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Message: [QUOTE="Coxy, post: 2393223, member: 1764"] I should clarify I wasn't saying every time the Broncos missed out on a premiership between 2001-2008 that it was a slump. Certainly 2007 was injury related, and 2008 I thought the Broncos were building quite nicely and yes, were unlucky. 2001: 6 game slump leading into the finals (snapped out of it with a win in round 26) 2002: Lost 4 of last 5 games before the finals 2003: Lost last 8 games in a row 2004: Lost 4 and drew 1 of last 6 games 2005: Lost last 7 games in a row 2006: Lost 5 games in a row post-Origin (earlier, calculated slump, revived at season's end to peak to a premiership, woohoo) Anyway, I think a lot of it comes down to the difference in teams, and the reintroduction of limited interchange. In the Broncos early days and early 90s, they could attack from anywhere and you could count on them scoring 20-odd points a game, even if the defence leaked a bit. In the late 90s/2000, with unlimited interchange, the Broncos had a pack that would just rumble forward relentlessly, wear the opposition out and then gaps would appear for the backline to score points. Conversely the opposition had little in the tank to try and bust the Broncos' defence. 2001 - along came limited interchange. Broncos continued to try and use the power game. Rumble up the middle. Defend to the death. Wait for an opportunity. Attack. Worked well until teams had their more creative attack happening with more ball movement, more dynamic lines being run etc. Result was tired Broncos forwards struggled to shut down mobile opposition, leaked points, and in turn Broncos lacked petrol in the tank to mount counter attacks. Apart from 2006 and to a lesser extent 2008 and 2010, Bennett teams have failed to "go with" the other teams and lift to another level of mobility and dynamics. And as Rock says, that could have a lot to do with rep wear and tear. In 2006 the Broncos deliberately gave players a full 2 weeks off training after Origin. Result was the performance in games dropped, but it meant they were able to build back into it later in the season. I dunno, but the fact is Bennett has failed to work out how to counter this phenomenon consistently. [/QUOTE]

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