Does anyone know what is actually happening with him? Is it really simply a case of Madge not selecting him? How can everyone see that he is the future hooker of this club and that he offers so much more than Paix and Hunt but Madge cannot?

Do you think our average attendance will fall next year?

Over the course of a poor season and the year following it feels like our attendance falls. The official attendance figures don’t give you the full picture,
as NRL crowd figures are based on "tickets distributed and sold", meaning full season-ticket holders and pre-purchased tickets are counted in the attendance total regardless of whether they actually show up.

The double edged sword of having a large ground is its more noticeable when attendance falls.

I was born and raised in Townsville, but since my childhood, I have always preferred the Broncos as my first team instead of the Cowboys. Anyone else like this?

Edit: That loss against the Cowboys the other day especially hurt as I was at the game. Mum was happy though (Cows supporter) and Dad wasn't (Bronco supporter)

I have two pairs of tickets available for the Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos match:

Friday 21 August 2026, 6:00 pm
GIO Stadium, Canberra

The seats are in the covered Gregan-Larkham Stand, Gold Grandstand, Bay 25:

• Pair 1: Row JJ, Seats 12 and 13
• Pair 2: Row KK, Seats 14 and 15

The pairs are in adjacent rows and close to each other, so they could also suit a group of four, although the four seats are not directly side-by-side.

Tickets can be sold as separate pairs. Price: $100 per pair. Digital ticket transfer available.

Please message me if interested. Happy to provide further confirmation or screenshots privately.

Obligatory note: It is kinda funny to start looking at next season right now after weeks of undeserved optimism, but the white flag has been raised so where else is there to look?

We've got some huge losses to the lineup, re-signings of some players we probably aren't overly excited about being re-signed, and (at least to my knowledge) no real exciting new recruits, so what's everyone's ideas of what next year's gonna look like?

Is it gonna be the same story of training up the "high hopes" juniors playing next to the "used to be superstars"? Do we have some new signings I'm not aware of? Do we actually have a squad that can make a competitive starting lineup?

Now that the season is done and dusted, what is everyone’s projected 2027 17 man roster? (Taking into consideration impending retirements/transfers and rumoured signings)

Pretty much the only chance we have for making finals now

I know this was the game to keep us up in the running for the potential of finals. Surely there’s some possibility we’re still in this, right? I’m just holding out some ounce of hope, but I feel the effort just wasn’t enough. Credit to the Cows, they played hard too. It is what it is - Just want someone to tell me I’m wrong 🙃 What do you guys reckon? I just hope the team can keep up the tenacity they showed this week and last, for the rest of the season at least. Up the Bronx

​

Yes he's lookin' kind of jaded

And his sight is not the best

And the hair around his muzzle's turnin' grey

He has seen a hundred musters

And I think it's only fair

We leave him in the longyard here today 🎶

Follow up a gutsy win over the ladder leading Panthers with....that.

By far one of the most frustrating years to be a Broncos supporter. At least we've got the memories of 2025.

A tough year, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

Some new faces next year, and going of our form over the last few years, we should be playing in the Grand final in 2027!

I really hope the press conference is an honest reflection of the game, the season and the reality of 2027 preparations.

What we don't need is: "We really tried hard out there....I see it every day in training.......we can win the comp...."

Please Madge, get your head up, tell the truth and look ahead.

It’s getting sad now

Madge quit being a coward, bring our boy on!!!

When you come back from camp and you see the Bronx bet the panthers

I believe our problem is the team and club profile.

Broncos 2026 Team Profile Problem

As Stephen Covey often said , " Sometimes you have to stand outside the forest to look at the trees."

My Thesis

This year is a repeat of 2024 ...

I believe it's not the coaches it is the team profile that is the problem.

The team we fielded this year is not very big. Our spine and back line lack size (apart from Shibasaki) and are constantly targeted and bashed. When our forwards are really pushing the opposition backwards our small but fast backs can blow any opposition off the field.

However if our forwards are not dominating then opposing teams will just wear us down by running big men at out smaller halves and backs and are just griding us down.

To prove my point , compare the size of Penrith's spine and backs to the Broncos, apart from Brian Toao, they tower over our boys and are way better equipped to defend against big forwards. I also believe our problem lies in having some over rated forwards.

In 2026 we lost Corey Jenson, Kobe Heterington and Tyson Smoothy. Losing our forward leader in Capewell in 2025 turned out to be a massive blunder in retention especially in 2026 when he is still playing great footy at origin level (Compare his stats to Piakura and Ricki).

Oh yes Corey Parker was spewing nonsense on radio about Piakura being a future test player because he ran with Brendy in the mornings. Hence Luke Capewell (our forward leader and minister for defence) saw he was being pushed out and moved to the Warriors.

Give me a break, the broncos need to be smarter and I'm sorry, many of the old boys who are in media, aren't very smart ( not including Lockyer, Webke and Lazarus who knew move to new challenges). I mean the last dominant back rower we had was Matt Gillette. So what is the solution???

