McHunt
International Rep
Contributor
- Aug 25, 2018
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Around the grounds with the Courier Mail/Sunday Mail.
1. Peter Ryan returns as Assistance Coach in defence
No introduction necessary. Seibold says:
“Pete is an old boy of the club and has experienced premiership success here as both a player and a coach. Whilst Corey Parker will continue his role with the forwards from outside of our COVID bubble until restrictions are lifted, we saw this as a good opportunity to get ‘Rhino’ back to the Broncos and to work hands on with our group.”
2. Isaac Luke joins the Broncos
Cory Paix is in doubt despite scans clearing him of a broken hand. Luke a likely starter. Rumoured price $50K. Seibold says:
“There is a possibility around Issac joining us. We have to fill one more spot and Isaac’s name has come across my table in the last few days. I spoke to Issac (on Friday) and that’s the first time I have spoken to him. If we did sign him, it would happen pretty quickly I would assume. It’s not a done deal at this stage but we’re interested and we’ll see how it plays out in the coming days.
“We had two spots and Ben Te’o filled one, so with Jake Turpin out, it makes sense for us to look at Issac Luke. We could go down the route of getting a player from the Intrust Super Cup or getting a fringe player from another NRL club. Thankfully we got a good report on ‘Paixy’. He hurt his thumb against Manly and there was a chance it may have been broken, but thankfully he is all good.”
Luke confirms:
“My wife has followed me through my career and through all that we always said that we will finish in Brisbane,” he said. Brisbane Broncos gave us an opportunity to go home and we are taking it. I can’t wait to rip in.”
3. Te'o talks about rejecting Bennett, the Cowboys, and more:
“Wayne tried to get me to Souths this year. We’d spoken a couple of times over the years. I was in France last year and Wayne touched base with me. We spoke about me coming back. Like a few clubs, Souths had lost a bit of experience and Wayne was looking for an older guy like me to come in and help out. Wayne has tried to get me before. In 2015, I met with Wayne when he was coaching the Broncos and we spoke about me coming back from Ireland."
“Now Wayne is at Souths and we communicated again. I thought about going back to the Rabbitohs. Obviously, I have a great history with Souths, I won a premiership there and Wayne is a very convincing guy. I have always wanted to play for him. I really respect Wayne and we exchanged some text messages."
“But I chose the Broncos for two reasons. One, my partner is from Brisbane, her family is here and we are having a baby next month, so that was really important. And two, I just love the Broncos club and I wanted to wear that Brisbane jersey again.”
“People don’t know this, but I almost came back to play for the Cowboys in 2015. I had left Souths to play with Leinster. I came back to Brisbane for a break in the off-season. My coach who signed me was an Aussie, Matt O’Connor, and he got the sack while I was in Australia. I thought maybe I should not go back (to Ireland) and play in the NRL. I had talks with the Cowboys and I was really close to signing with them.
“My agent sorted it out. The deal was nearly done. I was dead serious about being a Cowboys player. But when the new coach at Leinster rang me and begged me to come back, I felt I had to do the right thing. I had signed a two-year deal with Leinster and I decided to honour the deal. The crazy thing is the Cowboys went on to win the premiership. I was really attracted to play with Johnathan Thurston and I always think I could have won a premiership with him.”
“I will say this now - nothing is like the NRL. Nothing. There is no competition in the world like the NRL. In rugby, there are some very skilful athletes. The backs have some great talent and there are some really good athletes. Rugby has some massive humans, you have big South African props and now there is a lot of big Africans coming into the game and they are phenomenal athletes, right up there with Polynesians for power. But in rugby, the game never asks you to go to that place that rugby league does. The NRL pushes you to the brink. No matter how hard you train, how fit you are, you always get to that place where you feel you are going to die. The NRL is that demanding.”
“It was good timing for me to go. To be honest I was starting to get burnt out. I was very focused on winning a premiership. My two years at Souths were more intense than I could describe. It was full on. That team was on a pursuit. We lived and breathed rugby league. Towards the end, we got the prize, but I was fully burnt. I needed to go away and I always had this itch to travel and see the world. I had heard about Six Nations and French rugby and I wanted to experience that."
“I absolutely loved my time in Ireland, it’s one of the greatest countries on earth. The people were amazing and the guys at the club itself were fantastic. I have been there, done that, and seen it all. It has really matured me as a person. I’m glad I can say I didn’t fail in rugby.”
“How do I explain this? There was an incident. I think a few people had too many beers and there was an altercation at a beach club in Italy, north of Venice. I went back to training the next day and I was informed the management weren’t happy about it and they said you aren’t going to the World Cup."
“I said no worries, that’s the way it is. Everything happens for a reason. Playing for England was special for me. My mum was born in London and she came over a few times to see me play for England in front of 80,000 fans at Twickenham with all the singing. I will never forget about. It meant a lot because of my mum’s heritage.”
