BY A.J NASH

Club legend Glenn Lazarus has ripped into the Brisbane Broncos after coach Anthony Seibold threw 18-year-old halfback Tom Dearden in to make his first grade debut against the South Sydney Rabbitohs last weekend.

Dearden was solid if nothing else but Lazarus was adamant the Broncos shouldn’t played the youngster in such a high pressure situation.

The Broncos released incumbent number 7 Kodi Nikorima immediately following the Thursday night loss but didn’t travel to Sydney for the game.

“I thought it was very irresponsible of Anthony Seibold to debut that young boy in a game where it was all about him and Wayne Bennett,” Lazarus told Macquarie Sports Radio.

“There was so much press during the week, it was a game that meant a lot for both clubs, it was a game that was going to be talked about for some time.”

Lazarus, who won titles at the Broncos in 1992, 1993 and 1997, believed Dearden had a big future in the game.

“To his credit, he didn’t do anything wrong but I didn’t think it was the right thing to do, putting a kid who was the youngest Bronco ever to pay first grade in a long time and put him into a pressure cooker game against the Rabbitohs,” he added.

Gutherson, Burgess and Mitchell big movers in Arthur Beetson Medal

“That could’ve gone horribly wrong but to the young bloke’s credit he got through it, he wasn’t outstanding and a lot of the time he looked like he wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

“I think the kid has a future and let’s hope things work out.”

Things have gotten worse for the Broncos after a horror training session which saw star hooker Andrew McCullough carried from the field with a ‘severe’ knee injury.

Seibold drops Roberts and Isaako to reserves training as McCullough injures knee