Club legend responds to 'disgusting' Brisbane Broncos debacle

Sports Reporter

Wed, 1 July 2020, 2:22 am·2-min read

Darren Lockyer during Channel Nine commentary. — Former Broncos legend and club director Darren Lockyer has taken some responsibility for the club's current shape. (Getty Images)

Broncos great and club director Darren Lockyer has taken some blame aim for the Brisbane’s recruitment following the struggles of the NRL juggernaut under embattled coach Anthony Seibold.

Brisbane are winless in their last five matches, including a soul-crushing defeat to one of the bottom the Gold Coast Titans on the weekend.

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To compound the humiliation, on Tuesday former coach Wayne Bennett slammed coach Seibold for not getting the best out of the talented roster.

This followed Broncos great Ben Ikin lashing the struggling juggernaut of the NRL.

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.”

Lockyer’s honest response

Now, former five-eighth and current board director Lockyer has given an honest answer and accepted Ikin may be right in terms of the difficulty the club is facing with the salary cap.

“Salary cap management is a big part of having success on the field and the Broncos, probably like a lot of other clubs, there’s a few pressures there in the salary cap. That’s probably going to take a little bit of time to fix up,” Lockyer said on the Channel Nine show QLDER.

Brodie Croft kneels and looks dejected after his team's loss. — Brodie Croft looks dejected after his team lost the round seven NRL match between the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium on June 27, 2020 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“It’s something that if you don’t get it right and you’re losing footy games, it gets picked apart. ‘Ikey’s’ entitled to his opinion and it’s up to the people within the Broncos, and that includes myself, to start making some better decisions.”

Lockyer reiterated his faith in coach Seibold and said there was plenty of time to turn it around before the finals.

“I said at the start of the year there was no excuses for the Broncos this year,” Lockyer said.

“I felt they should be improving on what they did last year and at the moment, where we sit, that’s not the case. But there’s still 13 rounds to go until the finals.”