Where we went wrong

[lynx000]

I have been thinking about this for a while and I think we have been really really let down by our management from about 2006 onwards. It really all started with Bruno Cullen. I think we became too arrogant and just assumed the success that we had worked so hard for from 1988-2000 would just continue to roll on.

From that time, just about everything that we have done, we have pulled the wrong rein, made the wrong choice or failed to act proactively.

Coaching

Firstly, let's look at the coaching issue.

From my understanding, the beginnings of the fallout with Bennett came down to issues between Cullen and Bennett and a level of distrust that built up causing Bennett to look elsewhere (and where else but the Roosters).

2008 - Bennett pulls the pin. We just about had Bellamy, but anectdotally, Cullen stuffed that up as well and we lost him, never to genuinely have a chance to get him again.
2009 - So, we go from Wayne Bennett to Ivan Henjak. Nothing more needs to be said.
2011 - Things become so toxic that a review recommends that Henjak be sacked. Our new shiny CEO Paul White wields the axe and Henjak is gone. We don't sign an experienced name coach or apparently even contemplate trying to do this. Instead, whether it be mates from Rocky or whatever, but next man up is Griffin.

Griffin's best year is 2011 where he still has the benefit of Lockyer in his last year, up until Beale's knee does its work and ends Lockyer's time at the Broncos.

2013 we miss the 8, and by 2014 Bennett needed a new home.

2015 - we go back to Bennett. Hindsight seems to confirm that this was the wrong decision and perhaps we would have been wiser to actually undertake a proper recruiting process and try and sign the next long-term coach for the Broncos.

The history does not need to be repeated, but Bennett's second go round wound up with a divided club and a terrible culture.

We then undertake what is purported to be a proper recruiting process, but in reality appears to have been window dressing designed to appease the old boys, because the decision had been made to appoint Seibold. We all know how that worked out.

Once again, it appears to appease the old boys, Walters is appointed the coach. The writing is not on the wall, the fat lady has not begun to croon, but she does appear to be warming up.

For what is purported to be one of the largest and most successful sporting clubs in Australia, that litany of coaching mistakes is damning.

Recruiting/Playing roster

I have harped on this before, but we have sucked in succession planning since the early 2000's.

We never adequatley replaced Langer and Walters, such that we had to move the best fullback at the time from that position into the halves to try and cover for our failings to develop or recruit a replacement.

Webcke retires in 2006. Instead of ensuring that we kept Civoniceva to lead our forwards, we allow him to walk over a pay dispute and replace him with Joel Clinton?????????

The club leader they had anointed to replace Lockyer, K Hunt, walked out the door along with Folau with no ready made replacements available.

We appeared to bet the farm on the 2010 cohort developing into class players that would be the basis of the next generation of broncos stars. That did not work out so well.

Our recruiting for the last 10-12 years in trying to bring in some class to supplement our younger players has approved to be fairly abysmal results wise.
Joel Clinton
Martin Kennedy
Shane Tronc
P J Marsh
Ben Barba
Daniel Vidot
Todd Lowrie
James Roberts
Greg Eden
John Asiata
Milford
Jack Bird.

I just hope we have a better outcome from Reynolds and Capewell.

The biggest failing however, appears to be our failure to put together a consistently competent and classy spine. That has been our biggest (and ongong problem) since 2015 and seven years on, they still have not resolved it.

Wrap that up with some very bad luck with injuries such a Yow Yeh, which denied us the services of what appeared to be developing to be a super-star player.

Losing K Hunt, Folau and Yow Yeh out of that backline really impacted us.

Wrap that all up and here we are. Failing to learn from our past mistakes.

 

[Scorchie]

Nice post but I suspect the GF Loss in 2015 was actually a bigger problem than we care to admit. Had we won, Bennett would be greatest ever and Hunt, B./Milford probably still our halves.

Equally losing Hunt, K./Falou in the circumstances we did and not landing Inglis equally bigger than we realise.

The rest just spiraled from there.

 

[WASSHHH]

For the most part, we’ve always been terrible at recruiting.

Richard Swain, Motu Tony, Sam Tagataese, Lama Tasi, Scott Anderson. The lost goes on.

Sadly, in a landslide, it’d be a much quicker task listing the recruitment successes.

 

[mrslong]

losing Cyril was the biggest factor in our decline.

bruno Cullen a close 2nd.

 

[McHunt]

I have been thinking

You need to stop doing that and just post more

 

[Jedhead]

I think Ribot was also a big loss. His nous was sadly missed.

