Roosters star Angus Crichton expects Michael Maguire coached Broncos to be battle hardened
Michael Maguire’s hard nosed approach at Red Hill has aroused the critics, but one player who knows the coach better than most thinks it’s what the Broncos need to transform into a premiership powerhouse.
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Sydney Roosters star Angus Crichton believes Michael Maguire is the “crazy bastard” the Brisbane Broncos need to return as an NRL powerhouse in 2025.
Maguire’s gruelling training methods over the summer have come under the spotlight after reports some players at Red Hill were unhappy with the coach’s hard-nosed approach.
But Crichton, who was coached by Maguire during his time at South Sydney and in last year’s Blues Origin-winning team, credited the mentor’s tough love as the catalyst for the Rabbitohs breaking the club’s 43-year title drought in 2014.
Maguire handed Crichton his NRL debut in 2016 before he was sacked as Rabbitohs coach at the end of the 2017 season.
CRAZY BASTARD: WHY YOU LOVE AND HATE MADGE
“I have known Madge since I was 18, he gave me my debut at Souths. I have known him for 10-plus years, I have a great relationship with him,” Crichton said.
“I really like him and respect him as a coach.
“Yeah, he can be a crazy bastard. But that’s why you love him, and I guess that is also why they (opposition) hate him.”
Crichton reunited with Maguire during last year’s Origin camp for NSW, when the coach led the Blues to a series-deciding victory against Queensland at Suncorp Stadium.
The Origin forward will come up against Maguire on Thursday night when the Broncos take on the Roosters in a Round 1 blockbuster at Allianz Stadium.
While Crichton revealed Maguire cut a more relaxed figure while in charge of the Blues, he is expecting Maguire to have the Broncos battle hardened and ready to make a statement.
“He has definitely matured and grown as a coach,” Crichton said.
“He was really good and really relaxed. It’s different in those rep arenas. You don’t really need coaches to get you up. It’s more just about connection and getting the team to play together.
“(He) knows when to turn it on and tone it down a bit.
“I think he will do well. It will be exciting to come up against him, a bit of a full-circle moment.”
The Broncos had a shocking season last year, 12 months after a grand final appearance, leading to accusations that players had adopted a rock star mentality.
The arrival of Maguire has seen widespread cultural changes at Red Hill including training standards and a ban on players being shirtless at training.
Roosters and Blues star Connor Watson believes Maguire’s impact on the Broncos will be immediate and is expecting a tough first-up assignment at home.
“He was good, really good (as Blues coach). I think knowing Madge and having those couple of weeks with him, you know the Broncos will be physical and fired up to start the game,” Watson said.
“So I’m expecting that. It’s well known he has trained them hard, so we are expecting a pretty fit Broncos side. It’ll be a good challenge for us. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him, the month we had. He was awesome. It is obviously different going into a club environment.
“But in the Origin environment he was awesome.”
MAGUIRE CONFIDENT BRONCOS WILL DO BRISBANE PROUD
The Broncos travelled to Sydney earlier than expected on Tuesday night in a bid to minimise disruptions on Maguire’s final preparations ahead of the season opener.
Maguire returned to the NSW Blues centre of excellence at Sydney Olympic Park, the same place he orchestrated the state’s Origin series win, to complete Brisbane’s Captain’s Run on Wednesday.
Maguire is under pressure to deliver on Brisbane’s annual objective of a top-four finish. It’s the way he likes it.
“That pressure is all part of what makes coaching here great,” he said on the eve of the Roosters blockbuster.
“This is a massive club and I love that Brisbane is a league town with so many fans here wanting success.
“I want to give the town a Broncos team we are proud of and the players will show that in how they play, starting against the Roosters.”
The Broncos will be close to full-strength against the Roosters with Gehamat Shibasaki named to replace star centre Kotoni Staggs, who was ruled out of Round 1 with a quad injury.
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