Broncos CEO Bruno Cullen was straight on the front foot reminding the rugby league community that there was a huge void in the 2011 cap following the departure of AFL bound Israel Folau also high priced forward Ashton Sims and boom rookie Antonio Winterstein were bound for Townsville to join the struggling Cowboy's. Cullen further announced that the Broncos currently have over 20 third party arrangements through Sponsors ranging from $1000 to over $25000 dollars.
It has also been quickly forgotten that over the past few seasons Brisbane has shed a sizable amount of fat from their salary cap. Some quality players have left including the like of David Stagg, Michael Ennis, Joel Clinton, Petero Civoniceva, Greg Eastwood, Brent Tate, Ben Hannant, Darius Boyd, David Taylor, Steve Michaels, Aaron Gorrell, PJ Marsh and Karmichael Hunt. Eight of those players are origin players and six are international players.
In return for these loses the Broncos have recruited very cautiously with the reasonably low key signings of Ben Teo and Lagi Setu. Brisbane are also now seeing the fruit of a bevy of younger stars developing from there squad of excellence that was established in 2005 under the tutelage of master coach Wayne Bennett. These youngsters where blooded during a rigorous start to the season which saw Brisbane slip well down the ladder. Players such as Gillett, Yow yeah, Glen, Hoffman, Norman, Hunt and Maguire are performing exceptionally well on "light" contracts at the Broncos.
Adding Hannant and Inglis to form a "fab five" with Darren Lockyer, Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges definitely has other CEO's and club fans a little nervous about their teams chances of winning the premiership in 2011. Perhaps there is also a little Jealousy amongst the other clubs about the strength of the Broncos on and off the field.
It's reasonable to think from an outside perspective that the current reaction's of Clubs and fans is nothing more than disappointment that Brisbane was a more appealing club to play for than any other club. Let's not forget that Michael Searle and Gold Coast Titans threw everything except kitchen sink at Inglis to join them and it still wasn't enough for him to sway away from the Broncos offer. It must be said that no Clubs or CEO' rumblings about the offer from the Titans. A club that was telling long time servant Matt Rogers there wasn't room for a small one year contract for him to fit in the cap in 2011.
Brisbane's winning culture clearly attracts more players than struggling Sydney clubs. Their ability to attract corporate support for their players is also a driving force in their recruiting plans. Perhaps rather than throwing empty accusations at the Brisbane Broncos who merely seem to be maximising their potential of what appears to be one of the strongest brands in Australian sports today. Perhaps fans of other clubs should be asking there CEO's why there club fails to have the same winning culture on and off the field. They should be asking Bruno Cullen for lessons in all aspects of running a football club that succeeds both on the pitch and in the back office.
For the Church to move forward in the expansion of the Gospel we must work together. Communication between leaders and servants in the "field" is vital in this endeavour.