Michael Maguire has taken a baseball bat to every job he’s taken. It could come in handy again during his time at the Broncos.
Before he was even officially unveiled as Kevin Walters’ replacement on Tuesday, Maguire already had a few curveballs thrown at him. There are the two assistants, Trent Barrett and Ben Te’o, who were foisted onto him by the coach he replaced; a squad not playing up to their considerable pay cheques; and then a welcoming committee comprising Shane Webcke and Gorden Tallis, the loudest of the dissenting Old Boys.
While he might be an outsider from south of the Tweed, Maguire is more concerned about where he’s going than where he’s from. Which is why he wants to bring the Broncos players – old and new – on the journey.
“I know I did that with NSW, but I also did that with Souths,” Maguire told this masthead. “We got Bobby McCarthy, John Sattler, Michael Cleary, Ron Coote – all of those old boys [on board]. Then I went to the next guys trickling through the organisation that had success. That’s me, that’s what I do.
“Everyone is saying I did it with NSW, but it’s no different [to what I do everywhere].
“I was talking to Ellery Hanley, Andy Farrell, all of those guys when I was at Wigan. It’s part of what I believe is a club, where everyone is included along the way.
“The present players are going to be past players at some stage. What you do within that time and that opportunity, you have for the rest of your life. It’s about bringing people together.”
When Maguire last pitched up for the Broncos job, he lost out to Anthony Seibold. A core group of senior players, in a bid to install Kevin Walters, undermined Seibold at every opportunity. Now that Maguire is in the hot seat, he wants everyone to come together. Even his most vocal sparring partner, Tallis.
“At the end of the day, I’ll chat with Gordie,” Maguire said. “Everyone has their opinions. Ultimately what stands strong is what we do within our walls. That’s my role, to understand that people are going to have their opinions, but what we do inside.
“I’ve met a number of players now and they are great people. Now in talking to the old boys, whether Gordie or whoever it will be, when the team is successful, they all have a smile on their face.”
For that to happen, Maguire needs to pull into line a squad accused by some of having rock-star egos. On paper, it is a roster that should be making the top four, yet followed up a grand final appearance in 2023 with a limp 12th-placed finish.
Much has been made about Maguire’s tactics to nullify Reece Walsh while overseeing the Blues, but now the challenge is to get the best out of him.
“I have met him before, I tried to get him across to the Kiwis, but his path was obviously into the Origin,” the former New Zealand coach revealed.
“He had a potential pathway, but I’m not 100 per cent sure. I don’t know him well enough to really comment [on how to get the best out of him], I’ve got to sit down with him to see what he wants to achieve in the game.
“We’ve got a pre-season in front of us to get to know each other as much we can.”
There are other big personalities. There’s Adam Reynolds, the veteran halfback who won a premiership at Souths with Maguire. There’s big Payne Haas, the cornerstone of the Blues pack from their Origin series triumph. Throw in Ezra Mam, Kotoni Staggs, Selwyn Cobbo and Patrick Carrigan and there’s no shortage of talent to work with, albeit their talents so far have been mostly unfulfilled.
“I’ve coached all different personalities across the game,” Maguire said. “You’ve got to work hard to be able to achieve, you need to work with all different personalities.
“The top end of the competition are prepared to put the work in to achieve where they’ve got to. Across all the things I’ve done, it’s a unique group that are willing to go above where a lot of people don’t go. We’re no different to anyone else or any job you do, the high executives who are successful put the work in.”
The enormity of the task, and the expectations that come with it, won’t frighten Maguire. He has broken long droughts at NRL, Super League, international and state level. He couldn’t be more effusive in praising the NSWRL for giving him a crack at Origin, but a part-time role for three matches a season couldn’t compete with a gig at the biggest club in the game.
That’s why Maguire, baseball bat in hand or otherwise, will come out swinging.
“What I love about this club is the expectation,” he said. “Of course you’re chasing success as quickly as you can. Have a look at my past; I’ve coached the Kiwis, I’ve coached NSW, I’ve coached clubs on the other side of the world.
“At the end of the day, my role is one piece to make sure the organisation becomes great …
“There’s a lot more noise around the bigger teams, people have their perceptions. But once I get to know the players I’ll be able to take them where I need to, to achieve.”
Sydney Morning Herald
