Corey Oates explains how player takeover worked in breakthrough win for Broncos – Wide World of Sports

Brisbane’s player takeover involved giving more freedom to the Broncos’ much-maligned halves Brodie Croft and Anthony Milford.
And powerhouse forward Tevita Pangai Jr demanded a switch back to the middle, where he formed a potent starting trio with Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.
Corey Oates, who again played second-row rather than wing, revealed the changes on Sunday after Brisbane beat the Bulldogs 26-8 at Suncorp Stadium to snap a six-game losing streak that has put coach Anthony Seibold under the microscope.
While Milford contributed a lone try assist out of the Broncos halves, there were signs of life after a dire period.
Anthony Milford applauds Broncos fans after his team beat the Bulldogs. (Getty)
“The halves we’ve got, I think they love playing what they see,” Oates said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“The coaches and some of the senior players just made a decision to let them run what hey want to do.
“It was just a really good week for us and the thing about that was we just had to back it up with our defence. You can’t really attack too much if you don’t have the ball.
“It wasn’t perfect but it’s a start for us.”
Pangai Jr scored a try, delivered a try assist and ran for 109m as a middle forward, rather than playing on an edge. The 113kg powerhouse was more effective than those stats indicate, making a significant difference for the Broncos.
“He was massive. It was actually interesting, he wanted to play middle for the last couple of weeks and he asked the question to ‘Seibs’,” Oates said.
“I’m so happy that he did it, just because of his energy in the middle, those hit-ups. Having him and Payne and Patty start the game the way they do, it’s a big help.
“If we can get that out of Tevita every week … I’d let him do whatever he wants, to be honest with you.”
Broncos forward Tevita Pangai Jr takes a charge against the Bulldogs. (Getty)
Oates said that Seibold looked a relieved man post-match. He insisted that Seibold still had a significant role in preparing for the match.
“Obviously a lot happier than he has been the last six weeks,” Oates said.
“I think he was pleased just with the way we turned up. We’ve been hurting a lot the last month or so and what we asked to do during the week, he was happy for it and he just reiterated that what we do at training we had to take out on the field.
“All the ownership was on us. If we had a bad performance, it was all on us.
“I feel like he was really happy that we all turned up for the team, for the club, this weekend. Really showed that we do care as a club and as players, we know that we’re a lot better

Click here to view the original article.