Brisbane Broncos NRLW stars Romy Teitzel and Tamika Upton insist an emotive half-time address from coach Scott Prince was the catalyst for the team’s return to form.
The defending premiers host Newcastle in an elimination final on Saturday at Brisbane’s Langlands Park.
They enter the match on a three-match winning streak, which followed a mid-season slump.
The Broncos’ last loss was a 28-20 defeat to the Gold Coast Titans on August 23.
It was their third consecutive defeat.
Trailing 14-4 at half-time in that match, TV footage showed Prince laying down the law in no uncertain terms.
“We are a great team with great standards and we weren’t living up to them,” Teitzel said.
“We deserved every single word that he threw at us.
“The response comes from having a lot of respect for Princey and believing in his game plan.
“Everything is driven from that respect factor and believing in what he is trying to drive here at the Broncos.”
Following the loss to the Titans, the Broncos beat Parramatta 44-10 and St George Illawarra 24-16, before thrashing the Warriors 52-18 at home last Sunday.
Tamika Upton says the players have deep respect for their coach, Scott Prince. (Getty Images: Jason McCawley)
Broncos captain Upton said Prince, who coached the team to the premiership last year, told the players home truths they needed to hear.
“We had a few little things we had to fix, and we weren’t doing it, hence the Princey blow-up,” Upton said.
“To be honest, we are used to it. He is a very passionate coach. That’s the thing, we are all competitors.”
Upton said she and her teammates had enormous respect for Prince, who captained the Wests Tigers to the 2005 NRL premiership during his decorated playing career.
“I would rather him be yelling at us than not speaking to us,” she said.
“Honestly, you feel that because he was a player.
“When he is talking like that, you feel the energy, and you respect that a lot because he has been there and done it before.
“He wouldn’t do it if he didn’t care. I respond to that.”
AAP
By
