'We went on the piss': Broncos assistant coach reveals moment that saved NRL season
Broncos assistant coach Ben Te'o has revealed the moment the side's season was turned around - and it happened at a popular Sydney pub.
After a mixed start to the season and a four-game losing streak heading towards the State of Origin period, Michael Maguire's men appeared to be in all sorts.
Fresh off a humbling 34-6 loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval, things were starting to look rather dire and Te'o, who is a premiership winner in his own right, knew what to do.
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"We went on the piss - that's what happened," he told the Inside Ball podcast.
Brisbane Broncos players Getty
"Rugby league is always going to be the same. It's always about mateship and it's always about pressure and how you deal with it.
"At that stage it was kind of like, no matter how hard we tried, it got worse.
"We went to the Steyne, the players had a great night out and it sort of took the pressure off, we had a breather and from then on I think we lost two games.
"We've got a lot to thank the Hotel Steyne for."
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Te'o also revealed that he told star forward Patrick Carrigan to raise it with Maguire, who had no issue with the players letting their hair down.
"Having a drink together after a loss I know most people would go, 'Why would you go out and have a drink?'. That's the best time," Te'o said.
"Go out and have a drink, get together, forget about footy for six hours and have a beer and enjoy each other's company. I think that was a great thing.
"It wasn't something that was organised, it just happened.
"Madge was great. He saw it, let it happen and [said] boys, go and do it."
Brisbane went on to finish the regular season strongly, before coming back in three-straight finals games including the classic NRL decider against the Storm earlier this month, snapping a 19-year title drought in the process.
