Besieged Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has hit back at calls for his sacking and backed his controversial methods to rebuild the Broncos as a premiership force next season.
On the eve of the Battle of Brisbane blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, Maguire opened up to Code Sports about the Broncos’ stunning collapse amid one of the toughest seasons of his 20-year coaching career.
It seems unfathomable.
How on earth have the mighty Broncos, replete with champions such as Reece Walsh, Payne Haas and Adam Reynolds, plunged into a tailspin that has rendered the $98 million NRL flagship the worst performing premiership team in 63 years?
Maguire cannot himself believe the Broncos are running second last heading into the final month of a dreadful campaign.
But Brisbane’s title drought-breaker is adamant he is the coach to fix a glamour club on the brink of crisis.
“I’ll never give up and we’ll never give up,” Maguire said. “That’s not what I’m about and what this club’s about.”
THE FREEFALL
No premiership club in six decades has failed like the Broncos.
In the pre-season, bookmakers installed Brisbane as title favourites after their fairytale surge to last year’s premiership, breaking a 19-year drought on the back of the Walsh attacking tsunami and seemingly sowing the seeds for a Broncos dynasty.
But the dream has degenerated into a disaster.
The Broncos go into the Dolphins derby with a dismal 6-13 record.
They were the first team to lose to the last-placed Dragons this season.
Only Anthony Seibold’s wooden-spoon team of 2020, which won three games, have a worse winning ratio in Brisbane’s decorated 38-year history.
Brisbane’s capitulation doesn’t sit well with Maguire, who is still digesting the painful reality his premiership-winning team can’t make this year’s finals.
“It definitely hurts,” he says.
“I feel for everyone in the organisation because that (playing finals) is what you set out to do.
“When you’re proud of your club and what it stands for, you go through a fair bit of emotion at times like this. But you also find out what you need to do to move forward and give yourselves another shot.
“Internally, we’ve all been very open about what we’re going through.
“It’s not on any individual, but I accept I’m the coach. I’m the leader of that, so I take ownership of everything that goes on.
“But when you’ve got a great team behind your leader, you can get through the good times and the challenging times.
“It’s quite amazing that the two teams who played in last year’s grand final (Broncos and 12th-placed Melbourne) are probably in a very similar boat.
“Who would have thought?”
THE REPUTATION
It’s become such common rhetoric that Maguire now simply laughs when the topic gets brought up.
That ‘Madge’ is coaching’s mad scientist. That he’s too intense, too demanding, and too obsessive in pursuit of excellence to preside over a long-term football program at one club.
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis, one of Maguire’s most strident critics, says the 52-year-old has a history of pushing players to breaking point. But history also shows he is just one of seven coaches in 118 years to win premierships at two clubs.
Maguire makes no apologies amid suggestions he is pushing Broncos players too hard.
“We’ve been f***ing losing games,” the Broncos coach says.
“What am I meant to do? Just walk around all happy and say, ‘It’s all okay boys?‘
“We’re all hurting here, the players included. It’s not good enough. We know that.
“So what do they (the critics) want me to do as coach?
“The NRL is a tough business. Everyone’s trying to get better.
“The reality is if we didn’t have that internal drive or push to get people to where they need to get to, we’re not going to succeed.”
THE DRESSING ROOM
Maguire was rocked by Sydney media reports last month that several Broncos stars were unhappy with the coach.
It was claimed Jesse Arthars knocked back a Broncos extension to play in the English Super League, but in an exclusive interview with this masthead, the winger revealed he simply wanted to see the world and test himself with a new challenge.
At times this season, the Broncos have looked jaded as a collective. Some players have appeared tired. Their 30-6 loss to Newcastle last week was arguably their worst performance of the season. The Broncos missed the jump and were flat from the opening seconds as the Knights delivered the bullet to their title defence.
Maguire says Broncos stars have never been more committed amid the worst injury toll he has seen. The Broncos have used a record 33 players this season and debuted six rookies.
In round 8 against the Bulldogs, they had 14 players sidelined and needed NRL salary-cap dispensation to field a full team.
