Brad Fittler calls out problem at Broncos as pressure mounts on Michael Maguire

Yahoo

12-05-2025

NRL legend Brad Fittler says Brisbane's latest defeat to Souths exposed a major problem for Michael Maguire's side, as pressure mounts on the Broncos' coach after four losses in their last five games. The Broncos were flying earlier in the season but their recent poor form and second-half fade-outs have been a big concern, with fellow league great Johnathan Thurston and former coach Kevin Walters criticising the body language and commitment of Brisbane's players.
But Fittler says a lack of support play from Maguire's side really stood out to him in Brisbane's capitulation against the Rabbitohs. The Broncos led by 14-0 at halftime but conceded 22 unanswered points in the second half to go down to a Latrell Mitchell-inspired Souths. Mitchell booted an extraordinary two-point field goal from 49 metres to put the Bunnies ahead at the death, before cementing the win with a try that divided the NRL world when he caught Brisbane napping in the last play-the-ball of the game.
However, Fittler pointed out that Brisbane dominated many of the attacking stats and only had themselves to blame for the loss. The Broncos had nine linebreaks to South Sydney's three and 29 tackle busts to 19 but failed to take advantage. And former Blues coach Fittler said it showed a lack of cohesion and commitment from the Broncos squad, with players consistently failing to back up their teammates during attacking raids.
"One thing that was noticeable when they made a couple of breaks, and they made more linebreaks than Souths, they had the better of the game no doubt," Fittler said on Nine's Sunday Footy Show. "(But) every time someone would come through there would only be one supporting player and they'd be five or 10 metres away.
"Payne Haas went through and there wasn't anyone. There was no one following him. I think when Deine Mariner went through there was no one following him. Adam Reynolds was 10 metres away. If you watch some of those early games... somebody would go through the line (of defence) and there were five or six jerseys pushing through the line. They're nowhere near the camaraderie or the gel that some of these other teams have got."
Maroons coach Billy Slater agreed and said Maguire's side were desperately missing the support play that injured fullback Reece Walsh and the previously suspended Ezra Mam typically offer. "And you think of the two best support players in the Broncos's squad, it would be Ezra Mam and Reece Walsh," Slater said. "Now you put both of those guys back into the football team and they're a different side.
Mam has served his nine-game ban and will almost certainly come back into Brisbane's starting side in place of injured five-eighth Ben Hunt, if he's cleared over a high tackle in the Queensland Cup on Sunday. However, Walsh is still expected to be sidelined for at least a couple more weeks, meaning Maguire will need others to step up in this area.
Pressure has ramped up on Maguire and his underperforming Broncos, who many tipped as one of the favourites for the premiership before the season. Maguire was brought in to replace Walters as coach, with a directive to change the Broncos' culture and give the squad a harder edge. However, Thurston says he's seeing little evidence of that, with Walters admitting "there is something not quite right" at the Broncos.
'We all thought Michael Maguire was coming in to put a hard edge into the Broncos," Thurston said on Nine's coverage. "Well their last five games and their second-half fadeouts, there is no hard edge to them at all. As a Broncos fan, I would be frustrated to see the way that they are playing.'
RELATED:
NSW coach in surprise call about picking Ryan Papenhuyzen for Origin
Panthers legend in telling reveal as trainer footage lands club in trouble
Ezra Mam's return to NRL thrown into doubt by possible suspension
Veteran league journalist Phil 'Buzz' Rothfield claims there are "problems" between some of Brisbane's players and the coach, amid suggestions Maguire has been "over-training" the squad, which has led to some of their "flat" performances. Rothfield also questioned Maguire's decision to take the squad on a cruise on Sydney Harbour last week after travelling down earlier than usual before the loss to Souths.
'Madge has got a roster that should seriously be challenging for a title, not getting beaten by a depleted Rabbitohs,' Rothfield said on Sky's Big Sports Breakfast. 'There were a few people in the camp shocked in a five-day turnaround week that Madge had brought them down to Sydney for three nights instead of their usual game-eve. He took them out on the harbour for a luxury cruise... Players like to stick to schedule... I don't think it's a good look to be out on a cruiser like that.