After Brisbane's 36-4 capitulation to the Roosters, Anthony Seibold was asked his thoughts on his talent-laden young pack being bludgeoned up and down the SCG by the premiers.
"If you get picked in the NRL you have got to do your job," Seibold said.
"The guys tried hard but trying hard in the NRL is not good enough."
His young forwards may have been outmuscled by Siosiua Taukeiaho, Boyd Cordner and friends but unfortunately for Seibold it's his senior men who have been found wanting in an unflattering 1-3 start to his Red Hill rein.
The Broncos have fallen away badly in the basics and their biggest names have fallen the furthest.
Whereas Brisbane's completion rates and average errors ranked as the best in the competition in 2018, this year they sit below par – representative wingers Corey Oates (12 mistakes) and Jamayne Isaako (seven) among the game's worst offenders.
Likewise their efforts without the ball – 39 missed tackles a game and another 23 ineffective efforts – are the worst in the NRL.
Halves Kodi Nikorima (21 missed tackles, second most in the NRL) and Anthony Milford (14) are being successfully targeted in defence, while Matt Gillett (17 ineffective tackles) has struggled in an early shift from the edge to the middle.
Gillett has returned from a serious neck injury out of position until the Roosters thumping, shoring up a Brisbane middle rotation at times lacking Matt Lodge and Payne Haas.
Likewise, the missed tackle counts of internationals Tevita Pangai (17), Alex Glenn 15 misses and another nine ineffective) and Jack Bird (11 ineffective tackles) all rank in an unwanted top 20 across the first four rounds.
But where Brisbane's strengths from 2018 have turned a weakness in their first four games this year, areas they've already struggled in are magnified.
Their average of 384 post-contact metres a game is well down on last year's 471 – still less than middle of the road by NRL standards.
Likewise their minimal support plays still rank them 16th in the competition, and have dropped from 120 a game last year to 98 so far in 2019.
Of course it's early days for Seibold, but all of the above amounts to last year's third best attack (22.1 points per game) sinking to 10th (17.3 points) after the opening month.
The 20.8 points conceded per game in 2018 has risen to 23.25.
And just two competition points seems a fair return for what the Broncos have produced to date.