Parker defends Tallis after being stripped of honours by Broncos

Broncos’ legend Corey Parker has come to the defence of Gorden Tallis after Brisbane removed the former captain’s name from a meeting room.

The Broncos stripped Tallis of the honour after he publicly criticised the club on multiple occasions, with scathing opinions directed towards captain Adam Reynolds and coach Michael Maguire over their 0-2 start to the season.

The decision came before Brisbane's grand final rematch against the Storm, where the Broncos walked away with an 18-14 upset victory to secure their first win of the season.

The growing feud between the Broncos and Tallis hit its peak when the Broncos sent an email to staff, outlining that a meeting room named after Tallis would be renamed after Ali Brigginshaw, the club’s long-serving captain of the Broncos’ NRLW side, and trailblazer for women’s rugby league.

As a Broncos’ legend also in the media, Parker empathised with Tallis’s position, acknowledging the difficulty of criticising a club where both spent so much of their careers.

“There was an email that circled around to 100-odd staff that said that this was what was going to happen,” Parker revealed on SENQ Breakfast.

“When you work in the media, and we all do it… you have an opinion, and that's what you're paid to do.

“Gordie (Tallis) has definitely had his opinions on the Brisbane Broncos, and, as do I, I've been critical of the Broncos over my time in the media.

“The thing that people are seeing, or it appears that the Broncos aren't happy with, it's now become personal.

“Gordie's held positions with, and on the board level of the Cowboys, and also it's been well-known that he's now part of ownership with the Titans.

“Now, if Gordie does have an opinion on Madge (Maguire) or is defending his great mate Kevvie (Walters), that's fine, but the opinion should be directed at the board, I feel, and the people that made those decisions on getting Madge there.

“Should Gordie be able to have his opinion? Absolutely.

“What he's done at the Brisbane Broncos, no one can take that away… I played alongside Gordie. (He’s a) great leader, super loyal individual, and maybe it's now getting played out.

“The other thing too, Ali Brigginshaw, if she's going to get honoured (with) a meeting room or a name, can we do it a different way to put her where her name needs to be, instead of people just going, ‘she just got this room now because the Broncos have got the shits with Gordie’.”

However, Ian Healy, Parker’s SENQ co-host, believes Tallis’s judgment of the Broncos can go too far, pointing out the differences in how he criticises different sides.

“They just swapped the names because it's not a big thing, they didn't want it to be this great negative stir,” Healy said.

“Gordie is not consistent with his criticisms across the clubs of the NRL compared to what he does for the Broncos.

“He hammers them and, whether they've had enough, it remains to be seen.”