McHunt
International Rep
Contributor
- Aug 25, 2018
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The hardest man in the history of Rugby League (ask Adrian Morley) has stern words for his former club in a self-penned (ahem) piece for today's Sunday Mail. For legal reasons, these are not his exact words - unless "in quotes:"
El Toro Loco starts by accusing the club of "lacking strong leadership" and insists that "someone puts their hand up to explain the state of the club." He says he "felt the same pain" as us watching the recent run of mega losses orchestrated under Anthony Seibold's oversight. But he doesn't want to "bash the players up" because "they’ve been put in a situation they are not ready for."
Tallis: put them in the air; show you care
He points out they are the comp's youngest team, a symptom the "Broncos’ recruitment and roster management has been poor" despite being the "NRL’s biggest and richest club" and having the "pick of the state when it comes to players."
He can't see the "leadership needed at the club in general and at a time of need" and insists it has to "start somewhere, whether that's CEO Paul White, chairman Karl Morris, coach Anthony Seibold, recruitment boss Peter Nolan or board member Darren Lockyer. Someone needs to shine a torch on this moment of darkness and explain how the Broncos intend to fight back."
A skeptic of book learning in general, Tallis warns "don’t let Seibold’s Harvard University education fool you – he throws up more theories than Einstein. When he was appointed coach to replace Wayne Bennett I said that it was the wrong decision and I stand by that."
Enough with the learning
He reminds us "Rugby league is about passion, playing for each other and having the right mix of people to be successful." And demands to know "what sort of message does it send to the club when the CEO is being linked to jobs at the NRL?"
He slams the club's recruitment policy: "they've got a 20-year-old kid in Payne Haas leading the forward pack," an "amazing young player but he cannot do the heavy lifting every week at his age." And believes "the club will burn him out." Then questions the club for shopping Alex Glenn to other clubs and then making him captain.
He'd like to ask Darren Lockyer if this is "the same club he arrived at in 1993 as a young player. If not, why isn’t it and how does he plan to change it?"
But it's not just the losses, he admits he was "part of the worst ever Broncos side in 1999 when we only won one of our first 10 games." He says it’s the "way you lose that matters most and not one person has been accountable for that loss, apart from Seibold claiming to accept responsibility in his media conference."
And then doubles down on the administration, demanding the players talk to their fans instead of refusing to do post-game interviews: "these are the members who have pledged their hard-earned dollars to the club this year despite not being able to attend games. They have got nothing back and the club and players don’t even have the gumption to front up and apologise for that performance."
He says "if they are scared of a journalist with a microphone and pen then they are playing the wrong game. The Broncos told the media that pays billions of dollars to broadcast the game they had bigger issues to worry about. Next time the players whinge about wanting a bigger slice of the pie they need to remember how they acted in times like this."
Tallis: spin on this you ****
But don't confuse his rant with sour grapes, he reminds us "I had my time in the sun at the Broncos and enjoyed plenty of success and some hard times. I am a fan of the game and have been a paid member of the Broncos since I retired. I had all the emotions of every Broncos fan on Thursday night. I was hurt, sad and embarrassed. I want to know how it has got to this and what the club is doing to fix the problem – without the Harvard spin."
McHunt
El Toro Loco starts by accusing the club of "lacking strong leadership" and insists that "someone puts their hand up to explain the state of the club." He says he "felt the same pain" as us watching the recent run of mega losses orchestrated under Anthony Seibold's oversight. But he doesn't want to "bash the players up" because "they’ve been put in a situation they are not ready for."
Tallis: put them in the air; show you care
He points out they are the comp's youngest team, a symptom the "Broncos’ recruitment and roster management has been poor" despite being the "NRL’s biggest and richest club" and having the "pick of the state when it comes to players."
He can't see the "leadership needed at the club in general and at a time of need" and insists it has to "start somewhere, whether that's CEO Paul White, chairman Karl Morris, coach Anthony Seibold, recruitment boss Peter Nolan or board member Darren Lockyer. Someone needs to shine a torch on this moment of darkness and explain how the Broncos intend to fight back."
A skeptic of book learning in general, Tallis warns "don’t let Seibold’s Harvard University education fool you – he throws up more theories than Einstein. When he was appointed coach to replace Wayne Bennett I said that it was the wrong decision and I stand by that."
Enough with the learning
He reminds us "Rugby league is about passion, playing for each other and having the right mix of people to be successful." And demands to know "what sort of message does it send to the club when the CEO is being linked to jobs at the NRL?"
He slams the club's recruitment policy: "they've got a 20-year-old kid in Payne Haas leading the forward pack," an "amazing young player but he cannot do the heavy lifting every week at his age." And believes "the club will burn him out." Then questions the club for shopping Alex Glenn to other clubs and then making him captain.
He'd like to ask Darren Lockyer if this is "the same club he arrived at in 1993 as a young player. If not, why isn’t it and how does he plan to change it?"
But it's not just the losses, he admits he was "part of the worst ever Broncos side in 1999 when we only won one of our first 10 games." He says it’s the "way you lose that matters most and not one person has been accountable for that loss, apart from Seibold claiming to accept responsibility in his media conference."
And then doubles down on the administration, demanding the players talk to their fans instead of refusing to do post-game interviews: "these are the members who have pledged their hard-earned dollars to the club this year despite not being able to attend games. They have got nothing back and the club and players don’t even have the gumption to front up and apologise for that performance."
He says "if they are scared of a journalist with a microphone and pen then they are playing the wrong game. The Broncos told the media that pays billions of dollars to broadcast the game they had bigger issues to worry about. Next time the players whinge about wanting a bigger slice of the pie they need to remember how they acted in times like this."
Tallis: spin on this you ****
But don't confuse his rant with sour grapes, he reminds us "I had my time in the sun at the Broncos and enjoyed plenty of success and some hard times. I am a fan of the game and have been a paid member of the Broncos since I retired. I had all the emotions of every Broncos fan on Thursday night. I was hurt, sad and embarrassed. I want to know how it has got to this and what the club is doing to fix the problem – without the Harvard spin."
McHunt
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