You play how you train - and that's a huge problem for the "confused" Brisbane Broncos, rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis says.
The 15th-placed Broncos are bumbling through their worst-ever season and the malaise begins with their preparation, according to Lewis.
The inaugural Broncos captain and Queensland Origin icon is a Nine newsman in Brisbane, meaning he's a regular at training sessions; which have been an unimpressive spectacle this season.
In the absence of spark, there is no clear game plan. The big names are not leading the way. There is an air of bewilderment, a sense that the whole operation is rudderless; an incoherent concoction in search of a successful formula. It is a scene of which Lewis, Queensland's greatest player, cannot make sense.
The result has been a nightmare campaign that's yielded just three wins from 13 games. Club legend and current director Darren Lockyer says it's been "a season from hell".
"There are times where it is confusing as to what's happening out on the field," Lewis told Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
"There doesn't appear to be much creativity about it, [or] following the plan ... the regular game pattern. It's unusual to try and work out exactly what is going on out there.
"In tough times like this, things like that are going to come along; though if they're done continuously, it's certainly not going to be the best way to find a solution.
"I think they've got to almost go back to the old days and follow just a set plan, where there's not too much that goes outside that; just to be able to create some understanding by the players, who do appear to be confused.
"Watching them again [Tuesday] morning, there didn't appear to be a lot of understanding between each and every one of them."
Currently the Broncos are without coach Anthony Seibold and Allan Langer, the club icon and trainer. They are among several staffers stood down over biosecurity breaches, on top of star forward Tevita Pangai Jr; who is set to be sacked.
Lockyer said that the Broncos' on-field disaster was starting to manifest in off-field incidents. That includes Pangai Jr's "selfish" visit to the opening of a bikie-owned barber shop, which cost him two weeks in isolation and now likely his Brisbane contract.
"There's no hiding from it - it's been a terrible season," Lockyer said on QLDER.
"Obviously errors have been made on the field and now they're starting to creep in off the field, which is disappointing."
The lack of on-field success and concern over Seibold was thought to have sealed rising megastar David Fifita's decision to leave Brisbane for the Gold Coast Titans. The Broncos will be counting the cost of 2020 for many years.
Seibold himself seems unlikely to survive beyond this season, which is just the second of his five-year contract. He bombed out of last year's finals with a 58-0 loss, will miss the semis this year and has become "paranoid to the back teeth" about coaching rival Kevin Walters. The coach's struggles have been compounded by a nasty online smear campaign that has now been referred to police.
Just a handful of players can hold their heads high; Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan and Kotoni Staggs being obvious nominees. Big-name halves Anthony Milford and Brodie Croft have been poor, while former captain Darius Boyd quit the leadership group due to a communication breakdown with Seibold; he wanted his return to fullback to come far earlier in his miserable final season.
Brisbane's only win after this season's COVID-19 shutdown came against the last-placed Bulldogs. It coincided with Seibold giving his players more control of their preparation but the brief high of that victory has since been buried in the stench of four consecutive losses, by a combined score of 158-44.
The Broncos have easily the worst defence in the NRL, having conceded 401 points through 13 games, and rank second-last in attack (178 points), leading only Canterbury. They have well-documented problems with inexperience, but that has been largely self-inflicted and anyway can't excuse the extent of this season's disaster.
NRL great Paul Gallen gave a blunt summation of Brisbane's woes, in light of their status as the NRL's richest and most powerful club: "Absolutely embarrassing."
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