Where the NRL goes wrong.

The problem is that there seems to be a general consensus that as long as you make an example out of a guy every once in a while, you can let other players behaviors slide.

And of coarse, the players you will let get away with it are the players that could help you win.

What sparked the BBSblog to bring up this issue?

Well... naturally the Roosters support of Todd Carney. I could understand it if it would have been the first, or even second offence. But this is... what? The fifth time in about as many years that the man has showed a complete disregard for rules and laws? Drinking and driving and reckless driving, reckless driving and driving without a license as well as failing to stop when directed by the police, urinating on a man, vandalism and now another drinking and driving.

So far we haven't heard about any sort of repercussions for Carney.

How many chances does a man repeatedly breaking laws get, compared to a man like Joel Monaghan who did do something dumb and revolting but didn't break any laws and was booted out on his ass?

We can ask Steve Irwin what he thinks of all the chances Todd Carney gets. Steve Irwin who was fired from the Raiders back in 2007 over having been in the car Todd Carney drove, and being the owner of the vehicle despite not having been charged with anything. Irwin hasn't played in the NRL since then. Meanwhile Todd Carney has been charged with various things... how many times now? Three times since 2007?

It's amazing how much being able to play the game of NRL well will let you get away with. But SHOULD it? Five times Todd Carney has broken the law, and he's still playing NRL grade. He's still not feeling any significant consequences for repeated violations of traffic laws. Meanwhile guys who haven't even broken any laws will get booted out, no second chances. Are players like Todd Carney, or Jonathan Thurston who retains his captaincy despite spending a night in jail last year, soaking up all the chances the NRL has above other players completely based on their on-field quality? Are we, as fans, also letting good players get away with bad behavior just because they can make our team win?

Does the NRL want to be a code with a clean conscience or a code with a lot of law breakers?

Who do we want to elevate? Players like Todd Carney, or players like Darren Lockyer, for example? Who would you rather have your child model their lives after, given the chance?

This isn't just about winning games or playing well. It's also about being a good role model, whether they want to be or not. Ina country like Australia, where drinking and driving is such a big problem, do you really want to send the message out to kids everywhere that it's not that big of a deal, as long as you're sorry afterwards?

I don't know. I don't think Todd should be completely banned from the NRL, but there were a few conditions he didn't want to agree to back in 2008. Put them in front of him now. Tell him that those are the conditions or he can leave, for good.

You can't keep giving a guy new chances when he's already had "another chance" four to five times now and not step up the consequences.

That's my opinion. I like Todd Carney as a player, but come on! The man can obviously not handle alcohol, and he obviously shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car. How hard is it to take a taxi if you know you're over the alcohol limit? Surely you must be able to afford that as an NRL superstar? How hard is it to get someone else to drive you? Surely you know enough people who'd be willing to do that to keep you from breaking the law? And if not, there is such a thing as buses and trains. If you can't afford that, you need someone to take care of your finances for you.

I'm not advocating being a hard-ass. I am advocating consistency and the clubs out there taking care of their players. Because the roosters are NOT doing Todd Carney any favors by standing behind him and watching him break the law, again.

Todd Carney and Jonathan Thurston are both brilliant players, but Todd Carney is a consistent law breaker. Jonathan Thurston might not quite be captain material yet.

I would love to see the NRL step up and make sure these players LEARN from their mistakes, that they are reprimanded and that consequences becomes a real thing. In the long run, I think we'll all benefit from it. Players, team, code, fans and country. All of us.

Darren Lockyer Will Only Coach The Broncos

Darren Lockyer has hinted that he would be interested in taking up coaching, but only at the Brisbane Broncos, and preferably after learning under Wayne Bennett.

"I am a Bronco and I would never change that ... I wouldn't see myself coaching another NRL club." [1]

[1] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/brisbane-captain-darren-lockyer-reveals-he-wants-to-coach-broncos/story-e6frexnr-1226012320483

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33852&title=lockyer-i-would-only-ever-coach-the-broncos

Broncos Looking Good

After a clean sweep of the trial matches, the last one against the Strom that ended 26-6, Broncos are looking like a good team to be betting on this season.

The tries in the Storm trial games were scored by Ben T'eo, Ben Hunt, skipper Darren Lockyer, Jahral Jow Yeh and Dane Gagai.

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33841&title=broncos-march-into-season

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Meanwhile we have been having difficulties the past three or so days with our updating due to an unexpected computer failure. We apologize for not having been as on the ball as usual, and hope it will not happen again.

