{"id":44541,"date":"2026-07-05T06:25:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T06:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/44541\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T06:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T06:25:06","slug":"andrew-johns-brutal-claim-about-the-brisbane-broncos-as-major-issue-exposed-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/44541\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Johns’ brutal claim about the Brisbane Broncos as major issue exposed in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Johns<\/a> has claimed the injuries in 2026 have exposed the Brisbane Broncos<\/a>\u2019 lack of depth after their eighth loss in a row left their NRL finals hopes in tatters. Nicho Hynes and the Sharks were too strong for a depleted Broncos side at Suncorp Stadium after Sione Katoa scored a triple to sink the home side.<\/p>\n

The Broncos now languish in 16th and would need to win close to all eight games remaining to have the opportunity of playing NRL finals footy. The reigning premiers have dealt with a mammoth injury toll in 2026 having lost the likes of Payne Haas, Reece Walsh<\/a>, Patrick Carrigan and Adam Reynolds on a number of occasions.<\/p>\n

\"Brisbane<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns (pictured right) has claimed the Broncos squad depth has been exposed in 2026. (Images: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Against the Sharks they were also missing the likes of Ezra Mam with a number of fringe players stepping up. While they should welcome back a number of their stars next week from State of Origin<\/a> duties, fans are wondering what Maguire does to improve their season.<\/p>\n

And NRL legend Johns feels there are a number of Broncos players in the current squad who have struggled with the jump to first grade. Johns claimed the injury toll has been brutal on the Broncos, but it has exposed their lack of depth.<\/p>\n

And this could be a problem for the side who are losing Haas and Reynolds next season. \u201cThey\u2019re gone – they were gone a month ago,\u201d Johns said on Channel Nine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had 11 first graders out, but the two players they\u2019re missing are obvious, Reece Walsh and Ezra Mam, they provide so much with their running game. The depth just isn\u2019t there. It\u2019s hard to win without your best players and the players who are in there, aren\u2019t used to playing at that level and it takes a toll. The simple thing is, there\u2019s players there who just aren\u2019t up to first grade level … that\u2019s the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roosters great Brad Fittler said while there injury toll has hampered them they aren\u2019t the only team dealing with a number of players out. The South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers and Eels are all dealing with huge injury tolls and are currently above the Broncos on the ladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re trying to justify it by saying they\u2019re going through injuries, but a lot of teams are and I look at someone like Souths – they have found players,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more than just that, but I don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Reece<\/p>\n

Reece Walsh (pictured) has endured a tough season in the Broncos jersey. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images)Michael Maguire backs current Broncos squad<\/p>\n

The Broncos are in a dire situation as defending champions as they face an immense battle to play finals footy. A loss next week to the Penrith Panthers would just about any chance of them defending their crown.<\/p>\n

Although coach Maguire has refused to concede the season and is backing them to make another incredible run. “Why not? I have got a lot of belief in the team and the group,” he said after the loss to the Sharks. “A bit of attention to detail cost us, but the effort from the players was excellent.”<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Maguire (pictured) needs to lift the Broncos against the Panthers next week. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Johns has claimed the injuries in 2026 have exposed the Brisbane Broncos\u2019 lack of depth after their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[808,34092,99,637,2709,16131,770,664,33091],"class_list":["post-44541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brisbane","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-andrew-johns","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-broncos","tag-getty-images","tag-injury-toll","tag-michael-maguire","tag-reece-walsh","tag-the-sharks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}