Down hill slide starts now......

[Manifesto]

I always thought that Lockyer's greatest asset was his leadership, vision and confidence he brought to the team. He epitomised the Queensland spirit and brought it to the Broncos - the never-say-die attitude and will to win. Like others have said, the biggest problem with the Broncos at the moment is the lack of leadership and vision. I do belelive that Ben Hunt does have some vision as evidenced by the couple of tries earlier this year where he saw defenders out of place, ran into dummy half and created an overlap. The problem is his vision and skills have been completely coached out of him because of not playing in the halves for the last 2 years or so. It has come to the point where he needs to be dropped back to Q-Cup to re-learn the halfback craft. 6 months in Q-Cup may not even be enough.

 

[subsbligh]

I think the most annoying thing is that we show glimpses of a a top 4 team every week and have, in periods, had the skill to keep Melbourne, Manly and Souths at bay or under the pump for prolonged periods.

Then comes the lazy penalty, the intercept, the knock on from the kick off, the perennial Maranta/Whitchurch/Kahu/Reed cold drop or the linebreak against the run of play and we fall into a heap. Opposition scores 2-3 tries and we're done.

It happened against Manly, Melbourne, Souths, Parramatta, Bulldogs and against the Tigers but thankfully they were in no mood for winning that night.

This team has zero resilience. Hodges and Parker have it. Lockyer had it in spades.

I don't think you can coach resilience. That comes from a desire to win and the shame of letting your mates down (if you actually care about the other people you play with, unless the coach has made you competitors or given your jersey to a spolit brat).

 

[PETERN]

Hunt is rubbish. He is not the saviour.

 

[Jamie]

None of the players ****ed on the field.

you're right, they pissed all over the jersey and some of the greats who've worn it before

 

[Anonymous person]

Our biggest win has come in a game where everything went our way and our opposition completely lost their minds and stopped playing footy. To a lot of people that was a false dawn, but I said at the time I didn't think that win meant anything much, and sure enough 2 lacklustre performances followed for 2 heavy defeats.

after one of our earlier wins this season and everyone was back on the 'this team has the talent to win the premiership!' train, i got roasted by a few on here for saying that we shouldnt get ahead of ourselves because the teams we beat were below-par and it wouldve been hard not to beat them. seems to be how it goes around here though - 10 losses in a row and everyones saying theyre the worst, win 2 in a row against 2 terrible teams who give us 70% of the possession and those same people now call us world beaters lol.

at no stage this year have we looked like we would even remotely put up a challenge to the premiership.

 

[Porthoz]

Your failure to point out anything to be positive about is noted.
And I assume your passionate support of them, so much so that you didn't watch the game, really shows them too :loool:

God help me I'm going to Canberra Stadium on Monday night to watch us play. I find it a lot less painful expecting little than getting my hopes up.

Yeah, next time I will demand my customer sets up a TV with Foxtel so I can watch the Broncos play. His production issues costing him thousands of dollars will just have to wait. :001_rolleyes:
Better yet, I will demand a man cave so I can watch the Broncos games of the past too!

The positives are that this team can play well. It has done so often enough.
The negatives are that it lacks consistency and it lacks attitude against the "weaker" teams. That in my opinion is more and more looking like a coaching issue.

Sure, we could do with some x-factor, especially a halve with creativity and a good fullback, but I don't agree with all the doom and gloom about our "talent-less squad". It's not the attack that is costing us, it's our in patches absolutely awful (nonexistent even) defence!

I am more and more on the "sack Griffin" side, but who do we bring in? We need a coach capable of bringing the best out of the players first and foremost. Last year, our attack was absolutely hopeless, but this season we continue to drop intensity and concentration in patches, especially in defence, which is what our adversaries use to get on top and bury us.

Maybe Tunza could come in as an assistant (if Hook has not definitively lost the playing group) and bring some shock and awe into their souls, something that will make them do what Glenn said, honour the Broncos jersey!

 

[tkday]

The way he (TC) goes about coaching is wildly inappropriate for 10 year olds, but it just might work on Broncos :)

 

[Coxy]

Yeah, next time I will demand my customer sets up a TV with Foxtel so I can watch the Broncos play. His production issues costing him thousands of dollars will just have to wait. :001_rolleyes:
Better yet, I will demand a man cave so I can watch the Broncos games of the past too!

The positives are that this team can play well. It has done so often enough.
The negatives are that it lacks consistency and it lacks attitude against the "weaker" teams. That in my opinion is more and more looking like a coaching issue.

Sure, we could do with some x-factor, especially a halve with creativity and a good fullback, but I don't agree with all the doom and gloom about our "talent-less squad". It's not the attack that is costing us, it's our in patches absolutely awful (nonexistent even) defence!

I am more and more on the "sack Griffin" side, but who do we bring in? We need a coach capable of bringing the best out of the players first and foremost. Last year, our attack was absolutely hopeless, but this season we continue to drop intensity and concentration in patches, especially in defence, which is what our adversaries use to get on top and bury us.

