Latest news with #MichaelMaguire
News.com.au
a day ago
- General
- News.com.au
Round 14 team lists: Bulldogs make blockbuster Lachlan Galvin call
The Broncos have received a much-needed boost with superstar fullback Reece Walsh named to return from a knee injury in what could be a late audition for a State of Origin recall for the Maroons. Walsh hasn't played since the round seven loss to the Warriors and has been sorely missed with Brisbane winning just one match since then to heap pressure on coach Michael Maguire. His return means Jesse Arthars shifts back to the wing and Deine Mariner drops out of the 17 for the derby against the Titans, while Pat Carrigan has been named at lock. The Titans have also made a stack of changes with Jojo Fiifta (broken hand) and Sam Verrills (broken thumb) set to be out for two and three weeks respectively. Sean Mullany starts at hooker for the Gold Coast with Allan Fitzgibbon recalled on the wing, while AJ Brimson is listed in the reserves and could be a late inclusion. Lachlan Galvin has been included on an extended bench for the Bulldogs and could make his club debut in jersey 23 against the Eels next Monday. It'll be a spicy affair given the Eels were also trying to sign him, with the Bulldogs set to welcome back powerhouse winger Jacob Kiraz from injury. Tom Trbojevic will be given another week to get his troublesome thigh right, but the Sea Eagles do get his brother Jake back for the trip to Newcastle where the hosts have named Kalyn Ponga after he was rested last week. Tackle-busting machine Greg Marzhew has been named in the reserves and could be a late inclusion for the Knights, while the Storm get Origin duo Harry Grant and Xavier Coates back, with Sua Fa'alogo the unlucky man to drop out. The cavalry is starting to return for the Rabbitohs with veterans Cody Walker and Jack Wighton named to take on the Raiders who have promoted Josh Papalii to the starting side in his record-breaking match alongside Jamal Fogarty who returns from injury. Sevens convert Nathan Lawson has kept his spot for the Dragons with Tyrell Sloan dropped to the reserves for the returning Christian Tuipulotu. They take on a Dolphins side that has Jeremy Marshall-King and Max Plath on an extended bench, while the Sharks have received a double boost with key men Sione Katoa and Teig Wilton cleared to return from injury. Jackson Ford starts in the front row for the Warriors who will be without co-captain Mitch Barnett (knee) for the rest of the season, while Jeral Skelton and Latu Fainu (bench) are back for the Wests Tigers.
ABC News
a day ago
- General
- ABC News
Broncos stars Adam Reynolds and Kotoni Staggs rubbish reports of player unrest under Michael Maguire
Brisbane's senior players have rubbished claims of player unrest under new coach Michael Maguire, as the Broncos battle a form slump of epic proportions. Maguire has been criticised of training the team too hard in some quarters, but it has been vehemently denied by skipper Adam Reynolds and Kotoni Staggs. Reynolds, who plays his 300th game this weekend, and centre Staggs insist the players have welcomed the hard edge provided by Maguire and slammed suggestions the playing group was disgruntled. After the 34-6 loss to Manly on Saturday night, 1991 premiership-winner Greg Alexander said the Broncos had "turned it up" and labelled them "wusses" for complaining about being over-trained. The Broncos have won one of their last seven matches and fallen in a heap in second halves of games, but Staggs said players had not been griping behind the scenes about Maguire's methods. "That's a load of crap, I say," Staggs said. "You've got to train hard. It's a very tough sport. If you don't train hard, I don't think you're going to go far in this competition. "The training load here is pretty even. I think any other club is doing the same as what we're doing. I think it's just excuses from outside noise that we can't control." Reynolds also disputed reports of player dissatisfaction with Maguire and his regime. "It's easy to write headlines when you are not winning games. It's external and doesn't mean anything to us," he said. "The conversations we are having in these four walls are the important ones. "If you listen to people on the outside you end up on the outside, so for us we know what we are capable of and what type of football team we have. It's about sticking together, working hard and seeing it through. Reynolds is well qualified to speak about Maguire, having won the 2014 premiership under him at South Sydney. He conceded the poor displays were an indictment on the playing group, but backed Maguire to lead the Broncos to title glory during his tenure and out of the mess they are currently in. "I know how hard he works and what it means to him. He's passionate. He's loyal," Reynolds said. "He has seen success and knows what success takes. It hasn't been smooth sailing, but we are working hard to turn that around. I can assure you we will turn it around. "We get prepared extremely well and as players we have to take the blame and responsibility for it. The only people that are going to get us out of this are ourselves." As for giving up against Manly, Staggs wouldn't have a bar of it. "No, we didn't give up," he fired. "There were times through the game where we could have been much better, yes, but there's no giving up there." AAP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Put your name to it': Broncos legend calls for 'lying' figure to come forward publicly
