Video nasty taught Haas the method to Maguire’s madness
George Clarke |
When Michael Maguire was named as Brisbane coach late last year, star prop Payne Haas wanted to get a better understanding of what made his new boss tick.
Haas was one of the few Broncos players to have worked with Maguire in 2024 when they helped NSW come from 1-0 down to clinch the State of Origin series in Brisbane for the first time since 2005.
Victory with the Blues, against the odds, helped propel Maguire to Red Hill and land the biggest job at the NRL’s most-prestigious club that has waited 19 years for a premiership.
Haas was eager to learn more about the man with a fearsome reputation, a thirst for discipline and a relentless will to win.
He sat down and watched two documentaries to get an appreciation of how Maguire worked as a club coach.
First, he binge-watched Tales From Tiger Town, a series produced by Fox Sports during Maguire’s time at Wests Tigers where he failed to revive the NRL’s perennial strugglers.
“Like anyone else I was thinking, what the heck? What are we in for,” Haas said.
“It’s like when your parents get angry, they’re doing it because they love you.”
There’s no doubt the Tigers series damaged Maguire’s image where he was portrayed as a ranting and raving drill sergeant trying to inspire and get a handle on a team with modest talent.
On the face of it Maguire bringing that approach to a superstar-laden Brisbane squad, described by Melbourne prop Stefano Utoikamanu earlier this week as “stuck up”, seemed liked a recipe for disaster.
Haas, though, also noted his coach’s gentler side when he studied clips from an in-house documentary commissioned by South Sydney to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their 2014 premiership.
Maguire was the man who broke the Rabbitohs’ 43-year wait for a title and has made a habit of defying history wherever he has been.
“I really enjoy building a group of men that can go and do something special and they’ve got that opportunity tomorrow (Sunday), Maguire said.
The 51-year-old’s first coaching success came before Souths when he left the tutelage of Sunday’s grand-final opponent, Storm coach Craig Bellamy, to revive English giants Wigan and win their first Super League crown in 12 years.
Aside from his stint at the Tigers, where even Ivan Cleary couldn’t achieve success, winning has followed Maguire.
He helped New Zealand to their biggest victory over Australia when they thrashed the Kangaroos 30-0 in the 2023 Pacific Championships.
That set him on the path to the Blues job and then onto the Broncos where he stands on the cusp of breaking another drought.
“The fans have been on an emotional ride with the players, and you actually feel that within Brisbane,” Maguire said.
“The last month has been incredible. The players want to be able to deliver that and give their fans what they’ve all been wanting over a 19-year period.”
Maguire has had four different roles over the last four years but arguably none has had as much scrutiny as what he endures at Brisbane.
Close friends of Kevin Walters – the man Maguire replaced – were actively willing for the new Brisbane coach to stuff up.
As his new regime took effect, talk of player unrest grew over Maguire’s ruthless training schedule and that ramped up further when the Broncos suffered four losses in a row in May.
“It took a little bit of time with the boys to get an understanding of what I know works,” Maguire said.
“But it’s also them. They’re the ones that have got to do it and it’s a credit to them.”
Those arduous sessions appear to have yielded the results Maguire wanted.
The Broncos surged into the top four late in the season and came from three scores down to beat both Canberra and Penrith to reach the grand final.
If they can maintain the rage for one more game, then Maguire will have broken yet another drought.
AAP
