Maroons legend Gorden Tallis has torn strips off NSW forward Spencer Leniu in a bizarre rant, claiming Blues coach Laurie Daley should use him for the full 80 minutes in Origin II.

Leniu has been used as an impact weapon in all four Origins he has played since his debut at the start of last year’s series.

Tallis derided the controversial Rooster on Fox League on Wednesday night, claiming he was hiding from the early exchanges.

“I think Spencer Leniu should start and play 80 minutes,” the former Broncos star claimed.

When it was pointed out to him that Leniu’s role was an impact player off the interchange, Tallis did not back down from his bizarre stance.

“What, can’t he play 80 minutes?

“Comes on after all the tough stuff is done, after 25 minutes. Start him and play him 80 minutes. What’s so hard? The game goes for 80 minutes.”

He then claimed Broncos behemoth Payne Haas spends 80 minutes on the field even though he has never done that in Origin and has not played more than 71 in his 12 appearances at club level this year.

The Brisbane media tried to drum up anger towards Leniu in the lead-up to Origin I at Suncorp Stadium after his sideline spat with Queensland icon Johnathan Thurston earlier this season.

His run-in with Thurston revolved around Leniu’s ban last year for racially abusing Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam.

Leniu played his part off the bench in the Blues’ 18-6 win over Queensland and is certain to be retained for the same role in game two at Optus Stadium in Perth on June 18.

Bellamy to go around one more time

Craig Bellamy is set to continue as Melbourne coach for a 24th year, deciding against moving into a new role at the NRL club or retirement.

Bellamy, 65, signed a unique five-year contract with the Storm in 2022 that allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach position.

With Melbourne currently in fourth spot on the NRL ladder and among the title favourites, Bellamy will confirm at a press conference on Thursday morning before Storm training he has taken up the option to stay on next year.

A regular visitor to the Gold Coast where he has a house and family, Bellamy has recently been linked with a move to the Titans at the end of his contract.

He became Storm coach in 2003, leading the team to a semi-final in his first year.

Since then the Storm have played in 21 finals series, winning the grand final on five occasions and the minor premiership eight times.

Craig Bellamy (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Coaching 590 games, he has a winning percentage of 69.49 per cent.

His enthusiasm for the game doesn’t appear to be wavering, this year committing to additional duties as an advisor to NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley.

Halfback Jarome Hughes said earlier this week Bellamy hadn’t told the players about his future plans but hoped the coach would stay on for another season.

“He’s such a great coach and he’s been such a great mentor for all of us players for so long – so the longer he stays the better,” the Dally M Medallist said.

“It’s whatever’s best for him and his family and whatever he wants to do, but I can’t see him hanging it up too soon.

“He’ll get bored at home in his mansion at Albert Park so I’m sure he’ll go around again.”

Melbourne host sixth-placed North Queensland on Friday night and will be back to full-strength after skipper Harry Grant and winger Xavier Coates sat out their Gold Coast win following State of Origin duty.

Crazy’ coach axings derailed Broncos

The respective sackings of former Brisbane coaches Wayne Bennett and Kevin Walters have come back to haunt the Broncos.

That is the view of founding club chairman Barry Maranta, who said it was a legacy of respective boards that “despite being fine and decent people haven’t been able to understand how to develop a culture or what builds a culture at the Broncos”.

Maranta said he was “saddened and disappointed” by decisions to axe Bennett at the end of 2018 then Walters last year.

The Broncos have lost six of their past seven games under new coach Michael Maguire, and have been beset by on and off-field dramas over the past eight months.

Bennett was axed despite having a coaching win percentage of 63.8 per cent from 2015-2018, a figure only surpassed by Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy (72 per cent).

Bennett took the club to four straight finals series, including the 2015 decider.

The sacking of Walters 12 months after he led the side to a grand final was a huge blow to Maranta, who thought his advice to chief executive Dave Donaghy to retain the club legend would be heeded.

On September 4 last year, with speculation rife in the press that Walters could be axed for 2025 after a 40-6 loss to the Dolphins, Donaghy told The Courier-Mail: “Kev is the coach and he will remain the coach.”

Kevin Walters. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Walters was sacked 22 days later.

“It is one of the terrible stories in sport that a few weeks before they sacked Kevvie, they confirmed in the media he was the coach for 2025,” Maranta told AAP.

“As a public company they made a statement to the Broncos supporters and the stockmarket that they had decided to keep Kevvie on. He’d just appointed assistant coaches (Ben Te’o and Trent Barrett) before he was fired.”

The Broncos conducted a post-season review led by Bond University director of sport Michael Collins, a former CEO and player with the Chiefs in Super Rugby. 

The findings have never been made public, leading to leaks and speculation about the reasons for Walters’ demise.

Maranta believes the review was done to justify a decision that had already been made. 

“All the reasons given for Kevvie’s sacking have been puerile,” he said.

“The media was out to get Kevvie and I had reminded Dave about what happened in 1990 when they were gunning for Wayne Bennett after a poll on Channel 10 calling for him to be fired. 

“I called a special meeting of all media in Brisbane. They thought I was going to sack Bennett but I extended his contract for five years.

“I wanted everyone to know that the people responsible for the organisation make the decisions, not just because of external winds of change. Bennett then won six premierships and had a wonderful record.”

Maranta recalled asking Donaghy to reinforce to journalists that Walters had got the Broncos to a grand final in three years, without the star-studded side Bennett had that took five seasons and won the 1992 title.

“I also said to tell the board members Kevvie’s record was better than Bennett’s in the context of the early stages of his coaching. Little did I realise that Dave had other views,” he said.

Maranta said Bennett’s axing in 2018 was “crazy”.

“That’s after we went out of our way to bring him back,” he said. “Bennett’s scrapbook was there for everyone to see. 

“Wayne came to the Broncos in 1988 and Kevvie a few years later. There is a real substance and historical relationship there and that has been thrown out the window as though it is not important.

“If you look at all the big teams in the world that is a critical element in why they have been so successful. If you throw that out the window, you throw your chances out the window with it.”

Maranta said there were unavoidable factors that led to the Broncos missing the finals last year, including star spine members Adam Reynolds, Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam played together just six times due to injury. 

“When Dave rang me to say they’d sacked Kevvie he said, ‘Did you see Melbourne put 50 on them in the last game?

“I told him we had four Queensland Cup players in that team and Melbourne were on fire.

“The day after they sacked him, Melbourne played the Roosters in a semi-final and put 48 on them. I sent a text to Dave and said, ‘Do you think (Roosters supremo) Nick Politis is going to sack the coach?’ 

“If you are going to use those benchmarks it is going to come back to bite you.” 

Maranta said he was hopeful the Broncos could “come up with a recipe for success”.

“But it is going to take a lot of mea culpas from the administration,” he said. 

“I feel most for our supporters because they put their heart and soul into the Broncos and like the rest of us they just shake their head in disbelief.

“They ring me up and ask what is going on because football plays such an important element in their lives.”

with AAP