Recruitment/Retention!

[Bucking Beads]

OK I want to know who is in charge of Recruitment/Retention at the Brisbane Broncos does anyone know???

This once mighty club has gone backwards this season and IMO mainly due to the players we have let go or lost and those who we have gained... What are your thoughts?

 

[Professor47]

Personally, I think the game has gone a different direction in many aspects. The search for athletes in the backline is every club's go and we're getting raw youngsters all over the place. In turn, the young halves are hardly given a fair go and it's just a complete mess sometimes. Kind of sad how some kids get used these days. Thrown into a struggling side for no real reason at all. Due to all these reasons, I personally don't think there is much raw talent out there off contract you would really want to throw dollars at. I'd be much more looking at developing, upgrading current players or buying experienced ones. We all know how many players we lost from 08.

On that matter though, assuming we lose Hunt. (Which I consider not really the Broncos fault - the choice is clear for Hunt, he has to take less to stay in league.) The papers say we are most likely going to lose Hunt and keep Locky for two years. I'm not sure how much they are going to pay Locky but I can see some real danger signs. We don't really have a strong combination with the hooker this year and with Hodges hardly playing a game. Geez. It could be rusty and raw come next year if Hunt's gone. Sort of too late to start something fresh with a new 1 and trying to get a hooker and FB to work with Locky again. Ooft.

 

[forward_pass]

I was actually talking about this with my dad today, I'd like to see them go back to local development. I really don't care if it costs us a top eight spot for a few seasons so long as we're competitive during the season. I want to see passionate/loyal/respectful Bronco's players who really want to play for Brisbane, and not because they pay the most...

 

[Kimlo]

Look the reality is we won the premiership just over 2 years ago, the formation of the salary cap ensures any successful team is punished. 2004 bulldogs win the premiership 4 years later wooden spoon, 05 tigers win - enough said, 06 broncos win we are now going downhill, melbourne win 07 they are slowly on the decline.

Really every successfult eam will get punished and lose a lot of players from then on it's only a matter of how far you fall and quite frankly Bruno Cullen has not managed the situation correctly, Melbourne have done very well ensuring the core of their premiership side is not broken so soon, unforunately it looks like hunt is all but gone, our hooker is gone as is the one who won the premiership and the forward pack has been on the decline compared to the great one we had in 06.

I'm not sure who's really to blame but I do know the salary cap is a big part of it. Look at this way Ennis, Hannant, Boyd, Kemp most were on shit all contracts either on their first NRL contract or were nobodies when they signed who then became stars whose asking price sky-rocketed couple with the fact that we already have several representative players it becomes very hard to hold onto said players.

 

[broncosil]

The Broncos have a huge problem in the way they value their hookers. I seriously do not know what they were thinking when they got rid of Ennis last year. There was simply no one to replace him. McCullough is too young and is a 5/8. They got rid of Priddis rather easily and struggled for a number of years with a variety of hookers that never really did the job, including Swain.

I would love to go back to junior development too, but I believe the problem actually lies in the juniors. And it isn't just the Broncos but every other club. They come in so young, they haven't worked a day in their lives, they get promoted through rather fast. They seem to think they deserve the big bucks and they get greedy. No sense of loyalty anymore and I believe that the one club man is dying out. Hannant being a perfect example, there is no way, even in current form, that he could be worth $350 000 a season, considering his age and that he is a prop. But his current form may be due to the change of coaching staff (which explains Stagg and Ennis as well).

I like the salary cap and it is actually doing what it is designed to do. Keep the competition even. I don't want to go back to the days where Manly pretty much had the entire Australian squad, or St George winning 11 in a row. It makes for a very boring competition, and does nothing to bring people to the game.

Most clubs also seem to be in the habit of looking for athletes, particuarly in the backline. That is why we get players like Winterstein, who are super fast but don't offer much else. It took years for Boyd to get where is and never found true form until the end of last year (I know people will argue over that one, but he had massive problems in defense and the high ball, and even his passing game). Maybe we should actually look for real talent like we used to and not just go for the fastest polynesian.

