NRL losing streak arrives at a bad time for Brisbane Broncos and Queensland Rugby League
After eight rounds of the NRL premiership season the highest ranked Queensland side are the North Queensland Cowboys in 11th position, followed by the Brisbane Broncos (14th) and the Gold Coast Titans (15th). The Queensland Maroons will assume underdog status heading into this year’s State of Origin series, all while the Sunshine State becomes the unofficial home of the AFL. Nonetheless, Queensland Rugby League officials are declaring it’s no time to panic.
Concern for the Broncos, the NRL’s richest club, crescendoed last weekend following a sixth straight loss. At fulltime, players were reduced to tears and frustrated fans called on club administrators to reveal a roadmap out of catastrophe.
In response to heavy scrutiny, chief executive Paul White voiced support for head coach Anthony Seibold. But the comments did little to appease an audience quick to recall a similar show of commitment to Wayne Bennett in 2018, just a week before the mastermind of six premierships at the club was sent packing.
There is no disputing that the Broncos have been dealt significant injury blows, starting in pre-season with Jack Bird, and culminating in five players being sidelined by the time the NRL went into lockdown. In June, former representative players Isaac Luke and Ben Te’o were signed in a bid to give Brisbane what, on paper, looked an advantageous mix of the experienced and the rising, but the post-lockdown period has uncovered a lack of attacking power (1.7 tries per game) and poor discipline, demonstrated by an unenviable 40-19 penalty count.
After 30 successful years, Broncos supporters are simply not used to the big brother of Queensland rugby league backfiring.
“Queensland fans love their rugby league so it is understandable that some supporters are frustrated at the moment,” Robert Moore, managing director of Queensland Rugby League, admitted to Guardian Australia. “Everyone has their own opinion but what it shows is the massive amount of interest in the club and in the game in general.”
In fairness, the Cowboys (aka the middle brother) have been equally unimpressive. Despite the continued service of its maiden premiership-winning coach, Paul Green, and the opening of a new $293m stadium this year, the Cowboys boast just one win from the past six rounds. Injuries to a raft of senior players including captain Michael Morgan, Valentine Holmes and Josh McGuire have proven costly, but an upset win over the Knights two starts ago has provided a faint beacon of hope.
The Titans remain in the all-toofamiliar position at the tail of the competition. Despite being home to Origin forwards Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace, the franchise has lacked the strike power of its rivals. That said, they inflicted a convincing 30-12 win in the local derby against the Broncos in round seven, proving that every dog has its day.
With its vision of adding a second Brisbane team to the competition as early as 2022, the NRL needs to be certain that the incoming side will add to the competition and not detract from it. It can’t overlook the fact that the Titans have struggled to be competitive since their introduction in 2007. The Broncos, in particular, will want to reinforce their foundations before taking on the risk of losing attention to a new little brother.
In years gone by, all of this may have signalled disaster for Queensland’s prospects in State of Origin, but with more than 60 per cent of the 2019 representative squad playing across the border at club level, the QRL remains optimistic. “We’ve got no concerns at the moment because we have Queensland players spread throughout other NRL clubs who are performing well; clubs like the Melbourne Storm and Newcastle Knights. There is also enough time for the three Queensland sides to turn their form around,” Moore asserts.
This year’s scheduling change could be a silver lining. More Queensland players could be engaged in a trainon squad as they wrap up their NRL commitments earlier than the New South Wales brigade. However, the compound effect of the series being staged after the NRL finals is that a majority of the Maroons squad could head into league’s fiercest rivalry not having played competitively for nearly five weeks.
On top of all the internal challenges, rugby league in Queensland now has the AFL to contend with after that competition was forced to set up shop in the state as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown in Victoria. The relocation means Queenslanders will have six AFL games hosted in their own backyard this weekend, and as a bonus, the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns are both firmly in finals contention.
The AFL announced this week that participation at all levels had grown by 270,000 in Queensland. While a 21 per cent growth in its national television audience (compared to 2019) can be attributed to an inability to attend matches in the current climate, the increase in Brisbane was a massive 38 per cent – signalling just what good form can do for the game. Good form; something noticeably in short supply in Queensland rugby league.