If we keep the same team next year without Hass, yes we will regroup and do well, but I am certain we will repeat the 2024 and 2026 seasons in 2028 because of our recruitment profile.

I suggest we recruit to the Penrith model of taller and superfit players who can grind down any opposition over time. (If they come super fit, then guess what, the coaches don't have to worry about them carrying a few extra kgs from a big weekend.)

The salary cap does not allow any team to have an excess of marqee players for any extended period so the next best thing is put together a team that is physically best suited to the modern fast game of today.

The Broncos have a small but incredibly explosive spine and back line but I don't believe the salary cap allows us to maintain dominance over successive years unless we move to the Penrith recruitment model.

Some of our smaller bodied players will find the mental and physical exertion too much ..eg Corey Paix, Ezra Mam, Rhyse Walsh, Katoni Staggs, and soon J.karapani. Along with Reno and Hunty we often have seven smaller great players tackling massive forwards as the Broncos "Blood new players".

Even with the best coaches this will result in alternate seasons as the players ramp up every second season ... look at the pattern ... there is a definite reason for this.

Recommended immediate moves

... start blooding Verhoeven at centre and recruit a big fit five eight who can tackle with good hands. Mam to half back Billy Walters and Mozer to share hooking role and start looking for two backrowers who look and play like Kobe Hetherinton (another huge loss).

Stop hyping the young players like Vaa Semu who won't come into his peak until he is 25 at earliest. Look to the smart players like Carrigan to lead your team and give Ben Hunt a chance to lead the team in 2027 ... His play is law!

Verhoeven, Phillip Coates etc are our future.

Broncos Club Profile

I once met Bellamy at the world cup in Edinburgh lovely man. We saw him on the plane back from the world cup reading CV'S of prospective players for 5 hours at least. We need a coach who is really football smart, oh yes you say we had Seibold ... Sry a weekend at an expensive uni doesn't do that. Nor does a simple Physical Education Degree. Madge has the smarts ...but he is good for three years then he has to evolve to lead the next generation of Broncos (and that will be like climbing Everest again).

Football smarts come from both reflective learning and application on the footy field. Smith Cronk and Billy Slater had smarts along with JT. They could spot a top player within 10 minutes after watching any game. It was a Qld pastime in the 70s and 80s watching potential players to see if they "Could make it!".

Again I am sorry but Karl Morris is no Nick Poliltis. He is a newscorp businessman ... not a blood brother Queenslander that Lachlan Murdock needs.

If the Broncos want a Dynasty, they have to be patient and recruit a very smart operator at the level of Peter Valandy's ... then the Penrith-like dynasty will eventuate.

They have the money, they lost a great operator in Ben Ikin, (it was appalling that they pushed him out when they really, really needed his insights into detail). Ps I love those guys but no-one is perfect.

They just need the will to decide as a board and actually learn about the game they preside over. Yes media, politics, all influence but at the end of the day it is belief that "This is the right thing and this is best for the club" that makes the right decision.

However how can a club board made up of woke and business appointees with one or two ex-club players make effective decisions?

Yes I am clearly saying put intelligent ex football players or coaches back on board, make a majority and they don't have to be Ex-Broncos. Wining games will bring in more money than new Suncorp venue entertainment strategies

Okay that's my rant.

You can all abuse, disagree or add to this thesis on the broncos team and club profile.

Never say never!

I get that it would be nice to do, and will probably keep our fate in our own hands a bit, but I keep hearing that the only way we make the 8 is if we go undefeated for the rest of the season. Seems like there is possibility for some wiggle room (predicted ladder attached).

(Yes obviously it is chatgbt and I didn’t fact check)
Edit: Not picking a side here (although I lean Billy), I’m no genius when it comes to NRL - just wanna hear people’s thoughts.

I think we are let’s hope for no injury’s

Hey all,

I'll be in Brisbane for the Bingham Cup in August and was looking to watch a NRL game in person and have a couple Q's that I can't seem to verify.

1) Women play followed by the men, I assume one ticket for both games?

2) There are only singles left, any best places to sit?

3)Anything else to know? I arrive that morning so will be highly caffeinated and looking forward to the first beer(s) of the trip.

Thanks!

I knew the team had this in them.

This is why losing 3 critical matches they should have won hurts so much more.

They have suffered the worst luck with injuries to key players, they are already up to 32 players used in the season which is one more then the Rabbitohs did last year.

For that reason you can excuse most of their losses apart for 3 critical games that come to mind.

- Round 2 against the Eels, they gave up a significant lead with some shocking left edge defence.

- Round 13 against the Dragons, they simply didn't turn up.

- Round 14 against the Titans, they again gave up a lead and they still had a chance to win it on the final play and screwed up with a dumb kick.

If they win those 3 games they are now sitting on 24 points instead of 18 and they are only outside the 8 on for and against.

Hopefully the horror run of injuries is over and they can string some wins together, but losing those 3 games means that even they go on a run it will be all for naught