Seibold defends 'culture' and backs Broncos next generation

Anthony Seibold insists "the next generation of Broncos” will do them proud and has backed the club culture now in place while being grilled at Brisbane headquarters on Wednesday.

The Broncos have just one win after four rounds and, in the wake of the 36-4 loss to the Roosters last week, have come under fire from former players.

Seibold, who confirmed boom 19-year-old prop Payne Haas would play off the bench against the Wests Tigers on Thursday night , has not been absorbing himself in the commentary around his team but did defend his players and the club from criticism of its culture and performance from former Broncos such as Gorden Tallis, Trevor Gillmeister and Justin Hodges.

"For me culture is actions, and you see every day how hard the players work. There's no shortcuts on the field, or in the gym or analysing the opposition," Seibold said.

"Ultimately, this is the next generation of Broncos. One of the reasons why the club has invested in me long term is because of my background in developing players.

"Tomorrow night, we have nine guys who are 22 or younger playing and three of those guys are 19-year-old kids. I think that's a fantastic opportunity for us to create our own legacy.

"They are in the team because we know they can do the job and we expect them to do the job."

The Broncos are in 13th position but Seibold said it was only round four, so called on "everyone to take breath and take a step back”.

"I'm a realist. I was in a very similar position last year. At my old club [the Rabbitohs], we were two from five and the Broncos were three from seven. Take a breath," he said.

"In the first four games we have come up against the two grand finalists from last year and it's been challenging. We have hung tough. We've had the least amount of possession in the competition. The club has made a decision that they will back the young group and I'm here for the longer term. The young players are here for the long haul."

Gillmeister has called for Darius Boyd to step down from the captaincy to focus on his game.

"Trevor has to understand he is working for the Gold Coast. I love ‘the Axe’, but he is with another team," Seibold said.

"I'm not sure what all this commentary is about. Darius wasn't at his best last week, he is the first to tell you that, but two weeks earlier he was outstanding against the Cowboys. Sometimes you swim in a pot of honey and sometimes you are swimming in a pool of shit. It's a week to week thing in the NRL."

Seibold said he wanted Haas on the bench and a four-forward rotation against a strong and experienced Tigers pack boasting Ben Matulino, Russell Packer and Robbie Farah.

"We think Alex Glenn can be the utility player if we need to replace someone in the outside backs. If we didn't have someone like Alex there or Matt Gillett who has filled in in the past, then we probably would keep Gehamat [Shibasaki] there, but we want to give Payne an opportunity to get back in the 17," Seibold said.

"I've been really impressed with Payne, it's been a long seven or eight weeks for him. He was outstanding against Queensland Cup opposition in the first trial.

"Since then it has been a pretty challenging period for Payne. He has worked really hard, he has been very focused and we have put some things in place that he did on top of his training."