It is almost incomprehensible that a team that enjoys many advantages like the Brisbane Broncos has one of the longest premiership droughts in the NRL. 

The Broncos over the past 18 years have been not only the biggest underachievers in the NRL, but arguably in the entire Australian professional sporting landscape. 

Melbourne Stars, the Carlton Blues, Western Sydney Wanderers perhaps?

Easily the NRL’s biggest club when it comes to annual turnover, the Broncos cantered to six premierships in the first half of their club history, but they have not won a title since 2006 despite going close on a couple of occasions. 

They bit the bullet at the end of last season and sacked club legend Kevin Walters as coach and went after Michael Maguire to turn their fortunes around after he had done likewise for the New Zealand Test team and NSW in the State of Origin arena.

The Broncos talked a good game in the off-season about how hard Maguire was working them on the training paddock and how it would translate to success, but they have mirrored last year’s hot and cold routine.

They are 4-3 but have performed below expectations and are yet to come up against what would be considered a legitimate top four contender throughout the opening seven rounds. 

That charmed run comes to an end on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium when they host the unbeaten Bulldogs. 

And after lacklustre losses to the Roosters and Warriors, they have been installed as rank outsiders against Cameron Ciraldo’s Canterbury.

Money is never a problem at the Broncos, but spending it wisely has been an ongoing issue. 

Their roster is top heavy with several million dollars allocated to Payne Haas, Patrick Carrigan, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Kotoni Staggs, Selwyn Cobbo and Ezra Mam, who has been unsighted this season due to his drug-driving suspension. 

The addition of Ben Hunt was supposed to offset the early absence of Mam, but the former Dragons captain has struggled to find his feet in a secondary halves role behind Reynolds after being the main man at St George Illawarra for seven years.

Hunt’s lack of penetration led to Maguire switching him to hooker midway through last Saturday’s loss to the Warriors and Billy Walters getting a crack at five-eighth. 

St George Illawarra’s decision to let Hunt walk early after he agitated for a lucrative extension into next season is looking like a wise move indeed.

Payne Haas pushes away Scott Drinkwater. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The 35-year-old appears better suited to a dummy half role these days and Maguire may as well switch him there now because if Mam returns to the form that he showed over the past two seasons he should be Reynolds’ halves partner.

Broncos board member Darren Lockyer recently admitted in an awkward post-game interview with Phil Gould on Nine that the club had not budgeted for Reynolds sticking around next season and if the skipper plays on in 2026 they may have to move other players on to create cap space.

But if he does retire, does that mean Hunt spends the rest of this season at hooker then goes back to halfback when he’s 36 to partner up with Mam next year?

Mam is still a couple of weeks away from returning and Brisbane need to ensure they get their house in order straight away because with the Origin season coming up it could be a tough slog for them with the likes of Haas, Carrigan, Hunt and potentially Cobbo taking on an extra workload.

Walsh is out for a month with a knee injury and with back-up fullback Hazye Perham sidelined after he went down with an ACL tear in the pre-season, Maguire has opted for Cobbo in the No.1 jersey against the Bulldogs.

It could be a blessing in disguise for the underperforming star if it gets him more involved but it could also blow up in their faces if Cobbo does not adapt to the extra effort that is required. 

He has been a frustrating figure for Broncos fans in that he appears to have all the talent in the world but lacks the application to maximise his potential.

Jesse Arthars also has experience playing at the back and he could be called upon sooner rather than later if the Cobbo gambit backfires.

“He’s been working hard in the background to make sure his fitness levels are up to scratch,” Maguire said at his Wednesday media conference. 

The crux of Brisbane’s problem is that, apart from Haas and Carrigan, their forwards have little impact in attack and defence.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

While Haas and Carrigan rack up close to 200 metres per game, no other Broncos forward averages triple figures this season, with Maguire shuffling through Xavier Willison, Corey Jensen, Kobe Hetherington, Brendan Piakura, Martin Taupau and Jordan Riki without settling upon a formula for success. 

Riki and Piakura have been in and out of the line-up due to injuries and suspension and have become the second-row versions of Cobbo, in that they appear to have the world at their feet, but the results don’t match the optimism that has been placed in each of them. 

The Broncos’ attack has been elite – they are equal first with 5.3 tries per game and second in line breaks at 6.5 but they are middle of the road when it comes to defence (eighth), running metres (10th at 1662.1) and post-contact metres (538.6).

If they didn’t have Haas and Carrigan, they would be one of the worst teams for getting the ball down the business end of the field. 

Carrigan’s average of 179 running metres is a career high while Haas (170) is only slightly down from his personal best of 187 two years ago when Brisbane powered into the grand final on the back of his work up front.

Maguire is playing Carrigan a tick under 65 minutes per game, including all 82 last week in Auckland, while Haas is up to 60.6.

It is a tough balancing act for the coach – he doesn’t want to drive his two pack leaders into the ground by overplaying them but he can’t afford to have them off the field too long, particularly at the same time.

Even though the Broncos have done well at putting points on the board this year, they are coming up against a Canterbury defence which is the best in the NRL by the length of the straight.

They have not given up a point in their past two outings and have conceded a miserly 58 points in six matches at 9.67.

To put that in perspective, the only other team averaging less than 20 is the Dragons who have allowed 118 from six outings at 19.67, more than double Canterbury’s tally.