Bronco revolution fizzles at first shot
ANTHONY Seibold’s Red Hill revolution received a stinging reality check last night after watching his errorriddled Brisbane Broncos crash to a season-opening 22-12 loss to big guns Melbourne at AAMI Park.
The post-Wayne Bennett era started dismally for the Broncos, whose debut under reigning NRL coach of the year Seibold turned ugly against a Storm side that emphatically demonstrated what it takes to be NRL kingpins.
The Broncos were ruthlessly beaten out of the blocks, collapsing to a 10-0 deficit after just 14 minutes as Seibold was left to digest a sloppy Round 1 showing replete with errors and poor efforts.
Reeling at 16-0 after 60 minutes, the Broncos gave Seibold hope of a stunning upset when winger Corey Oates (60th and 62nd minutes) scored twice to set up a thrilling finale at 16-12.
But the Storm were always fresher, sharper and smarter, finally plunging the dagger into the Broncos when Jesse Bromwich atoned for an intercept pass by crashing over 12 minutes from time.
Premierships aren’t won in March, so Seibold won’t be hitting the panic button but the Broncos need to find some energy and midfield aggression for next Friday night’s derby against the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium.
To compound the plight, star centre James Roberts lasted just six minutes before injuring his back, while prop Matt Lodge could come under scrutiny for a late shot on Cameron Munster.
While Seibold praised Brisbane’s ability to hang tough after trailing 10-0 inside 14 minutes, he was left to lament a terrible start as the Broncos allowed Melbourne to charge through the rucks.
“We didn’t have any footy for the first nine minutes,” he said. “At one stage they had 70 per cent possession and 30 per cent to us, we just couldn’t get out of our end.
“I thought we showed a lot of resilience. The only message from me at halftime was to bite down hard on their mouthguard and try to get through it.
“I’m really proud of the effort, the easy thing to do would have been to throw in the towel.”