Advantages Going Into 2011

1. Darren Lockyer - Not only does this quality player provide an advantage in his playmaking skills, but I'd say it's a safe bet that he also offers a psychological advantage. He's been the skipper for many of the best players out there at the All Stars, Origin and International levels. I don't care who you are or how good your disassociation skills are, that has got to give us an advantage.

2. Being the underdog - In one sense other teams are going to try to capitalize on the recent drama within the club, but, BBS blog doesn't think it will affect our team too much. As some sources has pointed out, the younger players are already familiar with Hook in a head coach position, and the more senior players are adaptive and confident in their styles, as seen by their representative careers.

3. The returning players - Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges are both back, Ben after having been with the Bulldogs and Hodges is back from his injury. This is something to be happy about. It brings back more experienced players and keeps a good balance.

4. The shift - Yes... I know. This is purely speculative and the BBS blog has a bias in this question. We like what we've heard so far about Hook (Griffin). We like the the focus he's reported to be funneling towards psychological toughness and defense. He's not wrapping players in cotton for the trials, the ones who haven't got a trial at club level is, seemingly getting it. Corey Parker and Darren Lockyer are looking very comfortable with the change. The rumors going around that Bruno and one chairman was the only thing standing between Henjak and the boot at the end of the last season also makes BBS blog feel a bit more comfortable.
BBS blog is inclined to think that White made the right decision, a decision which should have been carried out earlier, but he decided that "better late than never" was the way to go.
BBS blog has had a problem with Henjak ever since that game in 2009 when he pulled the best five-eight in the competition out of his position for one game. Gambling where you shouldn't and not gambling when you should... we have a feeling Hook might just know when to gamble and when to not. Then again, it ain't over until Darren raises the trophy, so we'll see.

Pictures From Broncos Playing Cowboys In Alice Springs Up At Broncos.com

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=photo-galleries&galleryid=1458

The pictures from the trial game between the Broncos and the Cowboys at Alice Springs are up at the Broncos website.

Broncos beat the Cowboys in that game with 24-4.

Former Bronco player Antonio Winterstein suffered a broken jaw in the first half. One could ask for better luck when one plays ones previous club for the first time. We're wishing Antonio a quick recovery.

Hodges is looking good, setting up a try with his first touch off of the bench. BBSblog is happy he's back, we missed him last year.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/20/3143643.htm?site=sport&section=rugbyleague

Brisbane Broncos Supporter Blog Speculatation

Less than one week ago Sportingbet and Hans announced that they had upgraded their sponsorship of the Brisbane Broncos. Yesterday it was announced that Ivan Henjak was being let go as head coach of the Brisbane Broncos and the assistant coach Anthony Griffin would be taking over.

Rather than being upset about the timing of the departure of Henjak, the Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog wonders if it might not have been financial prudence or pr issues that led to the decision being made so close to the beginning of the 2011 season. After all, sacking the head coach before finalization or declaration of sponsorship will cast a shadow over the happy news.

Could this have been why the decision took so, seemingly, long to be made? Public relation is, after all, an important part of club footy.

Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog, however, stresses the point that we only find the timing interesting. The Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog would, if put in a similar situation, wait with any decision making regarding termination of coaching contracts until after sponsorship deals and the announcements of such were made. We have no inside information regarding the issue, nor do we have any other basis for the speculation aside from the timing.

Broncos Team 100% Behind Anthony "Hook" Griffin As New Head Coach

Darren Lockyer spoke to media earlier today about the new head coach Anthony "Hook" Griffin and the situation in which the team finds themselves.

The skipper said they all felt for Ivan, but the best thing to do for the club and the fans is to move forward. He pointed out that "Hook" has not come from another team, and that despite the fact that round one is just around the corner, the players were comfortable at the morning training session and he doubted there would be much disruption to the preparations.

The champion Bronco stressed that the team is 100% supportive of the new head coach, while vehemently denying the rumors about a falling out between himself and Henjak. He also said he understood that fans might be worried, but that getting over the past days is priority one.

Anthony "Hook" Griffin said that he is ready to coach and that his focus right now is on getting the team ready.

More information can be found at the Brisbane Broncos home page. Videos up now with Darren Lockyer and Anthony Griffin statements.

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33727&title=darren-lockyer-reassures-fans

Broncos Chairman Resignes

The Brisbane Broncos continues to cause headlines as Bronco chairman Darryl Somerville resigned today, Tuesday the 22nd of February 2011.

