Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk have handed down a harsh verdict on the Brisbane Broncos disastrous season, with Johns saying their success in 2023 "poisoned the well."
After being minutes away from winning a Grand Final last year, many predicted the Broncos to kick on and be a premiership threat once again, yet they crashed and burned under the weight of expectation, injuries to key players and underperformance in many key areas.
Speaking on The Matty Johns Podcast, Johns said there would need to be an off-season of introspection at Red Hill if the Broncos are to ensure this awful season is a one off.
"The [2023] success, and the adulation and expectation that came with that success, poisoned the well," Johns said.
"As far as next season is concerned, the bottom line is they need a lot of self-assessment if they [are to] go anywhere."
Despite a couple of losses early on, the Broncos sat in the fairly comfortable position of 5th after 11 rounds, before a six game losing run (not including bye rounds) saw them tumble out of the eight and into a battle to make it to the finals.
Injuries played a big part - Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds and Payne Haas all missed big chunks of the season - but their ultimate downfall was their defence, which conceded more than 600 points for just the third time in the clubs history.
Particularly galling were a 46-18 defeat to the Titans, and back-to-back losses against the Dolphins and Storm where they conceded 40 and 50 points respectively at the end of the season, with the former being a must win game to make the finals.
Cronk believes the defensive frailty and other issues within the way the squad played this year can be found in a loss of focus.
"You sit there and sift through the football reasons why [they lost] - attack, defence, discipline, errors - but the think that underpins that whole thing is I think the Broncos last year, individually and as a team had a laser focus to improve and get better," Cronk said.
"I don't think they had that this year, and that's ultimately why they missed out on finals.
"I don't think they worked hard enough individually to improve their game and ultimately collectively to do it."
The pair also discussed the mindsets of teams after losing Grand Finals, referencing how the Panthers rebounded to create a dynasty, and how South Sydney and Parramatta flopped badly after devastating losses in the big dance.
"There are two ways of thinking, you either go away filthy that you didn't win it, or you go off and say 'we didn't win it, but what a fantastic season', I think with the Broncos it was the latter," Johns said.
Cronk added: "Penrith got beaten by the Melbourne Storm in that Grand Final, and they came back that offseason, started working harder and look what they've done, they've improved every year.
"Parramatta got beaten in a Grand Final, and bang. Brisbane got beaten in the Grand Final, went bang. If they don't work work hard enough to improve [they will do the same]."
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