As Anthony Milford heaped sugar onto his Coco Pops Monday morning, he had no idea he was about to be tasked with his biggest challenge yet. To guide his former club, the Souths Magpies, to their first premiership in 13 years. Get along to Davies Park at 3PM today to see him in action:
“I didn’t know what to expect. We went through the video and he pointed out some things in my game I wasn’t doing well. I agreed. To hear I was dropped ... it was tough. I’ve never been in a position to hear those words, but I have to get over the fact I’ve been dropped and use it as a positive. I’ve always been a team-first player so whatever he thought was best for the team, I’ll accept it. While it’s disappointing, I’m hoping it’s a blessing in disguise.”
“I haven’t been up to the standards that I set myself and Kevvie’s as well. The truth is I need to be better. I have to be accountable.”
“I have some mixed emotions. Some nerves, but some excitement, too. I’m going to have a lot of family and friends coming to support me so I’m looking forward to playing some football."
Glory is only the beginning
“I am pretty keen to get back to a club where I played Cyril Connell and Mal Meninga Cup. It’s not a new club for me. I will be going back to see some familiar faces and it’s a club I love because that’s where I started out. One thing I’m excited about is playing with Karmichael Hunt. Souths have a few ex-NRL players, Albert Kelly and Kevin Locke are there, so when I went to training on Wednesday it opened my eyes up to the quality of players there.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure what my future is at the Broncos. It’s out of my control really. I’m leaving the contract stuff to my manager and we’ll see what happens. In an ideal world, I want to stay. That’s what I hope. But I understand the Broncos have a lot of players off-contract and it’s hard to keep everyone. But just because I’ve been dropped, I’m not going to be one of those players who jumps on the phone straight away wanting a release."
“Kevvie has reassured me as well that he hasn’t given up on me. He told me to go and enjoy myself in Queensland Cup, get some confidence from playing there and then see how I go and try and find my way back into the team. I’ve copped it. I have to be better. I know there is a lot of noise around me, but I know I’m not done. I will be back.”
“I don’t look at my contract as a burden. It’s the nature of the beast. The scrutiny is what comes with playing football at this level. I am at a pretty powerful club at the Broncos and there is always a big focus on us. The Broncos expect to be in the finals every year and they expect to be winning more games than they lose. The year we made the grand final, it was a huge confidence thing for me."
Won't let them down
“As a group, we had built a lot of momentum and there was a lot of self-belief and the team gave me the confidence to back myself. I did things that season that I didn’t think I was capable of doing because the self-belief in the team was so strong. For whatever reason over the past two or three years, I haven’t been able to perform consistently. It has affected my confidence.”
" Look, I’m not the best trainer at the club but I make an effort. I’ve always felt I’m a better player than a trainer. There have been a lot of great players over the years who weren’t the best trainers. One thing I know is I do care. I care a lot about winning games for the Broncos. Every game I go out there wanting to win. I’m not one to blame anything or anyone else for what’s happened. I’m not using injuries as an excuse. I’m not too sure how long I’m going to be at Souths Logan, but I want to get back in that Broncos jumper.”
McHunt
“I didn’t know what to expect. We went through the video and he pointed out some things in my game I wasn’t doing well. I agreed. To hear I was dropped ... it was tough. I’ve never been in a position to hear those words, but I have to get over the fact I’ve been dropped and use it as a positive. I’ve always been a team-first player so whatever he thought was best for the team, I’ll accept it. While it’s disappointing, I’m hoping it’s a blessing in disguise.”
“I haven’t been up to the standards that I set myself and Kevvie’s as well. The truth is I need to be better. I have to be accountable.”
“I have some mixed emotions. Some nerves, but some excitement, too. I’m going to have a lot of family and friends coming to support me so I’m looking forward to playing some football."
Glory is only the beginning
“I am pretty keen to get back to a club where I played Cyril Connell and Mal Meninga Cup. It’s not a new club for me. I will be going back to see some familiar faces and it’s a club I love because that’s where I started out. One thing I’m excited about is playing with Karmichael Hunt. Souths have a few ex-NRL players, Albert Kelly and Kevin Locke are there, so when I went to training on Wednesday it opened my eyes up to the quality of players there.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure what my future is at the Broncos. It’s out of my control really. I’m leaving the contract stuff to my manager and we’ll see what happens. In an ideal world, I want to stay. That’s what I hope. But I understand the Broncos have a lot of players off-contract and it’s hard to keep everyone. But just because I’ve been dropped, I’m not going to be one of those players who jumps on the phone straight away wanting a release."
“Kevvie has reassured me as well that he hasn’t given up on me. He told me to go and enjoy myself in Queensland Cup, get some confidence from playing there and then see how I go and try and find my way back into the team. I’ve copped it. I have to be better. I know there is a lot of noise around me, but I know I’m not done. I will be back.”
“I don’t look at my contract as a burden. It’s the nature of the beast. The scrutiny is what comes with playing football at this level. I am at a pretty powerful club at the Broncos and there is always a big focus on us. The Broncos expect to be in the finals every year and they expect to be winning more games than they lose. The year we made the grand final, it was a huge confidence thing for me."
Won't let them down
“As a group, we had built a lot of momentum and there was a lot of self-belief and the team gave me the confidence to back myself. I did things that season that I didn’t think I was capable of doing because the self-belief in the team was so strong. For whatever reason over the past two or three years, I haven’t been able to perform consistently. It has affected my confidence.”
" Look, I’m not the best trainer at the club but I make an effort. I’ve always felt I’m a better player than a trainer. There have been a lot of great players over the years who weren’t the best trainers. One thing I know is I do care. I care a lot about winning games for the Broncos. Every game I go out there wanting to win. I’m not one to blame anything or anyone else for what’s happened. I’m not using injuries as an excuse. I’m not too sure how long I’m going to be at Souths Logan, but I want to get back in that Broncos jumper.”
McHunt