“I’ve never experienced injuries like this,” Maguire said.
“Naturally, everyone is human and the guys feel it because it’s been a tough season.
“To their credit, they bounce in, they’re professional and they’re working really hard to make sure we can finish the way we’d like.”
Maguire insists the group remain close.
“That’s one thing — these boys have held tight. They love performing together,” he said.
“It’s really important to be aligned. The next little period of time is very important.
“We’ve got Adam Reynolds, our captain, finishing up, and Payne Haas is leaving us as well (to join South Sydney).
“The guys have gone through plenty of adversity, but it’s going to make them stronger. The history of this group shows they have gained strength from the things they’ve been through.
“It puts a little bit more in the belly to strive to go back to where we were last October.”
THE COACH’S FUTURE
Maguire is off-contract next season.
Clubs often make contract calls on coaches 12 months in advance to stave off media pressure, and Broncos bosses have indicated they are open to a fresh extension for Maguire, backing him for the 2028 season.
Against that backdrop is this narrative: Maguire’s predecessor Kevin Walters was axed just 12 months after delivering a grand-final appearance.
The Broncos coach is confident he not only has the support of management, but possesses the tools to preside over an immediate fightback.
Asked if he can turn the Broncos around next season, Maguire said: “Of course I can, because I know what works.
“In all the time I’ve spent in the game, I’ve always seen that teams who want to work, who want to be the best and the fittest, are the teams that excel.
“The players have learnt that when you have success and become premiers, every team is going to come hunting for you. That in itself is a lesson.
“Other clubs have been able to do it and find sustained success. We’ve gone through our journey that is going to give us some good lessons for what’s ahead.
“I’m about building something that’s sustainable for a long period of time.
“I like to try and do that wherever I go.
“The club, since it arrived in 1988, has had some great coaches. They’ve instilled what I believe is the fabric of the Broncos.”
Maguire is seething about Brisbane’s home record. They have lost nine of 11 games at their Suncorp Fortress this season.
“I feel we have missed the mark a little bit playing at home at times,” he said.
“We need to be better in that space.”
THE RECRUITMENT
The Broncos have come under fire for a series of ‘Dad’s Army’ signings.
Warriors prop recruit Mitch Barnett turns 33 in April. Ben Hunt has extended for 12 months and will be 37 next year, while Newcastle centre Dane Gagai will be 36 when he arrives for a Red Hill swansong.
Maguire defended Brisbane’s recruitment drive and scoffed at suggestions Haas left for Souths to be coached by Wayne Bennett.
“No, I’m not worried at all,” he said of criticism over Brisbane’s signings.
“In the game today, you’ve got to have senior players around to help guide younger guys in the day-to-day stuff.
“Mitch is an Origin player and a leader. ‘Hunty’ is part of our leadership group and his role moving forward next season will be a little different in nature.
“Dane’s a great example for younger players. He’s had highs and lows and our young guys will learn a lot from what he has been through.
“We’re losing Payne and ‘Reyno’ is retiring, but we’re going to have an injection of a few players coming in who will bring a different hunger from different clubs.
“They’ll come in here and feel what the Broncos stand for.
“The Broncos are a club where people want to come and play. You have no idea how many calls we get from managers with players wanting to play at this club.
“We’re a pretty unique club. People like to come and play up here in Brisbane because of the brand and what this club means to the community up here.”
THE CULTURE
Despite losing their best prop and chief game manager for next season, Maguire insists Brisbane’s premiership window has not closed.
“No, definitely not,” he said.
“I’m proud of our culture. The culture in this organisation is very strong. There are a lot of passionate people who care deeply about how the Broncos are performing.
“Last year we experienced the emotion of success. It hurts now because we’re not in that position, but we’ve got a very connected group in how we want to go about things.
“I know we have a fighting group of players. No one here is complacent. That’s what I want to see against the Dolphins, because it’s important we finish the season strongly.
“The fans know the talent we’ve got and when we’ve got everyone on the park together, we’ll fire again.”