which he isn’t even playing at half his value for the last 2 and half seasons and will get $840,000 from his State of Origin fund upon retiring for his 28 games at Origin level. Not to mention his copious amount of rep payments for the Tests he played as well. Even though contract wise he will be owed that money he doesn’t seem like the type that desperately needs it. And I’m certain the club would find him a role post retirement and look after him there.

His captaincy has been an utter joke but if he wants to somehow recover a shred of respect and dignity and leave a better lasting impression on the fan base, he should finally stand up and be a real captain and that’s by doing what’s best for the club and pull an Inglis next week or at seasons end. Walk away from the contract and the club will find you a job at the club.

You have to remember had Inglis stayed on at Souths and was putting in these type of performances even though most of it would have probably contributed to carrying the injuries he has had, the fans would be just as irate and be calling for the same action.

Greg Inglis also has made plenty of money out of the game and rep level similar to Darius. However Inglis’ lasting impression in the NRL won’t be of playing on longer than he should have whilst making a mockery out of his first grade side and collecting big money he isn’t providing half of its value, but of one that put the club first and didn’t think put his needs above the club. He is more a Souths legend than Boyd is a Broncos legend. Take note Darius

 

[Lightning Leon Bott]

I read somewhere that Seibold tried dropping Darius weeks ago but was blocked by management , hence he was then moved to 5/8. Anyone hear anything on this ? Would be terrible news if this was the case , the coach not allowed to make decisions . Could be a rumour

 

[Battler]

I heard something fascinating yesterday. The reason the Broncos have been releasing players this season is so they can pay Darius out for the next 2 years this year. The Broncos have released approx $2m worth of players this year and can now front end Boyd's contract and terminate. He will likely announce his retirement to save embarrassment of 2 years in reserves, but will still receive full payment.

The GI retirement package has set a precedent.

EDIT: we should do the GI deal with Boyd and front end Macca's contract if this is true.

 

[007]

Send him to Q cup. Do not care if the sqaud gets pumped this weekend by the Sharks. The message it will send home is the next big opportunity this team has to turn for the future.

 

[ettybay]

Well if Darius is just hanging around for the dollars he will probably publish a book to cash in as well. Wonder what title he will give the last chapter?

 

[lynx000]

Well if Darius is just hanging around for the dollars he will probably publish a book to cash in as well. Wonder what title he will give the last chapter?

Couldn't give a **** - that is my feelings about his book and the appropriate title for the last chapter because it captures Boyd's performances this year.

 

[mrslong]

I watched an interesting story in the "30 for 30 Shorts" about a baseball catcher for the Mets in the 80's or 90's that had a mental block and couldn't throw the ball back to the pitcher without some ticks. It became so bad that he cost the team a few wins even though he was trying so hard. He was mocked mercilessly by his fan base and the media. It was all mental and no matter how many specialists the team got for him, his performance got progressively worse. Eventually he had to retire early, and ended up selling all his stuff, buying a caravan and living at the beach having had a total breakdown.

He got some help in the early 2000s by some alternative sports therapists, and was able to trace his mental blockages back to a traumatic childhood, they were able to help him relearn how to throw the ball and he is now able to be a baseball coach.

Link here: http://www.espn.com/30for30/film?page=fieldsoffear

Really made me think of Darius when I watched this story. No matter how hard is trying he just cannot do it. Mental trauma's from childhood, particuarly now that Wayne isn't there to help him..... He needs to take some time, get some relief from the pressure and be there for his family.

 

[Kimlo]

Honestly I love Boyd but he has to go. It's shocking and sad how far he has regressed in a matter of 18 months. It's not normal, he's not old enough to regress that far physically. He's mentally tapped out. There's no shame in that, anyone can be great at what they do and lose all interest due to external factors. It's not a nice place to be at and I feel for him if that's the reason.

I hope the club treats him nicely but his days as a player are done.

 

[Super Freak]

If upper management did actually put a stop to Seibold dropping Boyd, then it makes you wonder whether they did the same thing with Bennett.

 

[lynx000]

Honestly I love Boyd but he has to go. It's shocking and sad how far he has regressed in a matter of 18 months. It's not normal, he's not old enough to regress that far physically. He's mentally tapped out. There's no shame in that, anyone can be great at what they do and lose all interest due to external factors. It's not a nice place to be at and I feel for him if that's the reason.

I hope the club treats him nicely but his days as a player are done.

