The End of Empire: The Sharp Decline of the Brisbane Broncos

[Dexter]

I've never heard a bigger load - ever!

Turning up ready to play is part of footy, forget the excuses about dropping off thats just a losers whinger mentality.

 

[Flutterby]

Seriously, every team will go through peaks and troughs (some more peaks, some more troughs than others). Storm are the current team in a very purple patch - but they will "decline" at some point as well. The Broncos will be a genuine force again. And also I can only LOL that continuing to make the finals every year is still considered a "decline".

 

[lynx000]

Just getting back on topic for a moment (sorry for interrupting the above interesting navel gazing about past grand finals), I do not believe that we are seeing the `end of the empire'. To lose your foundation coach who has been in the place for 20 years was always going to cause a period of change, diversification and reorganisation.

IH has said that he wanted to make changes and bring in a squad that he had chosen and he is in the process of doing that. We may have a rough patch of a season or two but I can see some real talent coming through that will leave us in good stead for the future. Far too early IMO to be calling the end of the empire.

 

[Chumbason]

I don't think we're seeing the end of an empire, I for one don't think there was an empire to start with... what there was was a glorious run of years where a series of the world's greatest players followed one another to a club and from time to time managed to string together some great results. The rest was all smoke and mirrors. The great fear is that now the curtain is back and the magic is gone, the club's ability to lure those great players is far less than it used to be, and unless we do get a truly great coach, and not just a 'suposed' great coach, then we will find our way to the bottom of the ladder and struggle to recover.

 

[lynx000]

Sort of puts the cart before the horse though. When Bennett started he certainly was not a `great coach', he had one season in Canberra where they made it to the grand final with Don Furner in a mentoring coach role. He had some success in Brisbane, but a lot of years where his side did not win the grandfinal. He built his reputation as the Broncos built their reputation as a club. Who is to say that Ivan will not do the same thing. It took Benny five years to win a premiership starting with a strong squad. IH makes the finals in his first year and is one game away from the grand final.
I just think we have to be a bit patient with both him and the squad he is developing.

 

[mal]

Lol how are you guys saying we were denied by pure class in 2008?? Do you not remember we had the game in the bag until douche bag Simms charged the line at a gazillion miles an hour for some stupid reason and dropped the ball?? Such short term memories, we deserved to win that game. Not Storm.

 

[tkday]

Hahaha, I will never forget that charge by Sims. My brothers and myself were just screaming at him/TV. I still don't get why he decided to plant his foot down, drop a gear and flick the Nitro on. Frig me it still gets me angry. YOU IDIOT SIMS! :)

 

[Anonymous person]

i cant fault sims for giving it his all in the final stages of a match, and quite frankly anyone that does needs their heads examined.

 

[Meat77]

i cant fault sims for giving it his all in the final stages of a match, and quite frankly anyone that does needs their heads examined.

Exactly - what was he supposed to do? Hit it up at half rat-power and basically beg to get smashed or someone to attempt a one on one strip?

 

[tkday]

Well you will have to examine my head (not that you will find much there, other than a donkey with flies buzzing around his head). But in that case his all wasn't needed, he needed to be calm and take it easy.

 

[Anonymous person]

he didnt do anything stupid though, he just made a hitup like he would at any other stage of the match. we needed to get the ball as far away from our try line as possible, and he was doing that. the knock on was an error, pure and simple. if he did a half-hearted run they couldve picked him up, driven him back 10m, and he loses the ball anyway.

 

[tkday]

It was safer to not do what he did is the point I was trying to make.

 

[Anonymous person]

i think some of you guys are remembering the actual hit up a bit differently to what it actually was lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg4AAmxTjdI

watch from 2:12 onwards. he'd only caught the ball about 4m before he got hit, and it was just a really good hit that did it. it wasnt the way he was carrying the ball, it wasnt the way he was running - he just got axed by a forward from a team that knows that if they dont pull a rabbit out of a hat this set of six, their season is over.

 

[Coxy]

he didnt do anything stupid though, he just made a hitup like he would at any other stage of the match. we needed to get the ball as far away from our try line as possible, and he was doing that. the knock on was an error, pure and simple. if he did a half-hearted run they couldve picked him up, driven him back 10m, and he loses the ball anyway.

Agreed. The error that he made was (IIRC) holding the football in the arm that he went into the tackle with, instead of protecting it behind him.

 

[Anonymous person]

he had it in the correct arm for the guy that hit him first, and who i think he was aiming for - the second marker. the second guy though, he came in from the other side and got a square shot on the ball carrying arm.

 

[tkday]

I did not want to relive that again. Now I feel depressed again at us losing that match. Damn you Sims!! But yeah, he wasn't going as flat out as I thought.

 

[Professor47]

Definitely the most painful memory... before that it was 02 but it just can't compete with the recent pain.

Either way though - definitely 2 premierships gone begging there but I guess that is the way the cookie crumbles right?

 

[mal]

I don't know if you guys are being serious- we had to wind down time, take the tackles and put in a good kick... that is it.... we wouldn't even have made it to the kick. We weren't looking for meters, we were looking to chew seconds... not minutes... not field position... seconds. Simms f@#ked up, simple as that. I moved on, but when you guys say Melbourne outclassed us I have to question whether or not you were watching the same game as me?