Maguire must find alignment at Brisbane or perish: Ikin
Scott Bailey |
Former Brisbane football boss Ben Ikin has warned Michael Maguire must find players who align with him at the Broncos or risk being sacked by the club.
Just seven months into his tenure at the club, Maguire is already under intense pressure with the club having dropped six of their past seven matches.
Brisbane players this week rubbished claims of unrest, rejecting any suggestion they were unhappy with Maguire’s training methods since arriving.
Ikin helped build the Broncos’ current roster in his role as head of football, before leaving Brisbane to be CEO of the Queensland Rugby League in 2023.
It was in that season Kevin Walters coached the Broncos to within minutes of winning that year’s premiership, before being axed as coach after last season.
Ikin admitted on Wednesday he felt the current squad was not fully aligned with Maguire, and that changes needed to be made for the sake of the coach.
“They look like a group that is not all on the same page at the moment,” Ikin said on SEN.
“Most people could tell you that Madge’s style is probably a lot different from Kevvie’s.
“That current roster and footy program was built in Kevvie’s image.
“So you bring in someone who is a polar opposite in Madge and it’s going to take a while to adapt.”
Ikin compared the situation to that of Canterbury’s when Cameron Ciraldo arrived, with the Bulldogs finishing 15th in 2023.
Close to two-thirds of the roster from that season is now gone, and Canterbury sit top of the ladder less than two years later.
Brisbane still have 13 players off contract this year, while only eight players are locked in for 2027.
But Ikin warned if Maguire could not shape the squad the way he wanted to or adapt to what the Broncos had, the consequences could be dire.
“At the moment it just looks like an organisation that is not aligned. But they will get that,” the former Brisbane star said.
“They just need to be patient and keep grinding and come out the other side.
“Madge is going to have to sit down with his senior staff and senior players and say who is on board with this?
“And for those who really don’t want to do it this way, we have to make some tough calls on the roster.
“Here’s the issue: if ‘Madge’ can’t find people that line up with him, then the problem isn’t the people, the problem is Madge.
“Then Madge will have to think how he adapts. Otherwise he will be the one they push out the door.”
AAP
