{"id":57405,"date":"2021-04-13T04:40:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T04:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=57405"},"modified":"2021-04-13T05:57:01","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T05:57:01","slug":"broncos-star-backs-line-in-the-sand-axing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=57405","title":{"rendered":"Broncos star backs 'line in the sand' axing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has made his biggest statement of the season so far, dropping million-dollar half Anthony Milford<\/a> after a series of poor performances.<\/p>\n

Forward Matt Lodge<\/a> said the personnel decision was a sign that the remaining players needed to play well above the level they'd currently been showing.<\/p>\n

"Kevvie has drawn a line in the sand," Lodge said to reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

"The team needs something \u2013 we've played the nice guy for a long time and it's not getting us anywhere and someone has got to put their foot down and be ruthless.<\/p>\n

"Although I feel sorry for the guys who miss out, you can't keep doing the same thing week in, week out and expect change. So Kevvie has looked at the game and found some things he's not happy with and he's holding people accountable."<\/p>\n

The Broncos<\/a> have endured a brutal season so far, and were comfortably beaten by South Sydney last Thursday.<\/p>\n

Milford and centre Tesi Niu are expected to be dropped after training with the reserves this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"We all know Milf is a talented first grade footballer but he and a couple of others aren't doing what Kevvie wants and I applaud him for putting his foot down," Lodge said.<\/p>\n

"I'm sure Milf will be back but Crofty was dealing with disappointment a few weeks ago, so everyone across the squad is vulnerable to it and if you're not performing then Kev has shown you'll be held accountable for it, including myself."<\/p>\n

\"Broncos<\/p>\n

It can perhaps be unfair to put players on the spot when it comes to comparing their own team with others, but Lodge's statement about their opponents for Thursday night will definitely raise a few eyebrows.<\/p>\n

"We've got kids here that are just as talented, if not more than, that Penrith team," he said.<\/p>\n

"One day it's going to click for them."<\/p>\n

Brisbane will start the game as rank outsiders against a rampant Panthers, who are the league's only undefeated team after five rounds.<\/p>\n

\"NRL<\/p>\n

"They are playing really good football and we are going to have to pack our shovels and have a dig because it will be a test," Lodge said.<\/p>\n

"We'll turn up and Kevvie has put his foot down and everyone knows what's expected so we are looking forward to Thursday night.<\/p>\n

"Whether it's Milf this time, or me or whoever it is, there is a time here if you're not performing then you're out."<\/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<\/strong><\/em> clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Broncos coach Kevin Walters has made his biggest statement of the season so far, dropping million-dollar half Anthony Milford after a series of poor performances. […]<\/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\/57405"}],"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=57405"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57407,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57405\/revisions\/57407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}