Broncos ‘rat’ revealed but team denies rift
THE Broncos have scoffed at suggestions a rift was tearing the club apart amid allegations of a dressing-room spat between leading Brisbane players.
The entire Brisbane squad gathered for a team lunch at Cha Cha Char steakhouse on Friday, after their 26-0 drubbing of the Dragons cemented their spot on top of the NRL ladder.
The bonding session came just hours after the Broncos camp was rocked by a report on radio station Triple M which alleged two players had a verbal exchange over sensitive information being leaked out of the club.
It is understood to have stemmed from a lighthearted prank in which a picture of a rat was placed on the locker of Broncos prop Josh McGuire.
McGuire is a renowned joker who has a history of pranking teammates. His colleagues returned the favour on Wednesday morning, before Brisbane’s captain’s run.
The Maroons enforcer was taken aback by the prank but produced a man-of-the-match display on Thursday night against the Dragons.
Brisbane players were shocked when they heard it was portrayed as anything but a practical joke, as McGuire is a popular member of the Broncos.
Broncos officials yesterday were adamant that the players were united but said like any team or workplace, there were players who weren’t close with each other.
A club spokesman released a statement insisting morale had never been higher at the club.
“There is no issue, there is no rift within the team,” he said.
Broncos players placed posts on Instagram of their team lunch, which included McGuire, in a display of team unity.
Triple M’s Greg Martin, a former Wallabies star, dropped the bombshell Friday morning when he alleged two Broncos players clashed heatedly over information being leaked.
Martin suggested a Broncos player had been set up by teammates who fed him incorrect information to see if it filtered into the media.
“There’s a bit trouble in the ranks at the Broncos. There’s a leak, there’s been far too many stories coming out of the club,” Martin said.
“One of the stories was about (Matt) Gillett going to St George, (and when the story appeared) ... bang ... they knew who leaked it.
“That day, that person had a picture of a rat placed on his locker in the dressing-rooms.
“A scuffle ensued between the player with the rat that was placed there and the player that he thought had placed it there.
“Wayne Bennett had to settle everything down, that’s how they went into last night’s game against St George.”
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