“It all depends how I go this year. I know the Broncos are trying to lock up some young guys like David Fifita and I don’t want to get in their way. If I play well and the Broncos can afford me in the salary cap, I would love to stay around. It’s not about money for me anymore ... it’s about playing the game I have missed.”
4. Dearden sought by seven other clubs
Non story, but Lockyer responds:
“Tom has a great attitude, he is a great person and a special talent. We obviously hold Tom in high regard, but right now, he is only 19 and Brodie has more experience and is more game ready for the NRL. If some guys are being offered a start at another club sooner, it would be enticing to leave. But all I can say is Tom is a great kid with talent, we see him as a long-term NRL player and the club doesn’t want to lose him. We certainly want him to stay.”
“It’s frustrating for Tom. He can’t play Intrust Super Cup and he can’t get a game of footy at all because of this COVID situation. There would be a number of guys like Tom who are bitterly disappointed that they can’t play any football and that will have an impact on clubs’ rosters. But he can play five-eighth or halfback so I’m confident his chance will eventually come.”
5. Lodge for captain:
Lockyer says:
“Lodgey’s’ name was put forward for the captaincy but it wasn’t just a football consideration. As a board we had wider issues to consider. The board was in agreement that it wasn’t the time for Matt to do the job right now. In the leadership training, Pat Carrigan has been very impressive, he is very mature for his age, and Matt Lodge has genuine leadership qualities. He has come a long way as a person, he is one of those guys who is born with leadership qualities, but he has also learned a lot through adversity.”
“I think some people will forgive Matt but it will take time for him to win back the support of others. There will be some people who won’t change their view regardless of what Lodgey does. That’s part of the price he has had to pay and he understands that. He obviously knows from this point he has to have an incident-free career. Over time, if people watch him and see his actions on and off the field, they will start to see how much he has grown. Lodgey needs to focus on what is in front of him and build on his leadership at the Broncos.”
Sattler says:
“I would make Matt Lodge the captain next year. I don’t believe clubs should make decisions because they fear a public backlash. The people at the Broncos internally see Lodge every day and they would know his influence day-to-day better than anyone. What we do know is that Lodge is highly respected in the dressing room. We have seen players in our game, who made questionable decisions off the field, go on to become good leaders. If the playing group and coach identify him as the natural leader, then give him the captaincy.”
McHunt
1. Peter Ryan returns as Assistance Coach in defence
No introduction necessary. Seibold says:
“Pete is an old boy of the club and has experienced premiership success here as both a player and a coach. Whilst Corey Parker will continue his role with the forwards from outside of our COVID bubble until restrictions are lifted, we saw this as a good opportunity to get ‘Rhino’ back to the Broncos and to work hands on with our group.”
2. Isaac Luke joins the Broncos
Cory Paix is in doubt despite scans clearing him of a broken hand. Luke a likely starter. Rumoured price $50K. Seibold says:
“There is a possibility around Issac joining us. We have to fill one more spot and Isaac’s name has come across my table in the last few days. I spoke to Issac (on Friday) and that’s the first time I have spoken to him. If we did sign him, it would happen pretty quickly I would assume. It’s not a done deal at this stage but we’re interested and we’ll see how it plays out in the coming days.
“We had two spots and Ben Te’o filled one, so with Jake Turpin out, it makes sense for us to look at Issac Luke. We could go down the route of getting a player from the Intrust Super Cup or getting a fringe player from another NRL club. Thankfully we got a good report on ‘Paixy’. He hurt his thumb against Manly and there was a chance it may have been broken, but thankfully he is all good.”
Luke confirms:
“My wife has followed me through my career and through all that we always said that we will finish in Brisbane,” he said. Brisbane Broncos gave us an opportunity to go home and we are taking it. I can’t wait to rip in.”
3. Te'o talks about rejecting Bennett, the Cowboys, and more:
“Wayne tried to get me to Souths this year. We’d spoken a couple of times over the years. I was in France last year and Wayne touched base with me. We spoke about me coming back. Like a few clubs, Souths had lost a bit of experience and Wayne was looking for an older guy like me to come in and help out. Wayne has tried to get me before. In 2015, I met with Wayne when he was coaching the Broncos and we spoke about me coming back from Ireland."
“Now Wayne is at Souths and we communicated again. I thought about going back to the Rabbitohs. Obviously, I have a great history with Souths, I won a premiership there and Wayne is a very convincing guy. I have always wanted to play for him. I really respect Wayne and we exchanged some text messages."
“But I chose the Broncos for two reasons. One, my partner is from Brisbane, her family is here and we are having a baby next month, so that was really important. And two, I just love the Broncos club and I wanted to wear that Brisbane jersey again.”
