Honest Opinions

[Renegade]

What has happened to our talent and development pathways? We have fuckloads of money comparative to other clubs, which almost certainly includes a wider range of scouting (and if not, why not), but yet how come we rarely unearth a star all of our own doing? Are our scouts simply shithouse, are we suffering of a case of too many to choose from resulting in paralysis by analysis, do kids not want to play for Brisbane anymore, what is it?

Name the last out and out superstar Brisbane have unearthed? JYY comes to mind as the last, any others I'm forgetting? That's a horrible return for a club of our stature.

 

[Nashy]

Our young forwards at the club are shockingly overrated and quite frankly calls for them to be replacing battle hardened forwards at the current time are a joke. None of them are remotely ready to start and our established players don't get enough credit for what they do. Arguing over paying McGuire, Thaiday, Glenn, Blair and Boyd their fair value on the market is ridiculous. They are all top line players and you pay top line players top money. I don't give two ***** what these kids do in ISC or under 20s, until they do it week in week out in first grade, they shouldn't replace any established star at the club.

This so much. BHQ has always been good at that though. Always talking up young players who either never make it to the NRL, or once they do, prove just how big of a difference there is between ISC and NRL. I reckon the majority of highly spoken of young players on BHQ will never see an NRL jersey, and if they do, they'll not have that many of them.

 

[Big Pete]

Name the last out and out superstar Brisbane have unearthed? JYY comes to mind as the last, any others I'm forgetting? That's a horrible return for a club of our stature.

You've got a point, but if we're setting the bar at Yow Yeh we've had a few like Oates, Kahu, Hunt, Gillett, McGuire emerge for us and Norman, Gagai and Taylor have turned heads at other clubs.

In fact I'd dare say Oates has surpassed Yow Yeh as a player.

 

[Renegade]

You've got a point, but if we're setting the bar at Yow Yeh we've had a few like Oates, Kahu, Hunt, Gillett, McGuire emerge for us and Norman, Gagai and Taylor have turned heads at other clubs.

In fact I'd dare say Oates has surpassed Yow Yeh as a player.

I'd agree with Oates, Gillett at a pinch. McGuire is good but not great. Hunt has had more of a Tim Smith career than one befitting of a superstar status

Norman is going ok so far but I don't think he'll ever be in the superstar mould. Taylor has only played 1 season so there's nothing to judge there.

We seem to bring through a lot of decent to pretty good players. Very few great players though. Or at least, ones that make you stand up and go wow.

When you consider that we to "buy back the farm" in Milford, missed players like Napa, Ponga (we had him on scholarship and couldn't convince him to stay), Holmes, Munster, probably a few others ... it does make me query that if we're missing out on players like that ... then what's happening to the players we do choose? Do we simply make the wrong choice more often than not?

 

[Porthoz]

Wayne Bennett is a fantastic leader of men, and has not lost his aura in that aspect, but has not evolved his tactical game plan to match the game's own evolution.
He also isn't very good at coaching a creative attack, although he can put some very sound defensive structures in place.

 

[Big Pete]

I wouldn't say the names I'm throwing out are among the 'greats' but just comparable to Yow Yeh. As great as Yow Yeh was, would you put him in that category with a Greg Inglis or Israel Folau? I take your point, just clarifying where I'm coming from.

I think there was a stage where the Broncos dropped the ball in terms of junior development. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but recent efforts from Paul White to get clubs like Ipswich and Souths Logan on board shows they identified those areas as weaknesses and some of the best talent we've got coming through like Su'A and Fai have both come out of the Magpies system.

I also think there's other factors at play. If you follow the Under 16s and Under 18s, North Queensland dominate those competitions and they've really come a long way over the years. Back in the day, you could lure a Justin Hodges to the big smoke because the Cowboys were clearly a step below the rest of the competition. However they've really upped their game and the introduction of all these national junior competitions as well as the emergence of the Pride, Cutters and Blackhawks has allowed them to retain a lot of talent they wouldn't have. Take a look at a player like Ethan Lowe, I don't think he'd be at the Cowboys if they didn't have a quality feeder system.

So it's a case of the Broncos not having it all their own way anymore and I'd dare say the other challenge has been the development pathways in general. It seemed like not that long ago the NRL was tripping over themselves and all the emerging rookie talent was coming through. We had the likes of Billy Slater, Benji Marshall, Sonny-Bill Williams, Greg Inglis, Karmichael Hunt, Jarryd Hayne, Israel Folau all emerge year after year and it seemed like the NRL was just producing these marketable superstars. Then we brought in the Under 20s, anybody who looked half-decent was rushed straight into first grade based on their form against teenagers and they haven't been able to handle the turbulence of that.

 

[Horseheadsup]

Will there ever be another Cyril Connell for scouting talent. They said he could spot a good footballer like Bart Cummings could spot a horse.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Will there ever be another Cyril Connell for scouting talent. They said he could spot a good footballer like Bart Cummings could spot a horse.

Not sure. He introduced Petero Civoniceva for example to a skeptical Bennett but convinced him to sign him up. Connell's greatest strength wasn't purely identifying talent. It was sitting them down, getting to know them away from the footy field and finding out if they are mentally up for the pressures of professional rugby league.

 

[heartly87]

I'll throw a couple out...


