Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire has refused to be drawn on what triggered Ben Te’o’s shock resignation and dismissed criticism he struggles to take advice from his leading assistants.
Speaking before his side’s clash with the Dolphins on Friday night, Maguire said the loss of his defensive guru in Te’o would not derail Brisbane’s hopes of defending their 2025 premiership.
It has been reported Maguire and Te’o – who won a title together as coach and player at South Sydney in 2014 – had clashed over team tactics, while the latter was also believed to have been irked by being blocked from working with the Queensland Maroons.
Maguire said he would “not go into too much conversation” about the rumours of a spat with Te’o, while denying he had issues collaborating.
“I’m going to stick to my line here – I do apologise if you want more, but I’ve got a playing group and staff with a really important game tomorrow night,” Maguire said.
“I take advice from many a people, I actually really enjoy taking advice from people.
“I probably do less coaching now than I ever have, to be honest. As a young coach, I’m fairly full on – people have probably spoken about that over my journey as a coach – but through the journey where I’m at I enjoy bringing staff on and people on.
“Ben and I have been through a lot, but we’re focused on tomorrow. The game keeps moving.”
Maguire said he would not be rushed into finding a replacement for Te’o, entrusting his remaining staff – which includes Matt Ballin and Trent Barrett – to fill the void.
When asked if he feared his squad would be fractured by Te’o’s departure, which follows the defection of marquee prop Payne Haas to the Rabbitohs in 2027, Maguire pointed to the Broncos’ triumph of the Melbourne Storm last week – in which they overturned a 14-0 half-time deficit to prevail 18-14.
Haas will miss the Dolphins game with a shoulder injury.
“The performance I saw last Friday pretty well determines how I believe you look at a football team. They dug in for each other, supported each other, Payne Haas came out after half-time when I guess he probably didn’t need to and was incredible,” Maguire said, referring to his 178 running metres and 38 tackles.
“At half-time … I sort of told him he probably wouldn’t be able to go out and play, and all of a sudden, the big fella is standing next to me and goes ‘Madge, I’m going back out there’. It says a lot about where they’re at.
“Things go on in any organisation, but what we’ve got to remember is that we go in tomorrow night and play the way we can.
“As a lot of the players here remind me, welcome to the Broncos.
“It’s the Broncos, and they’ve been able to do what they did last year, so I’ve got no concerns around [distractions] whatsoever.”
The Broncos will face a Dolphins outfit also off their best performance of the season – a 38-10 thumping of Cronulla.
Dolphins five-eighth Kodi Nikorima was quick to laugh off suggestions their crosstown rivals would be vulnerable due to the drama out of Red Hill.
Nikorima will be one of six Dolphins who made their NRL debuts as Broncos – joined by Thomas Flegler, Jamayne Isaako, Selwyn Cobbo, Herbie Farnworth and Francis Molo.
He denied there would be extra incentive to crush their under-siege former club.
The 31-year-old, who confirmed he was in discussions at Redcliffe to extend his stay beyond the end of his 2026 deal but revealed he had fielded interest from rival outfits, also dismissed talk of Te’o’s exit being a factor on Friday night.
“Honestly, he’s not out there with the jersey on, they’ll still have 19 players who want to get up for this game, so for us, it’s about focusing on ourselves and making sure we get our stuff right and what we want to do this weekend,” Nikorima said.
Sydney Morning Herald
