The homesick Warriors heaped further pain onto Brisbane with Saturday’s 26-16 NRL win which left Broncos stars Alex Glenn and Brodie Croft visibly upset at fulltime.
The outpouring of emotion was the result of six weeks of pressure and frustration for the players, culminating in another loss after leading with 20 minutes to go.
“It makes me sad. The guys have obviously been heavily criticised and, in some ways, rightly so,” coach Anthony Seibold said.
“We invest a lot of time in it but we’re just not getting our jobs done at the moment.
“The pain you saw on the guys’ faces – that’s how we’re all feeling at the moment.
“How Brodie and Alex are feeling is how myself and the entire group is feeling … it’s really disappointing.”
Despite leading 10-6 at halftime, the Broncos were undone again by their final 20 minutes. They have been outscored 86-8 since the start of the season across that period.
“I’d love to find out why,” Seibold said.
“We’re really hurting ourselves with errors and lack of field position. It just seems to be compounding.”
Down 16-12 with 20 minutes to go in Gosford, a clutch 40-20 from Blake Green turned the tide for the Warriors who finished with a full head of steam for their first win in a month.
It was just their second game since coach Stephen Kearney was sacked.
One try was remarkably overturned with a captain’s challenge when Anthony Milford was judged to have been obstructed in the lead-up, but three quick tries handed the Warriors the win.
It was a masterclass in game management from Green days after Warriors owner Mark Robinson said the halfback would be moved on at the end of the season.
“He’s had a really tough week, and I can’t commend him highly enough with his contribution to this club,” said interim coach Todd Payten.
“I spoke to him more than once and he was upset, but the way he threw himself into the week, the way he performed tonight was a testament to him, his family and the way he goes about his business.”
The Warriors’ performance is even more impressive considering they lost five-eighth Kodi Nikorima to a head clash with Tevita Pangai Junior just four minutes into the match.
They were also without star skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who sat on the sidelines suspended.
Teenage sensation Xavier Coates was again the bright spot for the Broncos after scoring a quick double in the first half to notch up four tries from four games this season.
