Seibold tells Broncos leaders to speak up

Brisbane’s leaders have been challenged by coach Anthony Seibold to drive the turnaround in the embattled club’s NRL form.

The Broncos are reeling after back-to-back home hammerings since the resumption of the competition following the COVID-19 crisis.

The round-three flogging by Parramatta was bad enough but last Thursday’s record 59-0 mauling by Sydney Roosters has sparked serious discussion about the Broncos’ roster and Seibold’s own future.

Forward Matt Lodge labelled the performance embarrassing in a press conference on Sunday in which he added “some people aren’t as good as what we think”.

Captain Alex Glenn, who is currently recovering from a nasty cut to his leg suffered in the 34-6 loss to the Eels, has also said the team is struggling to be honest with themselves and deliver home truths.

Seibold said any player, regardless of experience, needed to take responsibility if the Broncos’ fortunes are to change.

“With the leadership group, they see something, they need to say something, regardless of how many games they’ve played or what their age is,” he said.

“I can’t disagree with Alex … they’ve got to be stronger on each other.

“It’s all well and good coming from the coaching staff or the performance staff but sometimes tough conversations in games, in training, need to come from the group.”

Seibold says he made sure the players suffered some hurt over the weekend after their humiliating display against the Roosters but has resisted the urge to throw the baby out with the bathwater heading into Thursday’s match against Manly at Central Coast Stadium.

He said it was important to remember both teams are 2-2 heading into the match and says getting their hands on the football in the game’s opening minutes will be vital after being instantly on the back foot against the Eels and Roosters.

“At the start of the game, the thing I can see with the new rules is momentum is king. It’s almost like the under-20s competition a few years ago,” Seibold said.

“With the one referee and the interpretation of the six-again rule, both weeks we’ve had to defend for the first 10 minutes and they’ve scored tries really early which has put us on the back foot.

“Field position and possession to start the game is key because it builds momentum, but also puts some fatigue into the opposition team. Manly are a very serious team, we’ve got a big job but we’ve just tried to focus on the critical few things.”

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