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Message: [QUOTE="McHunt, post: 3111304, member: 9853"] [B]Robert Craddock[/B][I] feels for the much maligned [/I][B]Andrew McCullough [/B][I]in [B]The Courier-Mail.[/B][/I] [B][I]Craddock[/I][/B][I] points out that amidst speculation the job he's tied down almost since the Broncos last won a premiership is being wrenched from his reach, [B]McCullough [/B]has barely uttered a word. Let alone a protest. Some wonder if the Broncos can [B]learn to lose without him[/B]. He posits the long silence might be because Macca could do without the distractions - in contrast to the circus surrounding his co-maligned former captain. It's no surprise he predicts [B]Jake Turpin [/B]will steal his number 9, as [B]Cory Paix [/B]pushes his claim to the bench. He describes Andrew as providing a "[/I]steady pulse[I]" rather than a "[/I]burst of late electricity[I]" making him less suited as an impact player, but that he will just have to make the most of what he can get. And then reflects that: "[/I]players can fade quickly in the ruthless world of rugby league but the Broncos will lose more than just a player when McCullough goes." [I]That's because Macca has been more than just the ball-feeding talisman of the [B]worst drought in Broncos history[/B], he also played host to emerging superstars [/I][B]Xavier Coates [/B][I]and [/I][B]Tom Dearden:[/B]" "Between occasionally scaring them with a crazy mask, he showed mentoring skills which are becoming a fading force in our frantic world. Rugby league teams just don’t seem the same unless they have a few country boys with a touch of bush larrikinism about them. Like a comedian with a poker face, Dalby-raised McCullough keeps his best work well hidden but his younger years included an occasional playful phone call to an opposition coach, who now claims he has a genuine soft spot for McCullough." [I]Against near universal condemnation of Macca's [B]underwhelming ballplay[/B], he counters:[/I] "Turpin may be faster and flashier but, in a wobbly spine which has every player on trial, McCullough’s 258-game pedigree cannot be discarded without due consideration. McCullough seems like he is nearing the end of his career but he is only 30 – six years younger than Cameron Smith. The Broncos may be stacked with forwards who could knock over a palm tree and shed tackles like a horse’s tail swishes flies, but can they do the defensive work without their most reliable tackler?" [I]Meanwhile, [B]Macca [/B]continues as he always has: staying late after training to put in extras. The consummate professional. [B]Saving nothing for the swim back[/B].[/I] McHunt [/QUOTE]

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