{"id":112159,"date":"2021-08-05T14:43:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T14:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=112159"},"modified":"2021-08-05T16:01:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:01:35","slug":"baffling-selection-crippling-immature-broncos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=112159","title":{"rendered":"Baffling selection crippling 'immature' Broncos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby league great Brad Fittler<\/a> has likened the Broncos<\/a> to "an under-20s side", has labelled them "immature" and is baffled at the decision to start Brodie Croft<\/a> at halfback.<\/p>\n

Fittler's scathing comments followed the Broncos' 28-20 loss to the Knights in Brisbane<\/a>, in which they slipped to a 28-8 deficit during the second half before clawing back some consolation tries.<\/p>\n

Fittler believes one of Brisbane's chief problems is coach Kevin Walters<\/a>' persistence with Croft at halfback instead of Albert Kelly, the 30-year-old veteran who this season returned from six years in the NRL wilderness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"It's fair to say (the Broncos are) sprightly, but I still think at the end of the day, they had no ball at the start of the game … It was on the back of 10 errors that they made. They were thrown out over the sideline a couple of times," Fittler said on Nine's post-match show.<\/p>\n

"To be honest, they looked like an under-20s side that's a bit fitter than most 21-year-old kids.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

"They had plenty of sprightliness.<\/p>\n

"I thought Albert Kelly – I don't know why he isn't starting. He brought some life to their team (earlier in the season). Poor old Brodie just didn't really contribute much while he was on the field.<\/p>\n

"At the end of the day, they're a first-grade team. The fundamentals in their game are just really poor at the moment, they're a really immature team."<\/p>\n

Former Storm<\/a> playmaker Croft hasn't done enough to warrant a new contract with the Broncos for 2022 and is reportedly in talks with several Super League clubs.<\/p>\n

Walters opted for Croft and five-eighth Tyson Gamble<\/a> as his halves duo for the fifth game in succession in the Knights<\/a> clash.<\/p>\n

Kelly returned for his first NRL match since early June, but he started on the bench and was injected into the game in the 60th minute, replacing Croft at halfback.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Broncos are placed 15th on the ladder with 12 points to show, wedged between the Cowboys<\/a> and Bulldogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fittler did acknowledge the brighter future awaiting Brisbane, pointing out the signings of Queensland State of Origin<\/a> back-rower Kurt Capewell<\/a> and former NSW halfback Adam Reynolds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Penrith<\/a>'s Capewell and South Sydney<\/a>'s Reynolds will arrive at Brisbane on three-year deals following the 2021 season.<\/p>\n

"Two great signings who are really mature players," Fittler said.<\/p>\n

"So they'll make a difference."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rugby league great Brad Fittler has likened the Broncos to "an under-20s side", has labelled them "immature" and is baffled at the decision to start […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112161,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112159\/revisions\/112161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}