The Shit Factory is pounding its meat today over the prospect of Kevvie sausage-mincing half the roster. The club has 13 players coming off contract and more than $3 million to splash, and that's not counting the billions of Dobbobux they have under the table. With the start to the season already ranking as the worst since Federation, nerves are twitchy.
Players coming off contract include Alex Glenn, Kotoni Staggs, Anthony Milford, Jesse Arthars, John Asiata, Xavier Coates, Dale Copley, Tom Dearden, Danny Levi, David Mead, Tesi Niu, Keenan Palasia and Ben Te’o.
Where the darts landed.
The chief manure dispenser thinks Coates, Staggs, Dearden and Niu are safe - unless Dearden runs off to join the Cowboys circus. He thinks currently contracted players at risk of being turfed if they don't shape up include Matt Lodge, Corey Oates, Brodie Croft, Tom Flegler, Richie Kennar and Rhys Kennedy. Te'o and Glenn are likely to pass through the gates of Rugby League heaven.
Meanwhile, Walters appears cool with the progress of Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan, Herbie Farnworth, Tevita Pangai Jnr, Jamayne Isaako, Ethan Bullemor and Jake Turpin. While Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura both recently signed for three-years.
Kevin Walters confirms:
“I am doing that, definitely. A little bit has to happen for us to do what we want to do with this roster. We have played some good teams so far this season and I now have a fair idea in my head of what I want to do, who I want to keep, and I’m working towards that over the next month or so.”
Kevvie's got this
“If you wear a seven jumper these days you are linked to the Broncos, so that’s part of it. We are a big club, we are a strong club. It’s great to know other players want to come and play at the Broncos, that’s what it is all about.”
“I’m more than happy to be working with the current roster we have and it’s my job to get some more improvement out of the players. The roster in every organisation is a work in progress. Some rosters are more stable than others but everyone is always looking to improve their rosters and we’re the same.”
Corey Parker said:
“For me, the No.1 priority for the Broncos is a top-shelf playmaker. They need to get a stable, established halfback. The Cowboys have bought Chad Townsend and I think that is a perfect purchase. He has played almost 200 games and won a premiership, he is a great professional and will steer the Cowboys around."
“I also think the Broncos need a fullback. If they don’t have the salary-cap space and want to persist with Jamayne Isaako at 1, that is fine, but the next target should be signing a mobile, smaller No.13."
“With where the game is going and what the Broncos currently have on their roster, they are missing a mobile lock who can created some ruck speed in midfield."
“I love a lot of things Jake Turpin does at hooker, his work-rate, toughness, tenacity and commitment is unquestioned, but he isn’t the most creative No.9. If the Broncos don’t have a creative nine, they can benefit from a creative 13 such as Cameron Murray, Isaah Yeo, Nathan Brown and Victor Radley. Nathan Brown is still off-contract, so someone like him would be ideal.”
“In 2015, when we made the grand final at the Broncos under Wayne Bennett — and ‘Kevvie’ was there as his assistant — our identity, our style was flat and fast. We used to have a set called the flat-fast set. Everyone would push up through the middle third and we would tear up the advantage line. If we got a fast play the ball, we took off through the middle and created space out wide. Kevin Walters needs to identify the style of football he wants to play ... and then buy players to fit into his style at the Broncos.”
Michael Ennis said:
“There’s no doubt that it’s a huge time for Kev at the club. They’ve had an awful amount of no success in that last 18 months and they just can’t keep persisting with what they’re doing at the moment. There’s some big names and I think absolutely some of them won’t be at Brisbane next year."
“Brodie hasn’t been able to fire since he came from the Storm. Reynolds or Moses, they have to land one of them. Brisbane has always, forever and a day, attracted the big-name players. They’ve got to land a Reynolds or a Moses, they have to. Capewell has been terrific at Penrith but will he leave there? Su’a has been terrific at Souths, yes he wants to go back to Queensland as we understand, so I can understand that.”
