POST GAME Round 4 - Broncos vs Roosters

[Porthoz]

There isn't a big enough rolling eyes icon for this. The team played like garbage last year and managed to get worse. Three of our last 5 games have been absolute floggings, two of those record breaking ones, but anyone wanting the club to be accountable for it is obviously just upset about the previous coach getting the arse 2 seasons ago. It's telling that instead of admitting the admin aren't perfect and bought a dud you want to double down and label other people butt hurt over the past. I mean why bother hoping anyone can be accountable today when we can stir the ashes of the past instead. Good to know the worst flogging in Broncos history is ok by you as long as you like the clown in charge though, it means your opinion can be safely ignored as partisan nonsense.

Last night's result was as incredibly painful for me as any Broncos fan. We can disagree on many things and you're entitled to your opinion, no matter how stupid I may think it is, but I'm not going to take lessons from you on how I should support my club.

The team has been playing like garbage since mid 2016. The only reason we weren't flogged like this in 2017 and 2018 despite being as insipid, was because we didn't have such an unexperienced team on the park, coupled with critical injuries to key players, an interrupted season and a new rule which compounds the issues caused by all the former.
The ashes of the past, especially the horrible roster management and player selection from Bennett, are the reason we are in this quandary. Your refusal to accept that, and pretend all started to happen under this coach is your problem, not mine.

If you had a constructive criticism and provided some ideas about how to fix this rot (other than "sack the fatso" that is), I would keep some respect for you, but it seems you're the one who can't get over the past and firing of WB, showing a continuous bias against Seibold and the management since then, not just now as a result of the past season and the recent results, which you are just gleefully taking advantage of.

I'm not sold on Seibold, but for whole other reasons, while giving him the discount of the current circumstances.

 

[Mustafur]

Player option contracts, sounds like we are being hustled by Agents here and given most of the team is under one agent it shouldn't be a surprise.

 

[Locky’s Left Boot]

I'm starting to like the idea of Walters as head coach. I don't even rate him as coach but I'm sure he'd demand more respect from the playing group because the players clearly don't even try for Seibold. This is back to the Henjak days. I never liked Griffin but we were at least average with him. We are just embarrassingly shit, two record breaking defeats in a space of 5 games and 3 of the last 5 games were utterly embarrassing.

And if Kevvie starts coaching us, watch Tallis conveniently do a complete 360 on his opinions about the club. Seem to be a lot of criticism and sniping but no one putting their hands up to help the club.

 

[Locky’s Left Boot]

Let's give the coach a hand, he clearly needs it. Who should the Broncs realistically look at bringing in next season?

If possible, punt Bird, Milford, Boyd thankfully will finally be gone, maybe Oates might get an offer elsewhere but I would be ok with keeping him for another year. But this is more of cutting dead wood (which needs to be done). Who should come in though? It seems Ponga is very sadly off the table.

Who else can you bring in? Who is coming to an end of a contract? Clearly, some experience (but also still playing well) needs to come in.

Basically, the Broncs need:

1 x centre who can simply pass and tackle - Opacic? (would snap up Best if he became available)
1 x hooker - there has to be someone around - Peats? / There I say it...Hunt?
1 x hard nut forward - ??

Wouldn’t even bother speculating about signings unless they are managed by that fucking cancer Isaac Moses who won’t be happy until every player from 1-17 are his clients. The problems start there

 

[Locky’s Left Boot]

I don’t want to make this a Bennett vs Seibold debate and I agreed with the decision to move Bennett on (just not in the public manner that we did) but one thing I can guarantee is if Wayne Bennett was coaching Brisbane last night, we do not lose 59 blot.

What is the point of having a more tactical coach if we

1. Can’t even hold the fucking ball
2. Can’t defend and keep teams to under 20 points

 

[Galah]

I keep thinking about the soapy ball training sessions, I honestly think that fucked with their heads and now they have the fumbles. It’s the o my explanation I can come up with.

 

[The Strapper]

Player option contracts, sounds like we are being hustled by Agents here and given most of the team is under one agent it shouldn't be a surprise.

Agreed but surely we have learned our lesson by now.
After being so badly burned so many times by these if the club signs/resigns any player with an option in their favour from now on they must have rocks in their head.
These player options are of zero value to the club and just bring an extra layer of liability, they should be banned from now on.

