- Jul 28, 2008
- 6,435
- 8,485
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.
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.