Benji Marshall said:
“They’ve never had to pay overs to get players. In the past people have been happy to go to Brisbane and genuinely been happy to take unders to go to a successful team. But at the moment it looks like they’re going to have to pay overs to get players there.”
McHunt
Players coming off contract include Alex Glenn, Kotoni Staggs, Anthony Milford, Jesse Arthars, John Asiata, Xavier Coates, Dale Copley, Tom Dearden, Danny Levi, David Mead, Tesi Niu, Keenan Palasia and Ben Te’o.
Where the darts landed.
The chief manure dispenser thinks Coates, Staggs, Dearden and Niu are safe - unless Dearden runs off to join the Cowboys circus. He thinks currently contracted players at risk of being turfed if they don't shape up include Matt Lodge, Corey Oates, Brodie Croft, Tom Flegler, Richie Kennar and Rhys Kennedy. Te'o and Glenn are likely to pass through the gates of Rugby League heaven.
Meanwhile, Walters appears cool with the progress of Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan, Herbie Farnworth, Tevita Pangai Jnr, Jamayne Isaako, Ethan Bullemor and Jake Turpin. While Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura both recently signed for three-years.
Kevin Walters confirms:
“I am doing that, definitely. A little bit has to happen for us to do what we want to do with this roster. We have played some good teams so far this season and I now have a fair idea in my head of what I want to do, who I want to keep, and I’m working towards that over the next month or so.”
Kevvie's got this
“If you wear a seven jumper these days you are linked to the Broncos, so that’s part of it. We are a big club, we are a strong club. It’s great to know other players want to come and play at the Broncos, that’s what it is all about.”
“I’m more than happy to be working with the current roster we have and it’s my job to get some more improvement out of the players. The roster in every organisation is a work in progress. Some rosters are more stable than others but everyone is always looking to improve their rosters and we’re the same.”
Corey Parker said:
“For me, the No.1 priority for the Broncos is a top-shelf playmaker. They need to get a stable, established halfback. The Cowboys have bought Chad Townsend and I think that is a perfect purchase. He has played almost 200 games and won a premiership, he is a great professional and will steer the Cowboys around."
“I also think the Broncos need a fullback. If they don’t have the salary-cap space and want to persist with Jamayne Isaako at 1, that is fine, but the next target should be signing a mobile, smaller No.13."
“With where the game is going and what the Broncos currently have on their roster, they are missing a mobile lock who can created some ruck speed in midfield."
“I love a lot of things Jake Turpin does at hooker, his work-rate, toughness, tenacity and commitment is unquestioned, but he isn’t the most creative No.9. If the Broncos don’t have a creative nine, they can benefit from a creative 13 such as Cameron Murray, Isaah Yeo, Nathan Brown and Victor Radley. Nathan Brown is still off-contract, so someone like him would be ideal.”
“In 2015, when we made the grand final at the Broncos under Wayne Bennett — and ‘Kevvie’ was there as his assistant — our identity, our style was flat and fast. We used to have a set called the flat-fast set. Everyone would push up through the middle third and we would tear up the advantage line. If we got a fast play the ball, we took off through the middle and created space out wide. Kevin Walters needs to identify the style of football he wants to play ... and then buy players to fit into his style at the Broncos.”
Michael Ennis said:
“There’s no doubt that it’s a huge time for Kev at the club. They’ve had an awful amount of no success in that last 18 months and they just can’t keep persisting with what they’re doing at the moment. There’s some big names and I think absolutely some of them won’t be at Brisbane next year."
“Brodie hasn’t been able to fire since he came from the Storm. Reynolds or Moses, they have to land one of them. Brisbane has always, forever and a day, attracted the big-name players. They’ve got to land a Reynolds or a Moses, they have to. Capewell has been terrific at Penrith but will he leave there? Su’a has been terrific at Souths, yes he wants to go back to Queensland as we understand, so I can understand that.”
Benji Marshall said:
“They’ve never had to pay overs to get players. In the past people have been happy to go to Brisbane and genuinely been happy to take unders to go to a successful team. But at the moment it looks like they’re going to have to pay overs to get players there.”
McHunt
