stunning collapse amid one of the toughest seasons of his 20-year<\/a> coaching career.<\/p>\nIt seems unfathomable. <\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
Maguire cannot himself believe the Broncos are running second last heading into the final month of a dreadful campaign.<\/p>\n
But Brisbane\u2019s title drought-breaker is adamant he is the coach to fix a glamour club on the brink of crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never give up and we\u2019ll never give up,\u201d Maguire said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m about and what this club\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE FREEFALL<\/p>\n
No premiership club in six decades has failed like the Broncos. <\/p>\n
In the pre-season, bookmakers installed Brisbane as title favourites after their fairytale surge to last year\u2019s premiership, breaking a 19-year drought on the back of the Walsh attacking tsunami and seemingly sowing the seeds for a Broncos dynasty.<\/p>\n
But the dream has degenerated into a disaster. <\/p>\n
The Broncos go into the Dolphins derby with a dismal 6-13 record. <\/p>\n
They were the first team to lose to the last-placed Dragons this season. <\/p>\n
Only Anthony Seibold\u2019s wooden-spoon team of 2020, which won three games, have a worse winning ratio in Brisbane\u2019s decorated 38-year history.<\/p>\n
Brisbane\u2019s capitulation doesn\u2019t sit well with Maguire, who is still digesting the painful reality his premiership-winning team can\u2019t make this year\u2019s finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely hurts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel for everyone in the organisation because that (playing finals) is what you set out to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cInternally, we\u2019ve all been very open about what we\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not on any individual, but I accept I\u2019m the coach. I\u2019m the leader of that, so I take ownership of everything that goes on.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you\u2019ve got a great team behind your leader, you can get through the good times and the challenging times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite amazing that the two teams who played in last year\u2019s grand final (Broncos and 12th-placed Melbourne) are probably in a very similar boat. <\/p>\n
\u201cWho would have thought?\u201d<\/p>\n
THE REPUTATION<\/p>\n
It\u2019s become such common rhetoric that Maguire now simply laughs when the topic gets brought up. <\/p>\n
That \u2018Madge\u2019 is coaching\u2019s mad scientist. That he\u2019s too intense, too demanding, and too obsessive in pursuit of excellence to preside over a long-term football program at one club.<\/p>\n
Broncos legend Gorden Tallis, one of Maguire\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
Maguire makes no apologies amid suggestions he is pushing Broncos players too hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been f***ing losing games,\u201d the Broncos coach says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I meant to do? Just walk around all happy and say, \u2018It\u2019s all okay boys?\u2018<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all hurting here, the players included. It\u2019s not good enough. We know that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what do they (the critics) want me to do as coach?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NRL is a tough business. Everyone\u2019s trying to get better. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is if we didn\u2019t have that internal drive or push to get people to where they need to get to, we\u2019re not going to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE DRESSING ROOM<\/p>\n
Maguire was rocked by Sydney media reports last month that several Broncos stars were unhappy with the coach. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
In round 8 against the Bulldogs, they had 14 players sidelined and needed NRL salary-cap dispensation to field a full team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced injuries like this,\u201d Maguire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, everyone is human and the guys feel it because it\u2019s been a tough season.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo their credit, they bounce in, they\u2019re professional and they\u2019re working really hard to make sure we can finish the way we\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire insists the group remain close. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one thing \u2014 these boys have held tight. They love performing together,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important to be aligned. The next little period of time is very important. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Adam Reynolds, our captain, finishing up, and Payne Haas is leaving us as well (to join South Sydney). <\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys have gone through plenty of adversity, but it\u2019s going to make them stronger. The history of this group shows they have gained strength from the things they\u2019ve been through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt puts a little bit more in the belly to strive to go back to where we were last October.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE COACH\u2019S FUTURE<\/p>\n
Maguire is off-contract next season. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Against that backdrop is this narrative: Maguire\u2019s predecessor Kevin Walters was axed just 12 months after delivering a grand-final appearance. <\/p>\n
The Broncos coach is confident he not only has the support of management, but possesses the tools to preside over an immediate fightback.<\/p>\n
Asked if he can turn the Broncos around next season, Maguire said: \u201cOf course I can, because I know what works.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all the time I\u2019ve spent in the game, I\u2019ve always seen that teams who want to work, who want to be the best and the fittest, are the teams that excel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther clubs have been able to do it and find sustained success. We\u2019ve gone through our journey that is going to give us some good lessons for what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m about building something that\u2019s sustainable for a long period of time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like to try and do that wherever I go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club, since it arrived in 1988, has had some great coaches. They\u2019ve instilled what I believe is the fabric of the Broncos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire is seething about Brisbane\u2019s home record. They have lost nine of 11 games at their Suncorp Fortress this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel we have missed the mark a little bit playing at home at times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be better in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE RECRUITMENT<\/p>\n
The Broncos have come under fire for a series of \u2018Dad\u2019s Army\u2019 signings. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Maguire defended Brisbane\u2019s recruitment drive and scoffed at suggestions Haas left for Souths to be coached by Wayne Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m not worried at all,\u201d he said of criticism over Brisbane\u2019s signings. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the game today, you\u2019ve got to have senior players around to help guide younger guys in the day-to-day stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch is an Origin player and a leader. \u2018Hunty\u2019 is part of our leadership group and his role moving forward next season will be a little different in nature. <\/p>\n
\u201cDane\u2019s a great example for younger players. He\u2019s had highs and lows and our young guys will learn a lot from what he has been through.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re losing Payne and \u2018Reyno\u2019 is retiring, but we\u2019re going to have an injection of a few players coming in who will bring a different hunger from different clubs. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll come in here and feel what the Broncos stand for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE CULTURE<\/p>\n
Despite losing their best prop and chief game manager for next season, Maguire insists Brisbane\u2019s premiership window has not closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, definitely not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year we experienced the emotion of success. It hurts now because we\u2019re not in that position, but we\u2019ve got a very connected group in how we want to go about things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we have a fighting group of players. No one here is complacent. That\u2019s what I want to see against the Dolphins, because it\u2019s important we finish the season strongly. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans know the talent we\u2019ve got and when we\u2019ve got everyone on the park together, we\u2019ll fire again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Besieged Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has hit back at calls for his sacking and backed his controversial 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