Former Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin says the Broncos have lost their identity following a record loss in the NRL finals.
Parramatta ended Brisbane’s season and handed the power club their worst-ever loss with a 58-0 thrashing in the first week of finals on Sunday.
The Broncos endured their worst start to a season this century (1-5) in coach Anthony Seibold’s first year at the helm, and despite a mid-season revival, the campaign also ended with a whimper.
Griffin coached the Broncos to 54 wins from 101 games before he was sacked in 2014 to make way for Wayne Bennett, who Seibold replaced this season.
“They’ve lost their identity which is the biggest thing for Brisbane, they’ve lost their soul or whatever you want to call it over the last couple of weeks,” Griffin told NRL 360.
“If they’d got to the semis and gone down with an admirable loss, you could half explain the year away and say they were blooding a lot of young guys, but it was the way they lost it.
“They’ve got to re-find (their soul), it was all built on effort and playing for each other that Bennett started there and instilled in the place and the great players put in.”
Seibold was tipped to lead Brisbane to a drought-breaking premiership but they struggled for direction and consistency all year before scraping into eighth and bouncing out of finals.
“Coming eighth in Brisbane isn’t a pass mark. There are a lot of clubs that would like to be in their shoes and they wear that responsibility … it was the way that they lost,” Griffin said.
“There has been a lot of positive things that have happened there this year with the players they’ve brought through, but the way they finished their seasons is the most alarming thing because the whole season then looks like it stood for nothing.”