 

[Cult]

For those attempting to justify Seibolds existence at the club, can you point out a game plan/set play/change he has made that has won us a game or even numerous games? What’s he added to this club other then a bunch of kids he worked with previously? I remember the conversations about him bringing Cook and Reynolds and Burgess and we got Kennedy and Kennar instead. His coaching wasn’t what won games at the Rabbits, it was individual brilliance and it’s the same thing at the Broncos. He sucked then and it was evident for anyone who wasn’t obsessed with getting Bennett away from the club in whatever way possible.

There were rumours that he came to the club with a list of players he wanted released. If that is true there’s no wonder these blokes won’t perform for him. He came in and cleared house, that’s the easy part of coaching. He brought in a bunch of average ex-players of his to fill those gaps, going backwards with almost every position he filled. He brought in Ben Cross (what were his credentials?). Great, he knows his stats. Why isn’t David Middleton a rugby league coach?

I know a lot of people are coming in sounding angry and saying “sack the fatso” or whatever @Porthoz but what are the positives? Why was he brought in and what has he done since? I agree that constructive criticism is needed for conversations on here but I have seen plenty of constructive criticism that you’re just not responding to.

 

[BroncsFan]

Agreed but surely we have learned our lesson by now.
After being so badly burned so many times by these if the club signs/resigns any player with an option in their favour from now on they must have rocks in their head.
These player options are of zero value to the club and just bring an extra layer of liability, they should be banned from now on.

I think there is a little too much reading into these player options... we’ve definitely had a couple shockers with the most notable to me being Darius for 4 years (2+P+M) and Macca (2+P+P).

Darius shouldn’t have been signed to such a long contract and realistically the Broncos should’ve been looking at a progression plan for Macca who probably should’ve only been signed on a 2 or 3 yr deal (max) pending juniors, which makes the loss of Simpkin and zero effort on Harry hurt even more.

Milford‘s is 3+P... if you’re signing your marquee player, which he was in 2017, you want him locked in for a long deal so at worst your committing to a 4 yr deal for a guy you expect to be your star in the spine for the next 10yr.

Bird is also 3+P... despite what you feel about Bird signing (I’ve still no real idea why we went so hard at him), but we’ve basically got a 4 yr deal for a marquee signing, which is expected. You should be happy we didn’t throw a 5yr deal at him in all honesty.

Oates is 1+P+P... I think he was basically our last signing other than Glenn, so he’s on whatever is left in the cap (probably somewhere between $300-500k), and it’s likely the two options are meant to be a stop gap at the same price for security and to allow negotiation (because his manager ran out of time). That is not a great contract from Oates perspective, it’s basically a 3 year deal on less than Offa for a guy that was fielding $700-800k contracts from Sydney. His form is bad now so renegotiating that player deal won’t be great for Oates. It’s probably a win for Broncos despite his form being horrendous at the moment

Turpin is also 1+P+P... it’s likely his options are on the lower side. when signing that deal he was flagged as the new starting hooker, but the presence of two player options suggest they’re on the lower side to give Turpin the opportunity to renegotiate if he becomes a genuinely good hooker. So basically it’s a 3 yr deal likely on the same value as Macca or less

The one thing that we should be happy with is we are moving away from 4-5 year deals... we have been burnt from these in the past and some are still hanging around or would be if they hadn’t been shipped out
Boyd
Macca
Bird
Gillette (great player but only included here as he got a 2yr extension after the back injury)
Maguire (great player at the time of signing, but was too much and we looked to move him on anyway)
Even Isaako is signed to 2022... had a breakout rookie year and they clearly thought they needed to lock him down
Milf (not unsurprising as he was planned to be he marquee)
Roberts may have been a 4yr deal as well??

Compare that to recent signings... Lodge 3yrs, TPJ 3yrs, Offa 3yr, Croft 2yr, Turpin 3yr, Oates, 3yr.. Lodge and TPJ were big signings that had some interest but we got 3 yr deals.

A 3 yr deal means we aren’t locked into some crazy length of time and gives us some flexibility if things start to go sour or allows us to turnover a roster if needed.

The only player currently signed beyond 2022 is Haas, and at present Fifi is maybe one of the only other guys we should be looking at a 4-5 yr deal on... with Carrigan firming for a long term deal next time around, but he’s signed to 2022 anyway

 

[Finbar]

I honestly think that fucked with their heads and now they have the fumbles.

I don't know if we are still doing the "training at faster than game pace" but I worry that if we are, it has negative effects and we end up more frantic than ever. My main concern is that Seibold is too set in his ways, and thinks that if only we stick with it, things will come good. Winning the Dally M coach of the year has possibly made him overconfident and too sure of himself, when he really needs to question his methods and adapt.

