{"id":843235,"date":"2026-08-04T13:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/843235\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T13:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:02:12","slug":"how-madge-signing-exposed-broncos-1-3m-problem-as-unacceptable-reality-laid-bare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/843235\/","title":{"rendered":"How Madge signing exposed Broncos\u2019 $1.3m problem as \u2018unacceptable\u2019 reality laid bare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not even 12 months after breaking a 19-year title drought, there are concerns the Broncos\u2019 premiership window has already closed.<\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a horror year for the Broncos, who are set to finish the season towards the bottom of the ladder. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact of the matter is they\u2019ve lost 10 of their last 11. And Madge\u2019s press conferences are the same every week where he says, \u2018I can\u2019t fault their effort\u2019,\u201d foxsports.com.au\u2019s Paul Crawley said on NRL360.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extraordinary and I think it\u2019s unacceptable with the resources they have. This is a club that demands success and want to be the largest sporting franchise in Australia,\u201d The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dave Riccio added.<\/p>\n

To rub salt into the wounds, star prop Payne Haas is heading for the exit while one of the best halfbacks of the modern era in Adam Reynolds is retiring. <\/p>\n

While Reynolds is hanging them up, another veteran playmaker in Ben Hunt will play on.<\/p>\n

Hunt has signed a cheap deal to extend his decorated career for another year, but even for the right price, the consensus seems to be that the 36-year-old should follow Reynolds into the sunset given his poor recent form.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s struggling. This isn\u2019t a Ben Hunt beat-up but there\u2019s not much juice left in the orange,\u201d club legend Gorden Tallis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not the player he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh and Ben Hunt.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Broncos\u2019 recruitment and retention strategy has copped some heat in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Not only for the Hunt call but to sign veteran centre Dane Gagai on a one-year deal.<\/p>\n

Crawley believes these decisions as well as the club\u2019s rotten on-field form and the players that are set to leave Brisbane have resulted in the club\u2019s premiership window \u201cslamming shut\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broncos premiership window has slammed shut. Their performances this year and the lack of leadership, I don\u2019t know how they\u2019re going to get back from where they are right now,\u201d Crawley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou talk about the investment that this club and the opportunity has to being the biggest club in the country and they\u2019ve gone and signed Ben Hunt who is 102, for another year and then they\u2019ve gone and got Gagai who is 35<\/p>\n

\u201c(Journalist) Robert Craddock wrote an article about it this morning that surely somewhere in that state there\u2019s someone they can pass the baton to instead of going back to Gagai.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Supposed to be a level playing field’ | 03:15<\/p>\n

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However, NRL360 host Braith Anasta believed the Gagai signing, noting the centre will add some much-needed leadership to the club\u2019s playing ranks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see the method behind Gagai. He\u2019s playing great still and it\u2019s a one year deal and they\u2019re lacking leadership up there with Haas and Reynolds going. I don\u2019t have a problem with the signing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Brisbane\u2019s pursuit of Gagai is to cover the loss of Test and Origin centre Gehamat Shibasaki, who will be a Perth Bear next season. <\/p>\n

Shibasaki will be hard to replace but the Broncos are a club that should have a wealth of young talent to turn to.<\/p>\n

Which is why the decision to sign Gagai, who will be 36 by the time next season starts, has left some puzzled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey spend $1.3 million on their pathways and development of their juniors. They shouldn\u2019t be running short as far as depth is concerned,\u201d Riccio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe well at the Broncos should never run dry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should never have leadership issues. They should have so much at their disposal at this club.\u201d <\/p>\n

While depth in the outside backs is cause for concern, the halves picture at Brisbane post-Reynolds raises some question marks too.<\/p>\n

Jonah Pezet will join Brisbane on a three-year deal but his stopgap season at Parramatta hasn\u2019t filled Broncos fans with much confidence.<\/p>\n

He is the current favourite to partner Ezra Mam in Round 1 of next year though, but Tom Duffy is a chance too.<\/p>\n

Duffy\u2019s shown glimpses in relief of Reynolds this season and will start this weekend with the veteran half sidelined due to a head knock.<\/p>\n

Riccio says that given the hot seat that Maguire will likely be on to begin the 2027 season, a perhaps unfair pressure may be put on the club\u2019s young halves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind Duffy starting this week, and hopefully he finishes the year, because they start the season with either Duffy or Jonah Pezet talongside Ezra Mam to help lift this franchise club from a potential second last finish,\u201d Riccio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spotlight and pressure on these youg halves to probably try and save Madge\u2019s career will be immense.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not even 12 months after breaking a 19-year title drought, there are concerns the Broncos\u2019 premiership window has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-843235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}