NRL 2024: How new Broncos Michael Maguire will take Reece Walsh to the next level
New Broncos coach Michael Maguire believes Reece Walsh will thrive under his tutelage, but admits the star fullback has some work to do to take his game to the next level.
New Brisbane coach Michael Maguire says superstar fullback Reece Walsh will thrive under his tutelage and insists his work ethic as a coach can ignite the Broncos’ star-studded roster.
Maguire is renowned as a disciplinarian with an intense desire for success and his style is in many ways at odds with the happy-go-lucky demeanour of his predecessor Kevin Walters whose passion helped unify the Broncos.
But Maguire’s hard edge has proven a successful formula. He has won at every level, winning titles in the English Super League, the NRL, as Test coach of New Zealand and enjoying success with the Blues in his Origin debut this year.
Now the Broncos are craving a mentor to drive the standards of excellence that have taken Melbourne and Penrith to the top and Maguire is confident he can inject the tough love to break Brisbane’s 19-year title drought.
Extracting the best of the precocious Walsh will be one of Maguire’s most critical assignments – but he is backing his coaching methodologies to take ‘Reece Lightning’ to another level.
“When you talk about standards and wanting to go the extra yard, Reece can really go the extra yard,” Maguire said.
“Everyone can see what he’s capable of doing.
“I’ve always seen with my players … if you can improve as a player, you get hungry for more success, because it’s actually good fun when you improve.”
Asked about having a firm hand as a coach, Maguire said: “People say all sorts of things about me.
“What I like to do is get to know the players.
“Whether that’s firm or not, it doesn’t really worry me.
“I have seen young players through the connections I’ve had with them as people, that’s the first thing I care about.
“If they go out and train extremely hard, they excel and all of a sudden, before you know it, the first graders are winning competitions and playing at Origin level.
“I have been able to expand that over many a player.
“I really like to know and get to know a player and if that’s me being called hard because I want them to succeed, it doesn’t hurt me.”
Maguire’s relationship with Walsh will be fascinating.
Just four months ago, the pair were Origin rivals, with Maguire’s NSW side coming under fire after Blues rookie Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was sent off in Game One for a sickening high shot on Walsh, who was left heavily concussed.
Maguire insists there is no lingering bad blood with Walsh and pledged to meet with the Broncos ace to map out the full-back’s ambitions, his playing style and his role in winning Brisbane’s first title since 2006.
“I’m sure we’ll have a bit of a laugh about that one,” Maguire said of Walsh’s Origin I incident.
“I’m really looking forward to sitting down with Reece and understanding his game and being able to build his game.
“I’d like to get to know Reece, that’s the first thing I want to do, is get to know him as a person.
“Like all the players across the competition, they’re talented, but I want to understand him, how he reads the game and educating him to the way I’d like him to play.”
‘I’M IN A RUSH’: MAGUIRE DECLARES BRONCOS PREMIERSHIP INTENTIONS
New Broncos coach Michael Maguire has declared he is “in a rush” to deliver Brisbane a premiership as he vowed to win over the club’s disgruntled Old Boys following the departure of Kevin Walters.
Maguire was officially unveiled as Brisbane’s head coach for at least the next three years at Red Hill on Tuesday morning.
The Broncos moved swiftly to appoint Maguire after severing ties with club legend Walters last Thursday.
Walters was moved on after missing the finals in three of his four seasons in charge of the Broncos, with last year’s grand final appearance not enough to buy him another crack after Brisbane slumped to 12th in 2024.
Maguire, 50, has experience in guiding big clubs to premiership glory, having famously snapped South Sydney’s 43-year title drought in 2014 during a six-season stint in charge of the Rabbitohs.
The Broncos haven’t won an NRL premiership since 2006 and Maguire said he was chasing quick success.
“I’m not going to put a timeline on it, but I’m in a rush,” he said.
“We all want to have success and I’ll work every day to improve.
“The players all talk about how great the club is so that’s exciting.
“Winning a grand final would be extremely special but I know a lot of work has to be done and I’ll start today.
“I love the expectation. That’s part of what helps go towards success every day. The expectation is you turn up and are at your best.
“We all play a part. Everyone in this organisation plays a part in the success.
“It’s the past players to everyone involved who will create that and enjoy that.
“There’s nothing better than when you see a club rise because everyone goes on the journey together.
“I like to create something great wherever it is I go and there’s a great opportunity here at the Broncos to do that.”
Maguire will assume a playing roster stacked with NRL stars like Reece Walsh, Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan and Adam Reynolds.
But his appointment hasn’t been universally supported after Walters was brutally axed following a damning internal review of Brisbane’s dramatic fall this year.
Broncos legends Shane Webcke and Gorden Tallis have slammed the decision to sack Walters and appoint Maguire, who has stepped down as NSW Origin coach to move to Brisbane.
Maguire said he was happy to speak to the club’s past players and his plan was to turn the Broncos into an NRL force that the premiership champions would be proud of.
“I’m happy for them to have their opinions and I’m happy to talk to anyone,” he said.
“Everyone’s got their own opinions, but we want to make great performances on the field that they can be proud of.
“They’ve been able to put a history into this organisation but it’s about this current crop of players creating their own now.
“I like the history. That’s the thing that draws me to the Broncos, the history and also being able to create history with the current playing group.
“I’ve studied every player that plays for the Broncos for a long time. I know their capabilities, it’s about being able to do that every day.
“I always look for a player of talent and character as well. Character plays the biggest part in any success I’ve had across various organisations. The building of the person is very important and the talent comes off the back of that.
“It’s a great club and we can create how we want to be and where we want to take the club.”
Maguire cut his teeth as a head coach in the Super League before being appointed at South Sydney in 2012.
After the Rabbitohs, he spent three-and-a-half turbulent seasons at Wests Tigers, the NRL’s worst club of the past decade which has collected three consecutive wooden spoons since sacking Maguire in 2022.
Maguire coached the Blues to a famous Origin series win this year and has now landed the Broncos job he applied for in 2018.
“Back then it wasn’t to be,” Maguire said.
“I’ve gone through the (Origin) campaign I had and enjoyed that immensely, but I am a career coach. I enjoy the daily stuff.
“Origin was an incredible experience, but I love the day to day. I’ve missed having staff and players around me daily.
“I never thought I’d be sitting here a couple of days ago. It did happen quickly, but clubs move and circumstances happen.
“I’m extremely hungry to win another competition. All organisations aspire to do that, but I see the opportunities and ability of what a club like the Broncos could be.”
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