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‘Will see changes’: Broncos legend’s warning after ‘horrible’ premiership defence Justin Hodges has declared “something has to change” at the Broncos next season, warning that if it doesn’t in the first two months coach Michael Maguire could be on the hot seat. Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Brisbane ended its disastrous premiership defence on a high on Thursday night, sending off its departing players — including superstar Payne Haas — with a 34-20 win over the Bulldogs. It was little comfort for Broncos fans who were left wondering what could have been had their team recaptured the form that took them all the way to the grand final last year. However, Hodges said it was no surprise his former team was unable to replicate its “golden run” to the premiership and that things went “horribly wrong” at Red Hill this season. “It’s been a pretty disappointing year overall when you look at what happened last year,” the Broncos legend said on ‘The Late Show with Matty Johns’. “Last year was a golden run. You don’t often get that in football, but they took their opportunities when they came. “This year has been a bit flat. I don’t think we’ve ever lost nine games at home but they’ve got to realise when you play the Broncos at home, especially up at Suncorp, it’s one of the best stadiums in the world. You’re playing in front of 40,000-plus people. Every team is coming up to play us. “The boys got it horribly wrong this season, and it’s good to see them finish off tonight. But it would have been good if they had a few more rounds if they were playing like this.” Instead, the Broncos will finish the season inside the bottom four and closer to the wooden spoon than lifting the Provan-Summons trophy in the first week of October. While there were some positives to take out of Thursday’s win, the overwhelming sentiment for Hodges was disappointed after a season that promised so much and failed to deliver. With that in mind, he had a sobering reality check for the club and specifically Maguire when asked if the Broncos coach could still be under pressure entering next year. “Something has to change because they can’t keep using the excuse of there is a lot of unrest, there is this and that,” Hodges said. “At the end of the day it’s about competing. You’re playing for the Broncos. You’re playing for the jersey. You’re playing for what that club means. Not just to the past players but all the people that have come before us and supported us as well. “This year has just been horrible, to be honest with you, it’s been one of those years the Broncos just don’t have. “Something has to change next year and if it doesn’t change in the first five or six weeks we probably will see changes.” There will already be significant changes, with Adam Reynolds retiring and Haas leaving for South Sydney. Haas’ Broncos teammates were quick to heap praise on the departing prop in the wake of his final game for the club, with Billy Walters calling him the “backbone” of the club. “He’s going to leave a huge hole,” Walters added in an interview with Triple M, while Ben Hunt told Channel Nine there is “no one as special as Payne”. “He’s given his heart and soul to this club,” Hunt added. Haas said in February this year that his decision to leave the club for the Rabbitohs was motivated by family reasons and the opportunity to play under Wayne Bennett. Hodges, however, questioned whether there was more to Haas’ departure. “We won tonight but Payne Haas has probably been the best front rower at the Broncos for a long, long time,” Hodges said. “He’s put them on his back. He’s carried them for six or seven years and for him to walk out on the Broncos the way that he did, something’s had to have happened.” Haas, who ran for 126 metres and scored a try in his farewell game, said it had been a “pretty emotional last few weeks” for him as he prepared to leave the Broncos. “This club means the world. This is all I’ve known since a kid. I debuted here. This club gave me an opportunity out of school, and I’m forever in debt to this club,” Haas told Channel Nine. “I’ve made lifelong friendships here, I forged my footy (at the Broncos) and I’ll go beyond footy now, so I’m very grateful for my time here. “But I’m excited for the journey ahead.”