Henjak sacked by Broncos

Brisbane have sacked Ivan Henjak and appointed his assistant Anthony Griffin as their new coach just three weeks before the start of the season.

Henjak replaced the legendary Wayne Bennett as Broncos coach at the end of the 2008 season and guided the club to a sixth place finish in 2009.

But it is understood that lost the support of several senior players after the club failed to reach the play-offs for the first time in 19 years last season.

Broncos chief executive, Paul White said: “It has been decided at board level that a change needed to be made in this regard and that change will be made effective immediately.

“These are tough times for all parties concerned, but I would like to express my personal thanks and that of the club to Ivan for taking on such a challenging role and for his valuable contribution to the Broncos for the past eight years.”

Griffin is a former assistant coach at Melbourne and previously coached Brisbane’s under-20s side. He has also coached Queensland Cup outfit Redcliffe.

The club’s general manager of football operations, Andrew Gee said: “Anthony Griffin has done a long apprenticeship at a number of clubs and we are very confident he has the skills and drive to be a success as head coach of the Broncos.”