NSW coach Michael Maguire torn to shreds after checkmate

Brad Fittler and Phil Gould have absolutely scorched Michael Maguire after a moment where the NSW coach was badly exposed.

Phil Gould and Michael Maguire and Brad Fittler. Photo: Channel 9.

Welcome to Origin, Michael.

Billy Slater has given NSW coach Michael Maguire an absolute lesson in State of Origin football after the Queensland coach was the mastermind behind his state’s thumping win in the State of Origin series opener on Wednesday night.

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Maguire’s debut as coach of the Blues turned into a nightmare after centre Joseph Sua’ali’i was sent off for his shocking tackle on Reece Walsh.

No coach could possibly plan for the death sentence of being reduced to 12 men on the field for a full 73 minutes — but Maguire’s response to the disaster has been widely criticised.

The former South Sydney premiership coach seemed powerless as Queensland went bang-bang with tries in the 18th and 23rd minute while Maguire was still searching for a solution to the defensive crisis unfolding on either edge of his defensive line.

NSW State of Origin icon Phil Gould and former Blues coach Brad Fittler were among those to scorch Maguire for the decisions made following the Sua’ali’i send-off.

It was a particularly hard night at the office for Maguire after Billy Slater’s risky gamble of carrying winger Selwyn Cobbo on the bench was left looking like a masterstroke.

With Walsh unable to return because of concussion symptoms, Slater’s team selections allowed for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to slot in at fullback and for Cobbo to move into the centres.

Phil Gould and Michael Maguire and Brad Fittler. Photo: Channel 9.

It left Maguire’s decision to stack his bench with three second-rowers and a prop looking like a shocker.

Maguire has also been criticised for taking too long to move Stephen Crichton to play on the Blues’ right edge as Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Dearden, Jaydn Su’A, Cobbo and Murray Taulagi tormented Nicho Hynes, Liam Martin and Zac Lomax.

Gould said after the game on Channel 9: “I thought we reacted badly to the send-off positionally and I thought our interchange was poor tonight and we got into a bit of a rabble tonight.

“Our captain (Jake Trbojevic) only played 25 minutes and we never saw him again until very late in the piece. They got on a tilt. The send-off got them on tilt. They couldn’t recover both on and off the field. So they need to re-assess that.”

Fittler said the Blues never appeared to have a winning strategy.

“The first couple tries after the send-off, they were from missed tackles,” he said on Channel 9.

“It wasn’t from being outnumbered it was from missed tackles.

“At the end of the day, they were pretty heroic in certain areas of the game, but you’ve still got to come up with a plan to win the game. And I don’t think at any stage that we looked organised on the certain edge once we went down to 12 payers.”

Gould was also scathing of Maguire’s selections in hindsight.

“Probably their worst nightmare,” Gould said of Sua’ali’i’s send off.

“Playing them with 13 men was going to be hard enough, let alone 12 men. Their athleticism came into it. They just had too much speed and creativity out wide.

Joseph Sua’ali’i damn near killed that man.

“I thought NSW were gallant in the physical side of the game, but they weren’t that smart with their football.

“They’ve got a lot of work to do before they go to Melbourne if they want to turn this around.

“I thought the signs were there even before they got down to 12 men. They did break them down the left side and had already scored a try so the speed of Queensland and their creativity was always going to be a problem. It was just exacerbated by being down to 12 men.

“They picked their team with a philosophy and they gave it a shot and they went into a camp. They prepared themselves how they wanted to prepare. This was always going to be the test of whether this was the right thing to do. It fell apart for them early obviously.

“What they have to do is just ignore the outside noise. Dissect the game rationally about what could have been better and what couldn’t have been better.”

Meanwhile, Maguire’s struggles to get Trbojevic into the contest in the second half have been called out by former Queensland prop Darryl Brohman.

The long-time TV commentator said Maguire had “a bit to answer for”.

Billy Slater may be an even better coach than he was a player. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.

“He’s the captain, he’s the leader, he’s the one ... when you’re in dire straits like they were, he’s the one you look up to. He takes him off after 25 minutes and puts him on with four minutes to go? What’s going on there?,” Brohman said on 2GB’s Continuous Call team post-match show.

“The question now is whether he can possibly even be in the team next time, or whether he’s captain. If he’s going to be captain, give him some time on the field.

“... I like Madge, but Jake Trbojevic should not be captain if he’s going to play 29 minutes of a game.”

Maguire suggested in the post-match press conference Trbojevic fell victim to Joseph Suaalii’s early send-off as the Blues’ plans changed quickly.

Slater, meanwhile, appeared to get everything right.

The former Melbourne Storm fullback showed after the game how well prepared his team was.

“I’m always proud of this footy team. The way they prepare, the way they carry themselves, they’re a credit to themselves as leaders of our state,” he said.

“I can imagine what 5.5 million people above the border are feeling about their footy team and pride would certainly be up there.

“We prepared for the unexpected and the unexpected happened.”

Originally published as NSW coach Michael Maguire torn to shreds after checkmate