The Brisbane Broncos are in freefall, but despite reports that some players didn’t take Kevin Walters’ post-game spray very well, back-rower Kurt Capewell insists the team is in a good place mentally.
After amassing a seven-game winning streak during the year and displaying the kind of form that brought them to the edge of the top four in Round 19, the Broncos have spiralled and must now beat the Dragons and hope that Canberra slip up against the Tigers to keep their faint finals hopes alive.
The most recent loss, a 53-6 drubbing at the hands of Parramatta, resulted in a post-game spray from Kevin Walters that has been the focus of media attention following reports some players didn’t take it well. That result followed a 60-12 hammering by the Storm, with both games at Suncorp Stadium.
“I don’t think any players took (the talk) badly,” Capewell told AAP.
“It was within reason. None of us were happy with that game, or the last two weeks, so I understand Kevvie (Walters) was frustrated. We all were.
“Everyone handles if differently but Kevvie’s an emotional person. He wears his heart on his sleeve and that’s one thing we love about him as a coach. It was a spray we all deserved.”
Capewell said the team was now well aware of the problems causing their slide, admitting that some complacency may have developed during the club's excellent 12-week run between Rounds 7 and 19.
“There were probably some cracks we looked over when we were winning.
“It’s simple things. They’re little things in our game you don’t really see when you’re winning. Unfortunately, it takes a loss to learn sometimes.”
Despite the results, Capewell is remaining positive that the Broncos can finish strong in their quest for finals.
“We have a great opportunity a lot of teams would beg to have,” he said.
“Mentally we are all in a good space, we’ve just got to go out and win it. We still have an opportunity to be in the finals.”
