Broncos young gun Kotoni Staggs has confirmed that there is a lack of strong leadership within the squad, as the proud club battles to avoid a first wooden spoon.
Speaking on NITV’s Over the Black Dot on Tuesday, Staggs said the Bronco's playing squad had some good leaders in the group at the moment, but they needed to do more to re-establish a strong internal culture at the club.
“There’s some boys there in leadership that are not really doing their job and I think there’s a lot of young boys in there that are getting away with a bit. We need some leaders there to step up and to show us young boys what it’s about," he said.
The disrupted 2020 season has tested the six-time premiership winning club. They Broncos have won just three matches all year, and notably, have only posted one win from twelve starts since the competition resumed after the Coronavirus shutdown. That win was against the last placed Bulldogs.
Headlines and issues have surrounded the club throughout the year. There has been running commentary regarding the future of coach Anthony Seibold and the club’s power-brokers; the contract dramas with young star David Fifita who eventually signed with state rivals, the Gold Coast Titans; and most recently, a number of breaches of the NRL’s biosecurity rules.
It has resulted with the rumoured sacking of forward Tevita Pangai Junior, while 10 players and the club received fines totalling $140,000 after they attended a suburban pub for an afternoon session.
Staggs was a member of that group, and was also recently the victim of a revenge porn attack after an explicit video of him was leaked onto social media. An 18-year-old female has been charged by Queensland Police following that incident.
Staggs said he had put the drama behind him with the help of family and friends.
“I have had a couple hard weeks myself with stuff coming out on social media and that. But I have a good headspace, I have got good people around me, family included, I have big support from them. So at the moment everything is dealt with what happened with myself and I am going good,” he said.
Despite the teams dismal run, the 21-year-old has been in devastating form in the eight matches he has played this year. He said he has taken it upon himself to try and inspire his teammates with his performances.
“When I came back from injury against the Sharks for the Indigenous Round, you know, I am all about my culture and that was a round special to me, and that was a round I needed to be a big part of and play for my family,” he said.
“All the boys knew that was a big game for myself and I did everything I could and I have been doing everything I could every game … Every game I put my heart on my sleeve try my hardest, and I always go out there and do it for my family, and my nan above me.”