- I've been watching the Broncos regularly since 2000, Michael Ennis is still the best dummy half I've seen week in, week out for the club. In fact, I thought he was head and shoulders the best Broncos player in 2008 and based on the replays I've seen that opinion still holds up.

May be off topic but I loved Ennis for us also but for me Luke Priddis was outstanding.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Granville is a pidgeon-chested one season wonder who will fade into obscurity.

He's a Premiership hooker. Is McCullough?

 

[bb_gun]

No he isn't, but everyone knows that. The thread is about personal opinions.

What's your point?

 

[1910]

Will there ever be another Cyril Connell for scouting talent. They said he could spot a good footballer like Bart Cummings could spot a horse.

Remember Cyril had contacts all over the state from teaching and being a principal. He was Inspector of Schools, Regional Director of the South West region, and before retirement he was Deputy Director of Secondary Education. Plus his playing career for Queensland and Australia.

People liked ringing him to say come have a look. You don't build up those contacts just by being a scout.

He had a unique foothold in schools.

 

[tommy]

Granville only plays well for 10-15 minutes a half imo.

 

[Horseheadsup]

Remember Cyril had contacts all over the state from teaching and being a principal. He was Inspector of Schools, Regional Director of the South West region, and before retirement he was Deputy Director of Secondary Education. Plus his playing career for Queensland and Australia.

People liked ringing him to say come have a look. You don't build up those contacts just by being a scout.

He had a unique foothold in schools.

Definitely had a wide net !

 

[Big Pete]

Unfortunately, I can only judge Priddis on what I saw of him when I was 10-11 and really didn't have a great understanding of the game. The impression I have is that while he was good enough to win a premiership and play State of Origin at the Broncos, it was at the Penrith Panthers where he really shone and Brisbane didn't realise what they were missing until they had Walker, Ryan, Swain, Green, Ikin, Costigan, B. Berrigan all try and fill his boots and fail.

Ennis was one of the only silver linings in that Round 1 06 game and looked set for a huge season until that injury against Souths. It took him awhile to get back into the team and in the 9 jersey but once he did he made the Broncos look so slick around the ruck. Admittedly he could be selfish at times and maybe that's where Priddo was the better player but Mick was great and in retrospect one of the real players of his generation.

 

[Stix]

Unfortunately, I can only judge Priddis on what I saw of him when I was 10-11 and really didn't have a great understanding of the game. The impression I have is that while he was good enough to win a premiership and play State of Origin at the Broncos, it was at the Penrith Panthers where he really shone and Brisbane didn't realise what they were missing until they had Walker, Ryan, Swain, Green, Ikin, Costigan, B. Berrigan all try and fill his boots and fail.

Ennis was one of the only silver linings in that Round 1 06 game and looked set for a huge season until that injury against Souths. It took him awhile to get back into the team and in the 9 jersey but once he did he made the Broncos look so slick around the ruck. Admittedly he could be selfish at times and maybe that's where Priddo was the better player but Mick was great and in retrospect one of the real players of his generation.

I remember blowing up over Ennis and being selfish. Slick service but thought he lacked a bit of vision... wasn't until he left that I realised how good he was.

 

[Jason Simmons]

This might anger a few but the entire 'Hook' generation (as I call them - all his boys from his 'vaunted' under 20's runner-up team) are all massively overrated.

Not one of them will ever be a true superstar of the game. We have suffered from investing largely in an entire generation of 'average joes' (by NRL standards) who (and Hoggman is the leading example of this) consider themselves the equal of the genuine superstars we have had in our past and not one of them has achieved anything like any of our genuine superstars from the past.

They include (in no particular order) McCullough, Glenn, Hunt, Norman, Hoffman, McGuire and dare I say it - Kahu.

Out of the lot of them the 'biggest' thing they have ever achieved is they have come runners up. In Under 20's and some in NRL.

Yet they are treated by many and seen in the same light as people who came before them (and in some cases since).

Let's just throw a few names in the same positions and see how this crop stack up?

Walters, Thorn, Langer, Lockyer, K Hunt, Webcke and Hancock...


These current players are all 'fine' players, but none of them will kick on and be true superstars. Not one of them.

Want to know why we haven't won a premiership in 11 years? Start by looking at who we are putting our 'faith' in. Players that are mostly good enough to keep us competitive most years and that is it.

 

[Alec]

Our young forwards at the club are shockingly overrated and quite frankly calls for them to be replacing battle hardened forwards at the current time are a joke. None of them are remotely ready to start and our established players don't get enough credit for what they do. Arguing over paying McGuire, Thaiday, Glenn, Blair and Boyd their fair value on the market is ridiculous. They are all top line players and you pay top line players top money. I don't give two ***** what these kids do in ISC or under 20s, until they do it week in week out in first grade, they shouldn't replace any established star at the club. And thinking towards the future is overrated, look at Gus' 5 year plan. How did that pan out

Also, Milford needs to learn how to direct the team if he wants the top dollar. Don't know too many clubs that will pay top dollar for a player that doesn't run the team. Pay out Hunt all you want, but Milf will be our senior half next year and he needs to take the reigns sooner rather than latter.

Agreed with both of those for the most part. The younger forwards have a long way to go if they want to replace the current crop. Not saying they can't, but they haven't exactly been setting things on fire either.