Brisbane Broncos chairman Karl Morris addresses club’s struggles, Michael Maguire future, player revolt rumours and more
Broncos chairman Karl Morris has come out swinging in support of besieged coach Michael Maguire amid a turbulent campaign. In an exclusive interview, the Brisbane chair addresses the club’s slump, rumblings of player discontent, and more.
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Broncos chairman Karl Morris says calls to sack Michael Maguire are “ridiculous” as Brisbane’s board backed the besieged coach to instil the hard edge to break the club’s 19-year premiership drought.
Morris has come out swinging in support of Maguire, addressing reports the Broncos are a club in crisis in the lead-up to Saturday night’s must-win derby against the Titans at Suncorp Stadium.
This masthead can reveal Maguire fronted the Broncos board last week to explain the side’s patchy start to the 2025 season, just days before Brisbane’s woeful 34-6 loss to Manly last Saturday night in Sydney.
The Broncos go into the M1 derby languishing in 11th spot with a 5-7 record after six losses from seven games and another defeat against the lowly Titans would intensify pressure on Maguire.
But Morris, now in his seventh year as Broncos chair, is adamant Maguire has the skill set, experience and premiership pedigree to haul Brisbane out of their form slump and deliver a seventh title.
“Michael Maguire is the right coach for this club,” Morris said.
BUMBLING BRONCOS
Brisbane’s annual stated objective is to qualify for the top four. The Broncos are currently six competition points adrift of fourth-placed Melbourne and Morris concedes recent results are unacceptable.
“We are the biggest club in the game and we have to do better,” Morris said.
“I have found some of their performances this year bewildering, with some brilliance in between.
“They don’t seem to have that consistency there, that is missing at the moment, but there are no concerns here.
“We are backing Madge to address that.”
Asked if the Broncos are in crisis, Morris said: “No way, not at all.
“That term is good for selling papers and eyeballs on TV, but internally at the club there is no panic.”
PLAYER REVOLT
The first rumblings of discontent surfaced just a fortnight into the premiership after Brisbane’s round 2 loss to the Raiders in Canberra.
There are suggestions Maguire is working players too hard and the squad is mentally fried. Morris says the board’s own informal probe has uncovered no evidence of dressing-room disharmony.
“The talk of unrest is simply not true,” he said.
“I’m not there every day, but I have asked the football department to give me some feedback if there is some discontent and I’ve had nothing come back of that nature.
“I have asked questions. We had a board meeting last week, we had ‘Madge’ in to talk about things and one of the directors was at training and they called me and said the players have been nothing but positive of Madge.
“Myself and the directors walk around the club and we get a feel if there’s some major issues. We see none of that. The issue we see is Madge has come into reset a team and it could take longer than we thought.
CHANGE AGENT
There was a view the Broncos needed a tougher approach after Maguire’s predecessor Kevin Walters was terminated following last season’s 12th-placed freefall.
It was the third time in four years Walters had missed the playoffs during a topsy-turvy tenure highlighted by Brisbane’s fairytale surge to the 2023 grand final.
Walters was just four minutes away from winning a premiership and while some would say he was prematurely moved on, Morris is confident Maguire will implement the cultural bedrock to deliver Brisbane’s first title since 2006.
“Michael was the standout person for the job,” he said.
“It wasn’t just because he was available, but we felt we needed his brand and his capabilities at the Broncos so we couldn’t have been more delighted to get him.
“We all knew this process would take time.
“In fact, I was surprised how we started in round one against the Roosters (winning 50-14) because we thought we needed a bigger reset and it would take time.
“We knew from where we were last year it wasn’t going to be a quick turnaround and we’re very supportive of Madge.
“We were highly impressed and confident with Madge’s methods, the issues he says he is looking to address and his playing group at the moment.”
IN MADGE WE TRUST
Maguire is just seven months into a three-year contract and Morris says the Broncos are craving cultural stability after the departure of three coaches in six years.
Brisbane can use Canterbury as a template. Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo had a disastrous first season in 2023, finishing third last with a shocking points differential of minus 331. Ciraldo then steered the Bulldogs to the playoffs last season and now has Canterbury on top of the ladder.
