What is happening at the Broncos?

[lynx000]

I have watched all of the games so far bar the Souths v Warriors game and in my opinion we were quite comfortably the worst performed team of the round.

That standard of play was completely unacceptable and perhaps more concerning was the fairly poor attitude that was on display.

How a club can have a full off-season to prepare and then dish that is beyond me. Is there a significant coaching issue with the club? If so, what can be done to address that? What I saw on Thursday night was very reminiscent of some of the worse games we saw under Henjak and Griffin, but we supposedly have one of the best coaches of all time, and two of the most experienced, well-respected and qualified assistant coaches. How can they prepare a team to produce that?

One of the significant underlying issues seems to have been our recruiting and development, particularly in that period from 2009 to 2015 that may be having a knock-on effect now. How a club like us can leave themselves in a position where they do not have a recognized halfback to steer the team around is beyond me.

I am hopeful that we will see a marked improvement against the cowboys, because if we don't, they will put 40 or 50 on us. Given the draw, we have to win a few of these early round games to bank some points.

 

[broncos4life]

They looked exhausted from being flogged in the preseason. Pretty common of Bennett teams. Bennett doesn’t care about early season form, what the media will say or protected fans that will fly off the deep end after a round one loss.

 

[lynx000]

They looked exhausted from being flogged in the preseason. Pretty common of Bennett teams. Bennett doesn’t care about early season form, what the media will say or protected fans that will fly off the deep end after a round one loss.

If that was a shot at me, it is poor form. I also think your reasoning is flawed. Why are Bennett teams so special that they cannot handle the physical conditioning required and show up to win and play competitively and competently in the first round? You cannot tell me that the Storm (or indeed any of the other clubs) do not get flogged physically in their training but they come out and win first round without fail. So I think your excuse for a pathetic performance is wrong. If it is the case that they come into the season flogged and not having addressed fundamentals like, the defence structure, tackling styles, attacking structures and planned moves, it points to an issue with the coaching in my view.

 

[lynx000]

The other thing that pisses me off, is the extent to which our players have been in the press talking it up, eg, Milford re the amount of work he has been doing on his kicking and game management, Kodi - I have been working on my talking - then they go out and show none of if in a game scenario.

Stop talking to the press until you start walking the walk.

 

[winslow_wong]

No elite leaders anymore. Our most experienced forward in Thaiday is a joker waiting in the departure lounge. Our young kids like Milford think they're all that before they've made it. Bennett seems more concerned about players being paid and having a job rather than being a football coach. He's just too old for his position!

 

[Viti]

No elite leaders anymore. Our most experienced forward in Thaiday is a joker waiting in the departure lounge. Our young kids like Milford think they're all that before they've made it. Bennett seems more concerned about players being paid and having a job rather than being a football coach. He's just too old for his position!

I’ve been thinking this lately, when you see the likes of Boyd and Thaiday playing like absolute pea hearts how can you blame our younger guys for underperforming.

 

[Unbreakable]

I understand the hate for Thaiday, but I'm kind of getting sick of it, he's been a fucking great player for the Broncos and is still putting in a good effort every game, his mistakes come from trying too hard. He's at the stage of his career where he's not getting paid much and realistically shouldn't be relied upon to carry our forward pack in the slightest. If we're relying on him to run for 120 metres and make 0 errors every game then we're just being delusional. If he can cut down on the silly mistakes & penalties this season that'd be wonderful, but I'm personally still going to enjoy watching his last season and am going to miss him when he's gone.

/end rant

 

[Kelleher]

Kidding yourself if you think he doesn’t get paid much though

 

[broncos4life]

Kidding yourself if you think he doesn’t get paid much though

Please tell us what he is paid?

 

[Unbreakable]

Kidding yourself if you think he doesn’t get paid much though

$200k veteran allowance.

Factoring that in he'd be one of the lowest paid players in our 17, if not the lowest, relative to salary cap impact. Media reported that he was on $400k per season when he signed his last contract.

