Critics “singing like canaries” won’t ruffle feathers at the battling Broncos, unfazed coach Anthony Griffin says.
Griffin says he is not surprised the knives have come out as Brisbane look to finish off their worst season in club history against the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
But he may be surprised by the source of one of the fiercest critiques on Wednesday – club great Gorden Tallis.
The former Brisbane captain called for a “massive shake-up” at the club in his News Corp column, taking aim at everything from the club’s development and recruitment to Griffin himself.
“Players used to dream to play for the Broncos. They don’t any more,” Tallis wrote.
“The last three years, the Broncos have gone backwards.”
Griffin – who has held the reins since 2011 – said on Wednesday six-time premiers Brisbane were always going to come under fire after missing the finals for just the second time in 21 years.
But it has been the way they missed it.
Brisbane are currently 13th with a 9-1-13 record.
Their previous worst season was an 11-win effort in 2010 – a tally that resulted in then coach Ivan Henjak being sacked.
“We are fair game at the moment,” Griffin said.
“Everyone is singing like canaries so we will just let them go.
“That was always going to happen.”
Asked what he thought about a club great taking aim at the Broncos, Griffin said: “I have been told about that (column) but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
“From my end we are not going to get dragged into that.”
Still, Griffin admitted it was a bizarre feeling winding down their season just as the finals were about to crank up.
“It’s a bit strange, something we are not used to or want to go through again,” he said.
“I am hurting as much as anyone.
“There are a lot of different answers (to what went wrong), we could speculate about it all day.
“We’ve got some things wrong this year but you can never question the players’ commitment.”
Griffin said he was more focused on acknowledging the likes of Scott Prince (playing his 300th and final game), Peter Wallace (Penrith-bound) and David Stagg (200th game) with a win in front of their home crowd on Thursday night.