I wish you would stop reading my mind. I have had a lot of respect for Boyd for the way he has come back from his issues, but I must admit that respect has been diminishing this year at an alarming rate given his performances and his apparent inability to either recognise his form issues or be honest about where his form is at.

 

[DigitalDaz]

First year playing without Bennett coaching - rapid decline.

Cause/effect - perhaps. Some deep issues from his past - possibly.

When Alfie retired mid-season it was a bombshell, but ultimately Alfie is now remembered for what he achieved, not for his declining form during that year. We now know Alfie had some serious personal issues at the time.

When your work is in front of hundreds of thousands of screaming fans, dissecting your every movement, its a tough gig to work out your personal problems.

Sometimes you just have to retreat, get yourself together, and come back later.

 

[Kimlo]

I wish you would stop reading my mind. I have had a lot of respect for Boyd for the way he has come back from his issues, but I must admit that respect has been diminishing this year at an alarming rate given his performances and his apparent inability to either recognise his form issues or be honest about where his form is at.

I was one of his biggest fans and prior to this season I had no doubt he would be our best fullback and our captain but he's went from a premier NRL player to a deadset liability. There's no way that's purely physical. He's a human, he has a family, he has his struggles. The Broncos need to do what's best for the club and move him on from playing but I would still want them to do that with respect.

I'm not going to scream from the rooftops or bag him out as a person, I think mocking a guy who is clearly struggling is a shit thing to do. Fake tribute threads while they might be funny are just sad.

I think we can all agree he no longer outputs a level of performance that respects a first grade position but we don't need to denigrate him as a person. He's human guys.

There's lot of shit people who deserve to be mocked and disrespected, his only crime is he plays awful rugby league so the criticisms should only be about his playing ability.

 

[lynx000]

I was one of his biggest fans and prior to this season I had no doubt he would be our best fullback and our captain but he's went from a premier NRL player to a deadset liability. There's no way that's purely physical. He's a human, he has a family, he has his struggles. The Broncos need to do what's best for the club and move him on from playing but I would still want them to do that with respect.

I'm not going to scream from the rooftops or bag him out as a person, I think mocking a guy who is clearly struggling is a shit thing to do. Fake tribute threads while they might be funny are just sad.

I think we can all agree he no longer outputs a level of performance that respects a first grade position but we don't need to denigrate him as a person. He's human guys.

There's lot of shit people who deserve to be mocked and disrespected, his only crime is he plays awful rugby league so the criticisms should only be about his playing ability.

Yep, I agree with you. I have to say that I agree with the comments Ennis made the other night on the League Wrap that he looks as though he has lost his love for the game.

I would not drop him to Q-Cup, I would bring him in for a conversation and say your form has gone west, are there issues we need to know about, and send him off for a rest for a few weeks to have a think about what he wants to do. A stint in Q-Cup is not going to aid Boyd because I think the issue is both physical and mental (perhaps primarily the latter).

If he comes back and says he wants to keep going, tell him then that he will have to show in at least one or two Q-Cup games that his desire and form warrant a recall.

 

[DigitalDaz]

Let's remember, that it was only about four/five years ago, that Boyd couldn't even give a decent interview for the media.

Now, he's the captain of the highest profile sporting club in Australia. Just making that leap is MASSIVE. But all that happened with Bennett next to him.

Doing it on your own - quite another thing. We know Boyd doesn't have the family networks of other players. This is a big factor.

Let's hope he does an Alfie - front the media and be honest about his situation (as much as he needs to be without going into the fine details) - and playing in England would be a perfect fit for him.

 

[Midean]

I have always liked Boyd, its hard to see him playing like this, and i hope he turns his form around.

 

[abashii]

I have always liked Boyd, its hard to see him playing like this, and i hope he turns his form around.

So do I, he did a bunch of community/charity work up here in his first stint that really had an impact on a family member which I won't forget. And coming from my own struggles with depression I always respected how hard he had to struggle just to do things that came naturally to many others and always loathed the way the media and rl fans seemed to take great pleasure in bashing the bloke.

But I just don't see him turning his form around now. The various injuries that have been troubling him the last couple of years don't seem to be letting up and for someone in such a crucial, exposed position if his body can't carry him properly then the mental load can spiral out of control very quickly. Hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm right.

 

[broncsgoat]

Maybe just remove the captaincy from him and see if that free's him up a bit?

I know that sounds like a bad thing but removing that added pressure could be beneficial.

Either that or the glue factory.