Maybe Tunza could come in as an assistant (if Hook has not definitively lost the playing group) and bring some shock and awe into their souls, something that will make them do what Glenn said, honour the Broncos jersey!

See that wasn't so hard.

It also points out that your reacting to me wasn't really fair, since my references to lack of talent aren't just about attack, it's about the whole package including the intangibles - the "want". My criticism is the lack of a leader. There's nobody that has vision. Nobody that takes the game by the balls.

Is that coaching? Certainly partly. But the Broncos lack mongrel among other things. There's no player in that team that strikes any fear into you. Nobody that you see them running at you and think "HowTF will I get this guy down". And if you're running, nobody that makes you look twice before picking your line.

Our players aren't small. I hate that excuse some people use. They're not physically weak - no NRL team is weak. The weakness is in the mind.

The players might like Griffin. The players might like eachother. The players might like the club. But they don't put all of that on the line. Too many soft efforts.

That's not just defensively either. That's in all facets of the game.

As you say, they can attack well. That second half against Melbourne showed what they're capable of. And where did that come from? Pride. Determination. Confidence. Confidence isn't something you can just switch on or off, but without pride or determination, confidence is impossible to get.

This team lacks those qualities. I think Griffin struggles to inspire it, but I also think some of the players just genuinely lack it. It's not something you can coach into someone. It has to come from them.

 

[Porthoz]

What I criticised mostly was the "let's just give up and watch games of the past" undertone of your post.

I also totally disagree with the notion that we lack talent. What I do believe, is that it's not being used properly!

Pride, determination, etc... all stem from motivation. It's lacking, especially against the poorer teams, and that is the coach's responsibility.
Consistency is another thing we lack, and that is again something that requires training and discipline, guess who is responsible for that as well?

Now, do I want Hook gone? No, not yet, but he needs to be harder on his players, or at least bring in someone to do that job for him.
I hope his words that he needs to be the one looking in the mirror first are serious, because he does!

If there is one thing I cannot accept from a Broncos player, coach or any other official, is capitulation.
I don't know if that is what happened yesterday, or whether all the mitigation factors mentioned by a few here, have validity. I will put myself through this game to make up my own mind on that...

 

[Coxy]

What I criticised mostly was the "let's just give up and watch games of the past" undertone of your post.

Well frankly if you want to see true Bronco performances that's what you have to do. This team is a joke compared to the teams of old. Of course, watch the games this season. That's what a fan does, but when the inevitable disappointment hits, console yourself by reminiscing the glory days.

All well and good to disagree that we lack talent. But even including Hannant, Hodges, Thaiday, Parker, Gillett, I am 100% certain this is the weakest squad, talent wise, in the Broncos' 25 year history. Not even remotely debatable.

 

[Porthoz]

That's not very hard Coxy, considering we're missing players of Lockyer, Alfie, Walters (both) or Lewis caliber, which are not abundant out there...

I do believe this cattle can do much better though.

 

[Coxy]

That's not very hard Coxy, considering we're missing players of Lockyer, Alfie, Walters (both) or Lewis caliber, which are not abundant out there...

I do believe this cattle can do much better though.

Well of course. But they're not top 4 capable. And top 8 would be a huge achievement. They're a bottom half quality squad.

 

[Porthoz]

We may not be premiership material, but we are definitely top 8 and even close to top 4 material. Not on this weak frame of mind though...

 

[Bull Shark]

after one of our earlier wins this season and everyone was back on the 'this team has the talent to win the premiership!' train, i got roasted by a few on here for saying that we shouldnt get ahead of ourselves because the teams we beat were below-par and it wouldve been hard not to beat them. seems to be how it goes around here though - 10 losses in a row and everyones saying theyre the worst, win 2 in a row against 2 terrible teams who give us 70% of the possession and those same people now call us world beaters lol.

at no stage this year have we looked like we would even remotely put up a challenge to the premiership.

not 'everyone' ... not even close.

Heck, I started a nuclear war on this forum about halfway through last season after pre-empting that things weren't nearly as rosey as the ladder position at the time indicated ...

 

[Bull Shark]

Well frankly if you want to see true Bronco performances that's what you have to do. This team is a joke compared to the teams of old. Of course, watch the games this season. That's what a fan does, but when the inevitable disappointment hits, console yourself by reminiscing the glory days.

All well and good to disagree that we lack talent. But even including Hannant, Hodges, Thaiday, Parker, Gillett, I am 100% certain this is the weakest squad, talent wise, in the Broncos' 25 year history. Not even remotely debatable.

no question at all ....

 

[Renegade]

We should do a poll on who actually believes this we have the talent/we're potentially top 4 material, for nothing else but some lols @ the sunshiners.

why not?

 

[Son Edo]

Don't be silly.

 

[Anonymous person]

We may not be premiership material, but we are definitely top 8 and even close to top 4 material. Not on this weak frame of mind though...

i cant agree with even remotely close to top 4. top 8 if things go our way and we get an easy draw, but 4? nope.