The news comes the day after the club announced it had fired head coach Ivan Henjak. The club's spokesman Trad McLean says that Somerville's resignation did not have anything to do with Henjak, but was a personal decision. Somerville has let it be known that while he respects the clubs decision to sack Henjak, he does not, personally, support it. [1]

It is said that Somerville has been considering stepping down for the past year, [2] and a replacement has yet to be announced.

Most people would, no doubt, be suspicious of the timing regarding this news. This does, undoubtedly, seem to be a time of changes for the club, and we hope it will not affect the players negatively.

The Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog will be keeping an eye on the headlines regarding this club, and thinks you should do so too.

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Sources:

[1] http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8214722

[1] http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/broncos-chairman-darryl-somerville-quits-in-protest-over-sacking-of-coach/story-e6frep5o-1226009971861

[2] http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/broncos-chairman-quits-20110222-1b3be.html

More information:

http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/02/22/broncos-chairman-somerville-quits-over-henjak-sacking/ (contains the full release to the ASX)

Broncos Fan Day Date: Febuary 27th

The Brisbane Broncos will hold their annual Fan Day at their training center in Red Hill on Sunday the 27th Of February. It will be held between 9.30 am and noon, and activities include an autograph session and fan photos.

More information found at the Brisbane Broncos web page: http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33003&title=broncos-fan-day-date-announced

If the Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog will be there or not is undetermined at this point.

However, I urge all of the fans that can to go there and meet the team, lend your support and welcome the new coach.

Speculations Continue As Lockyer Denies Active Role In The Sacking Of Ivan Henjak

The internet, and probably a lot of homes and workplaces, are alive with speculations today, the day after the Broncos new executive chief White announced that they were letting Ivan Henjak go.

The news came as a shock to fans, many of whom are left feeling angry about the fact that the reasons for the dismissal of Ivan Henjak remain confidential. A number of them feels as though they, as members and supporters, deserve to know what is going on.

Some of the initial media speculations included suggestions that Darren Lockyer could have been a major factor in the sacking of Henjak, something the champion Bronco denies.

In the Brisbane Times as well as the Sydney Morning Herald the skipper is quoted to have said:

"I know there are some rumors going around that I had a falling out with Ivan but that wasn't the case.

"We had a good relationship but at times last year when we were going through a pretty bad trot I think everyone was down a bit.

"But Ivan and I had a good relationship and there was never a falling out." [1]

He also stated that the players were as caught by surprise as the fans when the news broke on Monday night.

The most common speculation amongst fans, when one reads the comments on Broncos facebook page, seems to be that Henjak was sacked to make room for the return of current Dragon coach Wayne Bennet in 2012, or possibly make an opening for current Storm coach Craig Bellamy.

Media still seems to favor the idea that Henjak had issues communicating with the senior players of the team and that this was a contributing factor. He is also being partially blamed, by some, for the fact that Broncos missed out on former Storm player Greg Inglis.

All seem to agree that the timing is not optimal, and that Ivan should have been given the axe earlier, or been allowed to have another go at leading the team.

The general consensus is that the timing is less than optimal, witch fans discussing why he wouldn't have been fired at the end of last season if there were such issues with his coaching. Others feel that he should have been allowed to continue on one more year and show his worth. Some fans are even talking about withdrawing their support of the club, since they feel the treatment of Ivan Henjak is highly questionable.

The Brisbane Broncos Supporter blog is under the opinion that what is done is done, and speculations, entertaining as they are, does not help at this stage. Whatever the reasons for Henjaks dismissal as head coach for the Brisbane Broncos might be, we should look to the future.
Broncos is a good team with both new talent and quality veteran players, the focus should be on the season ahead, and not on the recent drama. We are not privy to the information that the executives and board were privy to, and we probably never will be. We can either trust that they made the right decision based on the information they had, or we can condemn it. Either way we continue to wish the club the best of luck for the new season, and hope that Anthony Griffin will do a good job in his new role as the head coach of the Brisbane Broncos for the 2011 season.


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Sources:

[1] http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/i-played-no-part-in-henjak-axing-lockyer-20110222-1b37b.html

[1] http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-sport/lockyer-denies-helping-oust-henjak-20110221-1b2b4.html

Further Information:

http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/henjak-wouldn-t-have-seen-coming-4037361

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/sacked-ivan-henjak-did-not-heed-warnings/story-e6frfgbo-1226009720697

Anthony Griffin New Brisbane Broncos Head Coach

Anthony Griffin, aged 44 , is the new head coach for the Brisbane Broncos following the shock dismissal of Ivan Henjak on the 21st of Febuary 2011, only three weeks prior to the 2011 NRL season start.