Agenda-driven lies concocted by the media. That's former Brisbane star Corey Parker's take on claims the listless Broncos are being over-trained and worn down by coach Michael Maguire's unrelenting approach. It comes after former Penrith international Greg Alexander accused the NRL glamour team of giving up against Manly last round, labelling players "wusses" if they had a problem with Maguire's intense methods. "When someone says, "I'm hearing whispers…', that's just code for 'I'm making a story up'," Parker said on SEN radio. "I haven't heard it and I've dug deep into the Broncos in regard to some of these rumours. The whole 'training is too hard' line is ridiculous. Anyone who comes out and says training has been too hard, go and speak to the Penrith Panthers or the Melbourne Storm over the last two decades. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, right?" Parker suggested the source of the rumours would soon be disclosed in a bid to end the unrest at Brisbane. "Put your name to it," he challenged those behind the whispers. "And standby because I reckon there's going to be a fair bit come out in the next week over some of the agenda-driven things that pop out in the media." Alexander was stunned to hear dissension over Maguire's training methods could be the reason behind the Broncos' poor form, calling Brisbane players out for their pathetic performance against the Sea Eagles. "I don't think I have said it about a team this year – they have turned it up," he said. "Brisbane has got some problems (but) please don't tell me the Brisbane players are whingeing because Michael Maguire is too hard on them. Cry me a river you little wusses. If that is true, none of them deserve to be playing in the NRL. Tell me that is not true." "Cry me a river!"Brandy goes nuclear on the Broncos after their string of bad performances!Can they turn it around?#NRL — SEN League (@SENLeague) June 2, 2025 RELATED: Payne Haas could link with brother as manager makes call on future NRL fans left saddened over news about Tim Sheens and Robbie Farah The Broncos have lost six of their last seven matches, freefalling to 11th on the ladder after a strong start to the season. Maguire, in his first year at the club, is under immense pressure to turn things around, starting with Saturday's local derby against Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium. It's the first of three consecutive home matches that are set to make or break the Broncos' season. Energetic fullback Reece Walsh is expected to return from injury against the Titans as he pushes for inclusion in Queensland's squad for Origin 2, while veteran halfback Adam Reynolds will run out for his 300th NRL game.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
‘Can't believe it': NRL great's incredible rant over Broncos rumour
Greg Alexander has torn the Broncos to shreds as rumours continue to swirl over player unrest under taskmaster coach Michael Maguire. A miserable loss to Manly on Saturday has left the club's 2025 campaign on the brink of disaster — and rumblings continue to suggest there are serious problems within the team's dressing room. The loss to the Sea Eagles was compounded by the news Payne Haas' management is shopping the superstar prop around to all NRL clubs, with the possibility the 25-year-old could leave when his contract runs out at the end of 2026. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. While pressure is building on Maguire, the blowtorch is now being turned on the playing group with a number of commentators calling out the lack of effort senior players have produced recently. Former Dally M medal winner Greg Alexander has now given the most stinging criticism yet, calling players 'wusses' over rumours they didn't like Maguire's demanding leadership style. You can watch Alexander's rant in the video player above. 'Brisbane were that bad. And they have been,' Alexander said on his SEN Sydney breakfast radio show with co-host Andrew Voss. 'They've won one game in their last seven A number of those have been at Suncorp Stadium too. It's far from a fortress.' Alexander said it was clear from the loss to the Sea Eagles the club has problems. 'When you look at the first five minutes of that game at Brookvale Oval, in the first set – the first set – Lehi Hopoate bursts through Payne Haas and Kobe Hetherington through the middle,' he said. 'Manly go within a whisker of scoring in the first set. In hindsight now you go back and you go, 'Well that's how the game continued'. Brisbane have got some problems.' He said players unhappy about Maguire's taxing methods do not deserve to be playing football at NRL level. 'Please don't let me think that the Brisbane players are whingeing because Michael Maguire is too hard on them,' he said. Using a mock crying motion with his hands rubbing against his eyes, Alexander said: 'Cry me a river. You little wusses. 'If that is true, none of them deserve to be playing NRL. Really. Tell me that's not true. I can't believe that's true because I can't believe senior NRL players would be bitching and whingeing because Michael Maguire keeps them there (at training) too long.' The Broncos are still without Ben Hunt and Reece Walsh due to injuries, but the team is running our of excuses. With six losses from their last seven games, the Broncos sit 11th on the ladder and risk letting the season get away from them if they don't get wins on the board soon. Melbourne Storm premiership winner Ryan Hoffman, who played under Maguire at Wigan, said Brisbane's players had to take responsibility for their poor run of results. 'The Broncos weren't too much of an opposition, to be quite honest,' Hoffman said on ABC's Offsiders. 'They've been extremely disappointing. They showed a lot of promise at the start of the year with their new coach in Michael Maguire taking a harder-nosed stance than his predecessor Kevin Walters. 'He was criticised a bit for not being tough enough to the players. Now Michael Maguire's been accused of being too tough. 