'Disgusting' truth behind Brisbane Broncos' sad demise
No matter how you look at it, the Brisbane Broncos are sinking deeper into the NRL quagmire.
Winless in their last five matches, Brisbane's latest soul-crushing defeat came at the hands of one of the bottom teams, the Gold Coast Titans.
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More worrying than the loss was the manner in which the Broncos succumbed to the Titans in the chastening 30-12 defeat.
Brisbane have received a barrage of social media abuse while critics including club greats have been queuing up to blast the once mighty team who now sit second last on the NRL ladder.
The Broncos reached a new low against the Titans, booed off the field by their own fans at halftime while trailing 22-0.
Their attitude was further called into question when some Broncos were seen laughing and socialising with opponents on the field after the demoralising display.
Broncos chairman Karl Morris has guaranteed under-fire coach Anthony Seibold's future but has reportedly urged him to get some help by signing either former club captain Kevin Walters or dumped Warriors mentor Stephen Kearney as an assistant.
While discussing the Broncos' dire predicament on Fox Sports' NRL 360 on Monday night, club great Ben Ikin insisted the blame should not simply fall on Seibold and the players.
Ikin weighed in on a frequent criticism of the Broncos that their player recruitment is not up to scratch, taking aim at those responsible in a fiery spray.
“The list management at the Brisbane Broncos has been disgusting,” Ikin said.
“Disgusting, there’s no way around it. The 30-man squad the Broncos have assembled is ineffective. It’s out of balance.”
Ikin conceded that Seibold was partly to blame for the situation but also pointed the finger at general manager for football Peter Nolan and CEO Paul White.
“That 30-man squad is so twisted and out of balance that they’ve arrived at this point that they’ve been beaten by the last-placed Titans and not in a close contest,” Ikin added.
Seibold needs to find answers quickly
“I’d be doing whatever I could to defend a five-year contract for a coach if I was chairman.
“I’d be looking for lines to be rolling out to the public domain because that was a poor decision, because I can tell you right now, the coach they thought they were signing is not the coach that’s in charge of that roster today.
“He’s got some gaps. That doesn’t say to me that as a board, as a CEO that you need to sack him, but you need to get very clear very quick about what his shortcomings are. At $800,000 for five years, you shouldn’t have many.”
The former premiership winner also said he thought Seibold would be filthy with the club if they brought someone like Stephen Kearney in to help him out.
“So a bloke who’s head coach of the rugby league’s largest club needs someone to come in and help him build relationships with his players — I would find that, if I was Anthony Seibold, highly insulting.”
Ikin's co-host Paul Kent added that if the Broncos aren't able to quickly identity what direction the club wants to take, “the rot will be so ingrained in the club that they will become a perennial loser.”