“People don’t know this, but I almost came back to play for the Cowboys in 2015. I had left Souths to play with Leinster. I came back to Brisbane for a break in the off-season. My coach who signed me was an Aussie, Matt O’Connor, and he got the sack while I was in Australia. I thought maybe I should not go back (to Ireland) and play in the NRL. I had talks with the Cowboys and I was really close to signing with them.
“My agent sorted it out. The deal was nearly done. I was dead serious about being a Cowboys player. But when the new coach at Leinster rang me and begged me to come back, I felt I had to do the right thing. I had signed a two-year deal with Leinster and I decided to honour the deal. The crazy thing is the Cowboys went on to win the premiership. I was really attracted to play with Johnathan Thurston and I always think I could have won a premiership with him.”
“I will say this now - nothing is like the NRL. Nothing. There is no competition in the world like the NRL. In rugby, there are some very skilful athletes. The backs have some great talent and there are some really good athletes. Rugby has some massive humans, you have big South African props and now there is a lot of big Africans coming into the game and they are phenomenal athletes, right up there with Polynesians for power. But in rugby, the game never asks you to go to that place that rugby league does. The NRL pushes you to the brink. No matter how hard you train, how fit you are, you always get to that place where you feel you are going to die. The NRL is that demanding.”
“It was good timing for me to go. To be honest I was starting to get burnt out. I was very focused on winning a premiership. My two years at Souths were more intense than I could describe. It was full on. That team was on a pursuit. We lived and breathed rugby league. Towards the end, we got the prize, but I was fully burnt. I needed to go away and I always had this itch to travel and see the world. I had heard about Six Nations and French rugby and I wanted to experience that."
“I absolutely loved my time in Ireland, it’s one of the greatest countries on earth. The people were amazing and the guys at the club itself were fantastic. I have been there, done that, and seen it all. It has really matured me as a person. I’m glad I can say I didn’t fail in rugby.”
“How do I explain this? There was an incident. I think a few people had too many beers and there was an altercation at a beach club in Italy, north of Venice. I went back to training the next day and I was informed the management weren’t happy about it and they said you aren’t going to the World Cup."
“I said no worries, that’s the way it is. Everything happens for a reason. Playing for England was special for me. My mum was born in London and she came over a few times to see me play for England in front of 80,000 fans at Twickenham with all the singing. I will never forget about. It meant a lot because of my mum’s heritage.”
“It all depends how I go this year. I know the Broncos are trying to lock up some young guys like David Fifita and I don’t want to get in their way. If I play well and the Broncos can afford me in the salary cap, I would love to stay around. It’s not about money for me anymore ... it’s about playing the game I have missed.”
4. Dearden sought by seven other clubs
Non story, but Lockyer responds:
“Tom has a great attitude, he is a great person and a special talent. We obviously hold Tom in high regard, but right now, he is only 19 and Brodie has more experience and is more game ready for the NRL. If some guys are being offered a start at another club sooner, it would be enticing to leave. But all I can say is Tom is a great kid with talent, we see him as a long-term NRL player and the club doesn’t want to lose him. We certainly want him to stay.”
“It’s frustrating for Tom. He can’t play Intrust Super Cup and he can’t get a game of footy at all because of this COVID situation. There would be a number of guys like Tom who are bitterly disappointed that they can’t play any football and that will have an impact on clubs’ rosters. But he can play five-eighth or halfback so I’m confident his chance will eventually come.”
5. Lodge for captain:
Lockyer says:
“Lodgey’s’ name was put forward for the captaincy but it wasn’t just a football consideration. As a board we had wider issues to consider. The board was in agreement that it wasn’t the time for Matt to do the job right now. In the leadership training, Pat Carrigan has been very impressive, he is very mature for his age, and Matt Lodge has genuine leadership qualities. He has come a long way as a person, he is one of those guys who is born with leadership qualities, but he has also learned a lot through adversity.”
“I think some people will forgive Matt but it will take time for him to win back the support of others. There will be some people who won’t change their view regardless of what Lodgey does. That’s part of the price he has had to pay and he understands that. He obviously knows from this point he has to have an incident-free career. Over time, if people watch him and see his actions on and off the field, they will start to see how much he has grown. Lodgey needs to focus on what is in front of him and build on his leadership at the Broncos.”
Sattler says:
“I would make Matt Lodge the captain next year. I don’t believe clubs should make decisions because they fear a public backlash. The people at the Broncos internally see Lodge every day and they would know his influence day-to-day better than anyone. What we do know is that Lodge is highly respected in the dressing room. We have seen players in our game, who made questionable decisions off the field, go on to become good leaders. If the playing group and coach identify him as the natural leader, then give him the captaincy.”
McHunt
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