 

[broncos4life]

If that was a shot at me, it is poor form. I also think your reasoning is flawed. Why are Bennett teams so special that they cannot handle the physical conditioning required and show up to win and play competitively and competently in the first round? You cannot tell me that the Storm (or indeed any of the other clubs) do not get flogged physically in their training but they come out and win first round without fail. So I think your excuse for a pathetic performance is wrong. If it is the case that they come into the season flogged and not having addressed fundamentals like, the defence structure, tackling styles, attacking structures and planned moves, it points to an issue with the coaching in my view.

It wasn’t a shot at you or anyone, it is my opinion.

We have seen this before, Bennett likes to flog them in the preseason more than most coaches believing they will see the benefits through the season. Whether or not that is the best way is debatable.

As far as fundamentals, it’s round 1 and most teams are rusty. The Dragons always hit the ground running and then die in the arse, I would prefer not to do that personally. The Roosters lost to the Tigers and all round looked pretty unimpressive all round, should we believe that the tigers will have a better season than them now?

 

[lynx000]

It wasn’t a shot at you or anyone, it is my opinion.

We have seen this before, Bennett likes to flog them in the preseason more than most coaches believing they will see the benefits through the season. Whether or not that is the best way is debatable.

As far as fundamentals, it’s round 1 and most teams are rusty. The Dragons always hit the ground running and then die in the arse, I would prefer not to do that personally. The Roosters lost to the Tigers and all round looked pretty unimpressive all round, should we believe that the tigers will have a better season than them now?

I know what you're saying (and accept that there is a lot of validity to it). I will feel a lot more comfortable if we perform much better against the cows, even if we lose.

 

[broncos4life]

I know what you're saying (and accept that there is a lot of validity to it). I will feel a lot more comfortable if we perform much better against the cows, even if we lose.

Couldn’t agree more. I am looking for more energy and better formed structures against the cows. Even if we lose I will be happy if I see that.

Sorry if it seemed I was having a go earlier, it wasn’t my intention.

 

[badyon]

Far too early for this shit. It's round 1 still.

Go take a refresher course on our starts in 99, 06, 15 etc. We made the finals in 99 after winning 1 of first 10... WB has seen it all before.

Boys will be much better for the run, and give some credit to a very good dragons pack. Mary Mac puts out a no nonsense team every week and they are going to be tough this year.

Completions is the only thing we really need to be overly concerned with, and a fit Macca will tighten that up.

We will struggle early, and we may not have hit bottom. But this team - potentially - is the best we have had in a long time. When Bird comes in, the fight he brings will be the shot we need.

 

[Nashy]

The other thing that pisses me off, is the extent to which our players have been in the press talking it up, eg, Milford re the amount of work he has been doing on his kicking and game management, Kodi - I have been working on my talking - then they go out and show none of if in a game scenario.

Stop talking to the press until you start walking the walk.

This is my absolute biggest gripe, and it's been going on for a few years now. I'm sick of it. I don't want to read the bumbling words of a footballer, I just want to see the player play well.

 

[Accept]

Far too early for this shit. It's round 1 still.

Go take a refresher course on our starts in 99, 06, 15 etc. We made the finals in 99 after winning 1 of first 10... WB has seen it all before.

Boys will be much better for the run, and give some credit to a very good dragons pack. Mary Mac puts out a no nonsense team every week and they are going to be tough this year.

Completions is the only thing we really need to be overly concerned with, and a fit Macca will tighten that up.

We will struggle early, and we may not have hit bottom. But this team - potentially - is the best we have had in a long time. When Bird comes in, the fight he brings will be the shot we need.

Rounds 6 to 15 will be the season definer this year and they need to be at least 3-2 before going into this really tough stretch. Performances similar to Thurs night could see them losing all ten.

 

[Broncs_Fan]

We will struggle early, and we may not have hit bottom. But this team - potentially - is the best we have had in a long time. When Bird comes in, the fight he brings will be the shot we need.

Love the optimism but this team is going to be mediocre this year. May be a good team in a couple of years though.

 

[theshed]

im not too worried just yet. We will improve and dragons always start the year strong before their wheels fall off.


That said though, Cowbows had 2 players missing from their starting spine, Melbourne had 3 players that are new to the position they played in their spine.

Both played very well for a season opener.