 

[Galah]

I don't know if we are still doing the "training at faster than game pace" but I worry that if we are, it has negative effects and we end up more frantic than ever. My main concern is that Seibold is too set in his ways, and thinks that if only we stick with it, things will come good. Winning the Dally M coach of the year has possibly made him overconfident and too sure of himself, when he really needs to question his methods and adapt.

Any over confidence the coach or players had should have been kicked in the teeth after last years finals effort, I mean deadset come one.

 

[Thelmus]

Let's give the coach a hand, he clearly needs it. Who should the Broncs realistically look at bringing in next season?

If possible, punt Bird, Milford, Boyd thankfully will finally be gone, maybe Oates might get an offer elsewhere but I would be ok with keeping him for another year. But this is more of cutting dead wood (which needs to be done). Who should come in though? It seems Ponga is very sadly off the table.

Who else can you bring in? Who is coming to an end of a contract? Clearly, some experience (but also still playing well) needs to come in.

Basically, the Broncs need:

1 x centre who can simply pass and tackle - Opacic? (would snap up Best if he became available)
1 x hooker - there has to be someone around - Peats? / There I say it...Hunt?
1 x hard nut forward - ??

I had a soft spot for opacic. He may never be a star but he defended well, ran good lines and could set up his wing.
As for forwards, McGuire comes to mind but is getting on. That's the problem really. Those type of players are either integral to other teams, over the hill, or just not good enough. We could look to super league and I think there would be a few willing to transition if they can do so. How is saviello going?
A hooker is a hard one. Macca fits the bill but doesn't want to be here. Most other options are too expensive.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Any over confidence the coach or players had should have been kicked in the teeth after last years finals effort, I mean deadset come one.

Exactly. The fact that an even worse result has happened within so few games speaks volumes about the headspace of this club and everyone in it. Those opening 2 wins were a complete mirage, and in hindsight the result of that prior R3 game against the Titans becomes way more interesting. We likely would have ground out a decent win, but the cracks would have been starting to form.

 

[Lebbo73]

I would go Hodges also, Kev to me just lacks something. But maybe it's the Broncos he lacks. Siebs is on thin ice.

Wtf? Kevvy is a no brainer.

 

[Kooly87]

Wtf? Kevvy is a no brainer.

Walters would vacate the Queensland job, which would be an absolutely ideal role for Justin Hodges to take over.

Depending on the workload maybe he could be employed as an Assistant Coach at the Broncos too.

 

[Lebbo73]

You can deflect and go on about the previous coach until the cows come home mate, it's not going to change a thing. Pies has had 18 months here but I'm sure it's all Bennett's fault Seibold can't use a bench properly, it's probably Demetriou's fault the players can't hold the ball, a deep state WB loyalist is responsible for their being absolutely no cohesion in the team. I can't begin to imagine who'll cop the blame for the piss poor review that we allegedly had after copping an absolute shellacking in the finals last year. Talk about entitlement and arrogance, the back office is a boy's club that let some half baked clown get a five year coaching contract because the media spent a year fawning over him for getting a stacked Souths squad into the top eight. Why would the players feel accountable when the coach and admin so obviously are not?

Darren Lockyer, club legend and future immortal, is neck deep in bearing a lot of responsibility for this shambles. He pushed hard for Seibold’s appointment and dished Bennett on the way out. I could never understand the urgency to replace a great coach who I wanted gone as he was past it with a coach that had a dubious record.

 

[Kooly87]

Darren Lockyer, club legend and future immortal, is neck deep in bearing a lot of responsibility for this shambles. He pushed hard for Seibold’s appointment and dished Bennett on the way out. I could never understand the urgency to replace a great coach who I wanted gone as he was past it with a coach that had a dubious record.

The point was, we were supposed to get Bellamy. We gambled literally everything on pulling that off and we came up with donuts. The people responsible tried to gloss over it with glowing appraisals of Seibold but realistically, there should have been far greater fallout from pushing Bennett out so badly only to then totally bottle the negotiations with Craig Bellamy.

 

[Lebbo73]

The point was, we were supposed to get Bellamy. We gambled literally everything on pulling that off and we came up with donuts. The people responsible tried to gloss over it with glowing appraisals of Seibold but realistically, there should have been far greater fallout from pushing Bennett out so badly only to then totally bottle the negotiations with Craig Bellamy.

Yep, fucked the Bellamy raid up (in saying this there’s a chance he was using us for more $$) and then compounded the issue by doubling down on a coach whose record in Q Cup was abysmal.