Segeyaro laps it up when Broncos great 'Rhino' pays visit

Just the presence of Broncos premiership winner Peter Ryan at training had bench utility James Segeyaro pumped for another huge team defensive effort against the Titans on Saturday night.

Ryan, one of the best defensive forwards of the modern era, is now an assistant coach at the Queensland Reds and was at Broncos training for some personal development.

Segeyaro, who had Ryan fine tune his defence as a youngster at the Cowboys when he was assistant coach, said the Broncos had founded their recent success on defence and would need to be up to scratch again for the Titans.

"I had 'Rhino' up at the Cowboys and early in my career he was really influential with my defence coming up through the grades," Segeyaro said.

"He definitely put that belief in me about working on my craft each day to get better, and not being complacent. He always pulled me aside when I was younger and in videos and made me do extras.

"The last couple of weeks we have built our game on defence. We held the Bulldogs to six and the game before [against the Warriors] it was defence orientated and a down to the wire game.

"Gold Coast are a very, very scary team in the sense that teams like that have nothing to lose and throw the ball around. There’s AJ Brimson… and Tyrone Roberts is a freak. They are a confidence team so if they get an offload it can have a snowball effect and they can lay on three tries like that.”

The Broncos have been boosted by the presence of their influential Old Boys in recent weeks. Last week on match eve former stars Chris Johns and Steve Renouf were among a group of former players to attend a barbecue lunch after the side’s captain’s run.

The input of the club’s legends in recent weeks has boosted Segeyaro and the Broncos with Ryan’s arrival on Tuesday icing the cake.

"He is a premiership-winning player at Brisbane and also with the Brumbies as well. He is here to have a look around and [Reds coach] Brad Thorn is also going to come in," Segeyaro said.

"I can’t wait to meet him. His accolades will probably fill this whole wall. He has been really influential in league and rugby union as well.

"I see Mick [Hancock] here all the time and Mick de Vere. Alfie is always here. They are my idols. I see Hodgo [Justin Hodges] and Scotty Prince come in and they instil that confidence in you because they have been there and done that. They are club legends and premiership winners so they know what it takes to win. Just to mingle with them is self-rewarding."

Ryan said he was thrilled to be on hand at the Broncos after the club was such a positive influence on his life and career.

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"I was just there doing some personal development – how they run their meetings, how they run their day and how the coaches interact," Ryan told NRL.com.

"It was fantastic to be in the inner sanctum of the Broncos facility and sit in on player and coaches meeting. Being an Old Boy you run into guys there like Alfie Langer, (trainer) Tony Spencer and even Seibs himself who was a young guy coming through the Broncs when I was there. I can't thank the Broncos and Seibs enough."

Ryan is big on defensive technique as a coach but just as important is attitude and mindset. It is that area of Brisbane's play in recent weeks that has impressed him.

"The last couple of weeks they have all bought into being all on the same page. To have a collective group working together is an unbeatable force," Ryan said.

"You rely on that to get you through games when you are doing it a bit tough. I think the camaraderie in the group is really good. It seems like they are really working together and those little connections between their key players has been the difference between them winning and losing games."

Ryan said he was impressed by the impact Segeyaro had brought to the Broncos with the veteran rake yet to lose a game for the club in his five matches so far.

"Chiko is hard as nails. When he is near the tryline it is almost impossible to stop him because he is just so strong. His enthusiasm on the field lifts everyone around him," Ryan said.