 

[lynx000]

You need to stop doing that and just post more

The thinking is a rare occurence, I am sure that they would have heard the rusty cogs creaking in Peru.

 

[Locky888]

Getting WB back was a masterstroke. We were 1 dropped ball away from winning a premiership.
Other issues were the Santa Clause contracts Broncs were giving out with those player options and letting go of young talent.
Having News Corp as the majority owner and Murdoch recruiting his pal as Chairman is also a negative issue that still plagues us to this day.

 

[lynx000]

losing Cyril was the biggest factor in our decline.

bruno Cullen a close 2nd.

Yes, that was a significant omission, Cyril's loss was huge as well. We have still identified talent, but not to the extent when he was scouting for us.

 

[lynx000]

Nice post but I suspect the GF Loss in 2015 was actually a bigger problem than we care to admit. Had we won, Bennett would be greatest ever and Hunt, B./Milford probably still our halves.

Equally losing Hunt, K./Falou in the circumstances we did and not landing Inglis equally bigger than we realise.

The rest just spiraled from there.

Thanks for that. I agree, that was another significant omission. I don't know that the squad as a whole ever recovered from that loss and I think it effectively broke Hunt which then really adversely impacted Milford. Add in that the various issues with the squad, their defence etc apparently could not be fixed by Bennett and the coaching staff (they seemed to paper over the cracks) put us deeper into the sprial.

 

[lynx000]

Getting WB back was a masterstroke. We were 1 dropped ball away from winning a premiership.
Other issues were the Santa Clause contracts Broncs were giving out with those player options and letting go of young talent.
Having News Corp as the majority owner and Murdoch recruiting his pal as Chairman is also a negative issue that still plagues us to this day.

That was the sugar hit, it almost worked. What followed has not been so sweet and definitely not palatable.

 

[Sproj]

It has been one bad decision after another and it started with Cullen, the guy was an absolute bomb for this club, it was start of the rotting head that filtered its way down. Everything cascaded from that idiot being in charge. Cyril's loss was the biggest thing I agree but not in the same space in my opinion because obviously, his loss had nothing to do with poor decision making. Cullen was the first bad choice that led to all others and there have been MANY. It almost got to a point where if the Broncos were making ANY decision, you knew it was the wrong one and they shouldn't do it.

This is why I am hoping Donuts arrival finally heralds in the beginning of good decision making.

 

[lynx000]

It has been one bad decision after another and it started with Cullen, the guy was an absolute bomb for this club, it was start of the rotting head that filtered its way down. Everything cascaded from that idiot being in charge. Cyril's loss was the biggest thing I agree but not in the same space in my opinion because obviously, his loss had nothing to do with poor decision making. Cullen was the first bad choice that led to all others and there have been MANY. It almost got to a point where if the Broncos were making ANY decision, you knew it was the wrong one and they shouldn't do it.

This is why I am hoping Donuts arrival finally heralds in the beginning of good decision making.

I hope so mate. They have to fix our spine though.

it is an indictment on our club and its management that (in my view) since 2006 we have only been a realistic chance of taking out a premiership in 2008, 2011 and 2015. That is not good enough for a club with our history and it is down to the manner in which we have been mismanaged.

 

[Sproj]

I hope so mate. They have to fix our spine though.

it is an indictment on our club and its management that (in my view) since 2006 we have only been a realistic chance of taking out a premiership in 2008, 2011 and 2015. That is not good enough for a club with our history and it is down to the manner in which we have been mismanaged.

Totally agree but Reynolds is a great first step. Mam, let's hope, is an excellent second step and Mozer comes on as we all hope because if those two do, then we are a fullback away from a really good side. Mam might even be ready late this season. Mozer is still a ways off but let's also hope Paix can fill the void in the meantime or Turpin has some kind of an out of body experience and becomes an actual two way running 9.

 

[mrslong]

Yes, that was a significant omission, Cyril's loss was huge as well. We have still identified talent, but not to the extent when he was scouting for us.

If Cyril is around there’s no way Munster and grant are at Melbourne, they’re classic Cyril players.

 

[pagey]

The thinking is a rare occurence, I am sure that they would have heard the rusty cogs creaking in Peru.

funny you say that because thats where i was when we won our last premiership

 

[lynx000]

As I said here we are again, failing to learn from our past mistakes.

Harsh though it may be, I have seen enough. KW is not going to cut it and has to go if we are going to genuinely try and get back to some where near our past glory.

 

[Broncapz]

2 Words.

Wayne Bennett.