Morris says the Broncos want methods that will stand the test of time and make Brisbane a perennial title contender. He scoffed at talk of Maguire failing to see out his deal.
“Talk about Madge being sacked is ridiculous,” he said.
“I don’t know how anyone can seriously think that when we aren’t even halfway through the season.
“It’s preposterous.
“There is a re-education process of what Madge wants and that change takes time, it’s only halfway through the season. The competition is so close, if we get on a winning run we are still in touch with the top four.
“What I can say is that Madge was brought in because we felt there needed to be a change and he has this reputation of having a hard edge.
“To be honest, having come to know Madge, that hard edge is overblown a bit.
“NRL players are professional athletes and he wants them to act like professional athletes. I have seen the softer side of him, I have seen how generous he is, but our players are well paid to do a job. He wants the players to do their job.
“Madge was brought in to reset a team after an average year last year. We’ve got no issues at all.”
THE BOARD
Brisbane’s board have not escaped brickbats. Morris was chair of the executive that sacked Wayne Bennett, Brisbane’s only premiership coach, in 2018 and handed a monster six-year deal to Anthony Seibold.
The Seibold regime was a debacle - he lasted just two seasons and coached Brisbane to their first ever wooden spoon in 2020 - and Morris says the board are determined to reprise Brisbane’s glory years.
“The board’s role is getting the right people in the right places and that’s been a struggle over the last few years,” he said.
“We acknowledge that. We aren’t hiding from things.
“A lot of times it would be easy to just coast along and hope for the best, but everyone here, the board included, wants success.
“The board tries to keep everyone’s feet to the fire and I think we do that pretty well.
“We were close to a premiership just two years ago. Could we do things better? Of course we could, but overall we are trying to support the coach and the football department as best we can.”
SAVING EZRA
Broncos pivot Ezra Mam has become the most reviled player in rugby league. He was relentlessly booed for 80 minutes in last week’s loss to Manly. Many rugby league fans believe Mam got off lightly for his drug-driving car crash last October and should have had his $4 million contract torn up by the Broncos.
Morris says Mam has worked hard to rehabilitate himself and is genuinely remorseful.
“I believe the booing will stop when Ezra scores some tries and plays good football,” he said.
“He is a young man, we’re in mental health week and I really hope the fans understand that and give him a break.
“If all of us had a perfect life, then I guess they can judge Ezra, but we’re wearing the black jersey this week for mental health and I hope people move on.
“Ezra Mam made a mistake, but he is a young man and as a club we’ve done everything possible to support him.”
REBUILDING REECE
Reece Walsh returns from injury against the Titans. It’s been a drama-charged period for the superstar fullback, who fronted Broncos management a fortnight ago after a social-media post showing him punching his best friend in the head.
Morris says Walsh is far from being a ‘rockstar’ out of control, claiming the 22-year-old is as driven as any Broncos player to bring a premiership back to the city.
“The expectation on Reece is enormous,” he said.
“He’s been out for a while and I can say this - he is incredibly motivated. He is unbelievably competitive.
“I have honestly never seen a more competitive young man. He wants to win everything. He is as competitive a person as I have ever seen.
“I have no doubt he will be back to his best. We all forget that Reece is only 22. He has a young child and he’s had to grow up fast, but Reece will mature over time and he is a big part of our plans.
“Guys like him and Payne Haas are key guys in bringing success back to this club.
THE FUTURE
When he was appointed in October, Maguire said he was “in a rush” to bring a premiership to Brisbane. Morris has faith that Maguire will break the longest title drought in Brisbane history, just as he did when he smashed Souths’ 43-year premiership hoodoo in 2014.
“We are absolutely going in the right direction,” he said.
“If you look at our performance against the Bulldogs, that was as good a football as I’ve seen the Broncos play in years.
“The Bulldogs are top of the table and we beat them.
“Madge has a framework he believes will work. If he didn’t have the answers, I would be concerned, but I know he’s got the experience and intelligence to do that.
“The way he deals with the players is terrific. I personally can’t be more impressed.
“Madge has a plan.”
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Originally published as Brisbane Broncos chairman Karl Morris addresses club’s struggles, Michael Maguire future, player revolt rumours and more
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