The new head coach is on a one year contract, according to the Courier Mail[1], and it has led to speculations that the board might be looking at former coach Wayne Bennet, who's contract with the St George Illawarra Dragons runs out in 2012.

Anthony Griffin is a fairly unknown coach, when considering the job he's inherited.

Anthony Griffin previous coaching appointments, (aside from his assistant coach position with Brisbane Broncos) include: Redcliffe Colts 95-97, Brisbane Norths Colts 98-00, Melbourne Storm assistant 01-02, Souths Logan Qld Cup 03-04, Redcliffe Qld Cup 05-07 [2]

His coaching achievements are: Broncos NYC Grand Finalists 2008. Redcliffe Qld Cup Premiers 06, Grand finalists 07. Three Qld Colts premierships 97 (Redcliffe) 98 and 00 (Norths). Coached Qld under-17s (1998) and Qld Residents (2007) [2]

And his playing record: Brisbane Brothers 1985-87, Rockhampton Brothers 1988-92 [2]

The cards he has been handed is one not many people would envy him. With such a short period of time to go before the first round kicks off for the Brisbane Broncos with the game against the North Queensland Cowboys on Suncorp Stadium the 11th of March, you have to wonder what is going through his head.

Speculations about the reasons for the change in coaches are numerous, with several fans and members of the media speculating if a falling out between Broncos skipper and club champion Darren Lockyer and Ivan Henjak could have something to do with it.
Incoming chief executive White, however, denies that this is a player-led revolt.

While speculations will continue to run rampant, we will probably never know why the Brisbane Broncos have had such a sudden change of head coach. A confidentiality agreement has been struck between Ivan Henjak and the board regarding the details of what led to his dismissal.

I think most fans can agree on one thing, though. We wish Anthony Griffin the best of luck in his new position for the 2011 season and we hope he will help our talented team to preform to the best of their capacity.

Good luck, Anthony. Let's go Broncos!

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Sources:

[1] http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/henjak-faced-player-revolt/story-e6frep66-1226009713215

[2] http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=profile-coach-display&id=1355&team=Broncos

Further information:

http://redcliffe-and-bayside-herald.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/griffin-takes-over-as-broncos-coach/

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33700&title=anthony-griffin-to-replace-ivan-henjak

http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/02/21/the-downfall-of-henjak-and-rise-of-griffin/

Ivan Henjak No Longer The Coach For Brisbane Broncos

The speculations about Ivan Henjaks future has been running rampant since the end of last season.
Rumors spoke of problems between players and Ivan regarding the lack of input they were given in the club's training and game-plan approaches last year even before the Broncos
missed out on the top eight for the first time in nineteen years.

The fact that some sources claim that Ivan blocked Darren Lockyers return from a rib injury in order to insure the skipper would be fit for a possible final game made the buzz even bigger, despite denials from Darren that this was not the case.

Despite it all Broncos new management claimed to support Ivan as a coach and denied that they would fire him... up until today.

Today it was declared that Ivan Henjak has been fired and his assistant Anthony Griffin will take over as coach. Henjak two years left on his deal with the Brisbane Broncos.

The speculated reasons for his termination are many. One is that he lost the support of several senior players, another obvious reason is the fact that the team finished tenth last year.

What probably made most peoples chins drop in response to this news will have been the quick shift in attitude from the board as well as the timing for the news. We are only three weeks away from the start of the 2011 season, and in a couple of months the board has , seemingly made a turn from giving Henjak their full support to sacking him.
Some sources claim the news seems to have come as a complete surprise to Henjak.

The Broncos website has the video of the announcement up on the web. Some would argue that Paul Whites body language looks highly uncomfortable and less than credible as he delivers a non-informative speech about the departure of Ivan Henjak.

Us fans might never know the reasons why, but regardless of what has actually been going on behind closed doors one thing is certain. This will be a very interesting season, indeed. We just hope it will be a good one and wish the new coach and the players good luck.
We also wish Ivan Henjak good luck in the future.

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Sources and more information:

http://www.nrl.com/broncos-sack-henjak/tabid/10874/newsid/61429/default.aspx

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/21/3144713.htm

http://www.broncos.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=33701&title=paul-white-announces-coaching-change

http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/brisbane-broncos-coach-ivan-henjak-has-been-sacked-according-to-reports/story-e6frf3ou-1226009587938

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/brisbane-broncos-sack-coach-ivan-henjak/story-e6frexnr-1226009581596