In terms of decisions, whoever thought of letting Hannant and Ennis go, for the likes of Te'o and Setu must have been high, because no comparison could be made. They hedge their bets on unproven players, again due to athletic ability, rather than raw talent.

 

[lyn]

Ennis and Hannant would be on 5 times what Te'o and Setu are.

 

[lynx000]

The reality is, the priority for our recruiting in the short term, is two seasoned tough genuine front row forwards. That is what we are sadly lacking at the moment. Clinton and Kenny do their work reasonably well, but comes time for an interchange and we simply do not have anyone to take on that role. We seem to have a surplus of smallish backrowers who make no impact when they run the ball. They don't have to be internationals of state of origin players, but they must genuinely want to have a dig.

Re our recruiting, the silence is deafening. Here it is the end of June, and have we heard one announcement from the Broncos about any new signings??? Apparently they can't even re-sign the players that are here.

 

[Coxy]

Agree lynx. We're back to where we were in 1991 (though with less flamboyance). We're crying out for a Lazarus.

We were blessed because as Lazarus left in 1997, Webcke was heading toward his peak. And then Civoniceva emerged in 1998. So we've had a top shelf front row since 1992.

Webcke left in 2006.
Civoniceva in 2007.

We've never adequately replaced them.

 

[lynx000]

Totally agree Coxy. We were blessed to have three of the greatest front row forwards of modern times in our club. The current two are not to that standard, but they are trying their guts out and doing a good job, they need some back up though.

 

[Coxy]

Clinton was fucking brilliant yesterday. He lifted to a level I haven't seen from him since the Panthers' premiership year in 2003 once Kenny went off. Sadly Sims, Taylor and others were their usual woeful selves.

 

[Foordy]

TBH, the more i see of Taylor, the less i am concerned that he is heading to the Rabbitohs next year.... but the way he is playing they may be concerned that they gave him such a big contract

EDIT: I also don't blame Hunt leaving on the Broncos 1 bit... if the offer was actually 416k a season then i don't think they could have done more to keep him

 

[Professor47]

Nothing we can do about Hunt. I'm surprised though - there is so much at offer if he stayed in league. He could really be something - not sure if it's worth the dosh of going overseas. In saying that he might be sick of the media scrutiny in league these days - it's just off the roof.

 

[Coxy]

Probably realises he'll always be second fiddle to Slater.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Sure we had to let some players go but we have recruited complete nuffies when you compare them to what we have lost... Surely they could have done a better job in recruiting replacements for the like of Petro , Hannat, Ennis and even Beastwood. Our bench really lacks impact and consistency... I was gutted when Taylor signed for the Rabbitohs now I am glad the fat shit is leaving... Big doppy clown ...

 

[ningnangnong]

I'm hoping people haven't written off Setu and to a lesser extent Te'o yet.

If we're to get the best out of them, the coaching staff have to back them, help them out in training, etc.

Not having a go at Ivan, but this being his first season of coaching, it will probably be harder for him to have younger players playing at their full potential.

 

[Coxy]

What worries me is in recent years when a new coach has taken over a successful club that was coached by a successful, experienced coach, they enjoyed immediate success.

eg:
Michael Hagan. Took over the Knights after Warren Ryan spent 3 years setting them up - premiership first year in 2001.
Ricky Stuart. took over the Roosters after Phil Gould and then Graham Murray made them real contenders - premiership first year in 2002.

Ivan Henjak has taken over a very successful Broncos, setup for 22 years by Bennett...and made it go backwards. That's a worry IMO.

 

[Professor47]

Look, first and foremost - we need a win. THAT is for sure. If we can't get a win against the Warriors at home. Well seriously, that's attitude. No one can sit there and say we don't have the team to beat the Warriors. It's an important game and we need to win.

 

[mrslong]

How can you blame Henjak though really, we got off to a better start than anybody expected because really we have reserve grade front row and no established hooker.

The only thing we did have was a killer backline.

I don't know that Wayne would have done that much better? Steve Michaels would still be in the starting line up....and we'd still have Dave Taylor being yo-yo'd between first and 2nd grade and we'd still have no decent wide-running 2nd rowers.

Edit: Backline, and any decent wide running 2nd rowers actually running wide.