Have the Broncos been hunted down?

Having lost their last six games, Ben Gardiner has spoken about the Brisbane Broncos' chances of returning to the finals in 2026.

Like last year, the Broncos had an up-and-down start to the season. As a result, the reigning premiers are in a similar position in terms of wins, having recorded six wins after 15 rounds in 2025 compared to five in 2026.

Despite the similar win record, the club sits in 14th, making any push for the top eight far harder.

When asked by Andrew Voss as to whether the competition has hunted them down, Gardiner believes they have.

“They can’t be far away from it,” Gardiner told SEN’s Front Office with Vossy.

“People talk about when you win the premiership, you become the team that's hunted by every team every week in that following year.

“You have other things that come into it. Maybe some complacency because you won last year. You thought it was just gonna happen again, and all of those types of things.”

Some of that complacency was evident in the 48-6 loss to the Rabbitohs, with the reigning premiers making 14 errors in the match.

This made Gardiner wonder if their younger players are not delivering.

“The performance back there on Thursday night, 14 errors, a lot of early errors,” he continued.

“They started really well, and they thought they were gonna score first. But did the occasion get the better of them?

“Did some of the younger players not stand up in a moment that they needed to stand up in?”

The Samoa coach also noted the decision to start Ezra Mam on the bench.

Having started in 11 of their first 12 games at five-eighth, the 23-year-old has started on the bench in their last two, leading him to question the call.

“I also looked at Ezra Mam on the bench, like you don't have your best team (on the field) and Ezra Mam is on the bench again, like, what's going on there?” Gardiner added.

“Why are they making these decisions, it can't just be purely based on his defence.

“There's gotta be other attitude-based things or character-based things going on with the team and that's coming out on how poorly they're playing on the field at times.”

The Broncos have the bye this week.

They’ll suit up next against the Roosters on June 26 at Suncorp Stadium to avoid going on a seven-game losing streak.