Brisbane Broncos great Corey Parker has questioned why the club sent Ben Talty to the press conference on the same day there was an internal issue with Ben Te’o resigning from his role as assistant coach. The Broncos found themselves embroiled in another saga on Tuesday when it was reported head coach Michael Maguire and assistant Te’o had been involved in a verbal disagreement.
After a mediation meeting, the Broncos confirmed Te’o has resigned from his position in a shock to fans and players. Parker admitted his surprise the information from the Broncos made its way to the media so quickly.
Broncos great Corey Parker felt a team leader should have fronted the media instead of Ben Talty (pictured right) as assistant coach Ben Te’o resigned to embroil the club in another drama. (Images: Getty Images)
Even Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy admitted on Wednesday he wasn’t aware of about some details around the situation until Monday. And with the speculation swirling on Tuesday afternoon, Broncos forward Talty fronted the media.
Talty admitted he found out about the saga between Maguire and Te’o through social media and didn’t have any comment. The move to send Talty to take the questions on a day the Broncos were in turmoil did not sit well with Parker.
The Broncos legend felt Adam Reynolds, Patrick Carrigan or a team leader should have fronted the media instead of sending Talty to answer the questions that appeared to blindside him. To make matters more bizarre, Talty found out about the Maguire and Te’o development the same way as many NRL fans.
“I want to know why some of these things haven’t been addressed,” Parker said on Wednesday. “One of the answers I want from Dave Donaghy coming up is…have a listen to this from Ben Talty talking yesterday. The thing that was alarming to me, I love the Broncos, however, ‘I saw it on Instagram’. That to me, I am not sure.
“The second part to that, no disrespect to Ben Talty, but when your assistant coach has walked out and you put an 11-gamer to do media in such a big day? Put your captain up. One of your senior players, bang get in front of the media. That is no disrespect to Ben Talty.”
Broncos CEO admits ‘mystery’ around Ben Te’o info
Parker was also surprised how quickly the information from within the Broncos’ headquarters reached the public. When Parker put it to Broncos CEO, Donaghy admitted it was a ‘mystery’ to how the information travelled so quickly and said he was only aware of the details on Monday.
“From some of the conversations I have had, things moved quite quickly,” he told Parker on Wednesday morning. “We like to deal with these matters internally, but these things get out.
“It’s one of those mysteries. The full team was briefed yesterday, the timing of it I am not sure as to when. Certainly the whole team was briefed and was clear and what had taken place and how the rest of the week would look. Without getting specific, the first conversation I had around this was on Monday. I had heard there were challenges and that was from Ben. That conversation will stay private.
“It was certainly a surprise and then he tendered his resignation. Ben is an adult, he is a very good coach, he is clear on his decision and we respect that and we move on. We have a game to prep for on Friday night and we focus on that. Madge s supported by the other coaches. In due course, we will move quickly to fill that void.” Donaghy said the Broncos will now seek to appoint a new assistant coach as soon as possible as Te’o’s exit is confirmed.
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy (pictured) addressed the Ben Te’o situation on Wednesday.
(Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images)