'I don't think it's a coaching issue at Brisbane, to be quite honest. I think play to understand that it's a hard game and they need to harden themselves up because that was a really lacklustre performance from the Broncos last night. 'The rest of the NRL expects the Broncos to be up the top. 'I've been coached by Michael Maguire before. I know that he is a successful coach. But you need to buy into what he's about. 'He's going to breed a tough football team, but you've got to train tough to be tough. 'Look, I'm going to back Michael Maguire in. I think he's a very good coach. I think he's what Brisbane Broncos need. 'I think the players themselves need to understand that 'this is what we need right now, we need to buy into what he's about'.' Maguire's coaching style has come into question this season and after Saturday's loss, he was prickly when asked about Brisbane's struggles in attack. 'Do you feel like the spark has gone out of the Broncos attack a bit in recent months?' a journalist asked in the post-game press conference. 'What do you mean by that?' Maguire shot back, before adding his side needs to be 'smarter' with the ball. 'There are probably times where we're pushing a pass here and there and that's what creates pressure back on ourselves,' Maguire said. 'So that's something that we're talking about and just need to be better at it. 'The boys are putting in plenty of effort, we just need to focus on the areas of our game that builds pressure on teams. That's the game. 'I've got to grow the team to be able to build pressure. We showed signs but we just have to do it longer, that's what the teams further up the ladder are doing. When the opportunities come you've got to make sure you're in position to take them. We need to be a bit smarter in that area and it's something we need to improve on.'
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Michael Maguire's post-game move raises eyebrows with Broncos coach ‘feeling the pressure'
Brisbane coach Michael Maguire moved his post-match address away from TV cameras after the disappointing loss to the Sea Eagles. For veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield, it showed Maguire is feeling the pressure and the Broncos are 'in a world of pain' after becoming the flops of the 2025 season. Trailing 22-6 at halftime, Maguire addressed his players in front of the cameras, hoping to inspire a comeback. Instead, the Broncos were unable to conjure any further points and conceded two more tries, with Maguire relocating his post-game address to his struggling squad. 'After the game... Michael Maguire broke the normal practice of addressing the side in the dressing room. He didn't want anything on (the coverage),' Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast. 'They've got that little TV camera inside every NRL dressing room. So they took them to a private area and did it behind closed doors. 'Is that a sign of a man who is feeling the pressure? I think it is. He didn't want a repeat, that (2021 documentary) Tales from Tiger Town, that didn't show the best side of Madge. 'There's talk that his hard-arse coaching methods, that he does have a deteriorating relationships with the players. 'They've lost six of their last seven, I think the Broncos are the biggest story in rugby league right now. They've been the flops so far. 'It's not as if they are just getting beaten, they are playing just terrible aren't they? They were blown off the park by a Manly side without Jake and Tom Trbojevic.' The Broncos now sit in 11th place, with questions once again being raised regarding Maguire's notoriously tough coaching methods. In May, former enforcer Martin Taupau left the club after liking a social media post from retired NRL star Elijah Taylor which criticised Maguire's coaching style. Taylor's post that was liked by Taupau included three reasons why the Broncos weren't delivering despite having a host of multimillion dollar stars, whilst also touching on Maguire's 'intensity'. Rothfield also pointed to the Broncos' elite squad, which boasts the likes of Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Ben Hunt and Kotoni Staggs. 'The bottom line is the blowtorch will stay on Madge because he has a premiership-winning roster there... that is a side that should be at the top of the ladder,' Rothfield said. 'I'm not sure the Broncos are playing for Madge. Do you blame Madge? Do you blame the under performing players? Does Madge need to change his ways and drop a bit of intensity? 'I don't know, I just know they are in a world of pain and have a really tough draw coming up. The way they are going they won't make the top eight.' Meanwhile, Melbourne great Ryan Hoffman — who was coached by Maguire in an assistant capacity at the Storm — put the heat back on the Broncos players. 'They've been extremely disappointing. They showed a lot of promise at the start of the year with their new coach in Michael Maguire taking a harder-nosed stance than his predecessor Kevin Walters,' Hoffman said on ABC's Offsiders. 'He was criticised a bit for not being tough enough to the players. Now Michael Maguire's been accused of being too tough. 'I don't think it's a coaching issue at Brisbane, to be quite honest. I think play to understand that it's a hard game and they need to harden themselves up because that was a really lacklustre performance from the Broncos last night. 'The rest of the NRL expects the Broncos to be up the top. 'I've been coached by Michael Maguire before. I know that he is a successful coach. But you need to buy into what he's about. 'He's going to breed a tough football team, but you've got to train tough to be tough. 'Look, I'm going to back Michael Maguire in. I think he's a very good coach. I think he's what Brisbane Broncos need. 'I think the players themselves need to understand that 'this is what we need right now, we need to buy into what he's about'.'
