Broncos in the firing line

McCullough says players on thin ice after review

VETERAN hooker Andrew McCullough admits his future at Brisbane may be on the line after their embarrassing NRL finals exit. McCullough also expressed regret after it emerged six players left the team hotel to play the pokies in a pub without coach Anthony Seibold’s knowledge past 11pm on the night before their 58-0 elimination-final loss to Parramatta. McCullough appeared on thin ice when he joined Broncos teammates at their Red Hill headquarters yesterday to face the music from Seibold at their end-of-season review. There had already been reports that the under-performing rake was on the outer ahead of the 2020 season before he was named as one of the players seen at Sydney’s Harpoon and Hotel Harry late on Saturday night before their record drubbing. The others were Matt Gillett, Anthony Milford, Corey Oates, Payne Haas and David Fifita. Highly paid fullback Milford and former Cronulla premiership player Jack Bird were also expected to be told they are on notice at the review. And there was speculation veteran Darius Boyd would not only step down from the captaincy but may be asked to move on, with reports claiming he was not in Seibold’s 2020 round one plans. It remains to be seen what Seibold said since no one at the club spoke with the media yesterday. But earlier McCullough – a 12-season Broncos veteran – did admit he was sweating on his future. “We’ll find out today. We’re reviewing everything,” he told Southern Cross Austereo. “Speculation and rumours always comes after a heavy loss. Being an older player within that team, that’s just the way it is. “I’m not blind to the fact that things may need to happen. But is it me (leaving)? I am not too sure. (But) I certainly deserve plenty of criticism my way. “The reality is, we didn’t perform well and things start to speculate when overall the team’s performance isn’t up to scratch.” It appears some Broncos may pay a huge price for their late-night pokies stint with club officials on Tuesday saying they would consider the players’ behaviour when they carry out their end-of-season review which will help determine their roster after the Eels rout. McCullough said he only met briefly with teammates at the hotel after getting an ice cream but admitted they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. “Being in that position to begin with is not a good look. I totally accept if no one is happy with that situation,” he said. “You’ve got to be smarter with the decisions of putting yourself in those situations. “If we had won, we wouldn’t be talking about it but since that wasn’t the case there may be an issue there. “Right across the board, myself and a couple of older boys saw a few blokes going there and maybe should have said ‘you should be doing something else’. “I didn’t think to say that but I should have. There’s some tough lessons for myself and some of the older boys.”