Anthony Seibold. Craig Bellamy prodigy, Queensland Assistant coach and eventual Dally M Coach of the Year all at the age of 44. His debut season at South Sydney in 2018 had fans of the game enthralled, taking a Rabbitohs side who had finished 12th in 2017 to the preliminary final where they were knocked out by the eventual champions.
It’s this “success” that has everyone on his back. Leading into the 2019 season, generally the Brisbane fans were much happier to lose head coach Wayne Bennett than Souths fans were to gain him. Brisbane fans looked to usher in a new age of free-flowing footie that’d take the club to their first premiership since 2006.
But perhaps the success of 2018 was somewhat misleading to the fans. After all, this was a Souths side with Greg Inglis, Adam Reynolds and the Burgess brothers. Would another lowly finish have been acceptable anyway?
Despite this, Souths only won two of their first five in 2018, leaving them in 10th position on the ladder...
Then they went and won 11 in 12, with their only loss falling 24-20 at Suncorp Stadium. They found themselves outright first by the end of this period.
Everyone was riding the Souths' wave. Damien Cook had shot from obscurity to stardom, as had Cody Walker. Young guns Campbell Graham and Cameron Murray were firing, and people were finally able to distinguish between George and Tom Burgess.
Then it all seemingly came crashing down. They won three of their last seven, and their only win in their finals series was a field-goal against the heavily unfavoured Dragons. They didn’t manage a try in the 12-4 loss against the Roosters, who had a halfback with one arm.
And yet, walking into the Broncos a few months later, Seibold was there purely to win a premiership. That was the expectation. Nothing less, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since Cooper Cronk’s arrival at the Roosters a year earlier.
Seibold inherited a side that on paper was firmly one of the best in the NRL. The forward pack containing the likes of Tevita Pangai Jr, David Fifita, Joe Ofahengaue and Payne Haas was earning the title of ‘the best young forward pack of all time’.
Their backs weren’t too bad either. Proven Maroons finisher Corey Oates and the electric Jamayne Isaako lined up on the wings, with NSW speedster Jimmy the Jet and premiership winner Jack Bird lining up inside them. They happened to have a handy fullback too, a Darius Boyd who was reportedly running faster than he ever had before.
And yet, Brisbane currently sits equal-last with two wins in eight games. This means of his last 18 competitive games, Seibold has only won six, despite the strong sides he’s had at his disposal.
Looking at it from that perspective, Seibold doesn’t have anything outside that run of good form over 12 games, which only makes up half a season. The game last Thursday saw his Broncos get put in their place by none other than the man who replaced him at Souths, Wayne Bennett.
Now it looks like Seibold is set to drop Isaako and Roberts to reserve grade leading up to their game against Manly. It’s worrying signs for Brisbane fans, who’ve been shown through Seibold's actions that their strongest 17 cannot play his style.
Like I said, he’s only 44 and into his second year, and I do fully believe he’s a victim of his own hype in the media. But he’s still got a lot to prove as an NRL head coach, as we’ve seen this year.
His Broncos side are very far away from winning their next premiership. His job is safe in Brisbane, and he’ll be around for a long time yet. Just be patient Broncos fans…