NRL: Broncos need to take long hard look at selves: Ribot

Sporting entrepreneur John Ribot believes the floundering Brisbane Broncos are facing a painful yet exciting period in their history.

Brisbane's first chief executive says he feels for the club he helped build as it struggles through its darkest days since entering the premiership 21 years ago.

But Ribot hasn't forgotten the days when the representative-stacked Broncos missed the finals in their first two years in the premiership.

Club directors head-hunted a young, inexperienced coach, Wayne Bennett, who was being groomed to take over at Canberra.

They had signed Queensland's greatest player, Wally Lewis, as their captain and handed him a team that included 12 players who had, or were about to play for Queensland or Australia.

But Ribot said it wasn't easy in those early years.

There was intense pressure on the board to dump Bennett who, after two unsuccessful years, went out on a limb and stripped Lewis of the captaincy, replacing him with Gene Miles.

"The proverbial hit the fan and there was a big outcry from the media that we had to get rid of Wayne," said Ribot. "But in my mind we had the right coach."

Ribot, whose CV includes playing a key role in the code-splitting Super League war, helping to establish the Melbourne Storm and filling the job of chairman at Brisbane Roar, knows about the ebb and flow of sporting entities. He thought it inevitable the Broncos would go through an adjustment after Bennett ended his 20-year reign.

"They'd been such a successful club but now they're facing some adversity and it's probably a good time to make some tough decisions," he said.

"Obviously they've made the decision that Ivan (Henjak) is the man and they would have thought long and hard about that."

Brisbane players have been the subject of drug allegations recently and there's a groundswell of opinion the culture has changed following the departure of several senior players such as Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva.

Ribot said players had a duty of care to the game which provided them a living - to protect it for those behind them.

"They should feel very proud of the legacy left by the Allan Langers, Shane Webckes, the Gorden Tallis' and Chris Johns', even right back to Wally Lewis and Gene Miles who gave the club such a great winning culture."

The Broncos have been the NRL's flagship from early on, pulling the biggest crowds, ratings and sponsorships.

But Ribot said unless they made some tough calls, that could change.

"Culture is important but it can be broken down quickly if people forget what the club is about," he said.

"If you seem to be getting soft, well, that's not the Broncos."

- AAP