Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has rubbished suggestions from rival coaches Ivan Cleary and Craig Bellamy that Melbourne will go into the NRL grand final with a distinct advantage over his side. The Storm’s prelim victory over Cronulla on Friday night means they’ll have two extra days to prepare for the NRL decider than Brisbane, who ended Penrith’s quest for a fifth-straight premiership in a thrilling come-from-behind win at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos overturned a 14-0 halftime deficit with another resilient second half fightback, as Reece Walsh set up a match-levelling try for Deine Mariner and skipper Adam Reynolds nailed the sideline conversion to snatch the lead. Brisbane hung on in the dying stages as Nathan Cleary and the Panthers made a hash of a late two-point field goal attempt, before losing their first finals match since the 2020 grand final defeat to Melbourne.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has rejected claims from the likes of Ivan Cleary that the Storm will have an advantage for the NRL grand final. Pic: AAP
Brisbane now have a shot at redemption after their heartbreaking loss to Penrith in the 2023 grand final. But Maguire says it’s ‘garbage’ to suggest his men will be disadvantaged for the showdown against the Storm, and described the Broncos’ seven-day grand final turnaround as a ‘perfect’ scenario.
“I reckon that’s a talking point that you guys will dance around, that’s a lot of garbage,” Maguire said after the prelim victory. “Players play on Wednesday, and they play on a Friday in our competition. We’ve got seven days to get ready, perfect.”
Maguire’s defiant response comes after Panthers coach Cleary and Storm counterpart Bellamy both suggested the extra days of rest were an advantage for the grand final. “It’s definitely unfair,” Cleary said before Sunday’s prelim defeat. “At the end of the day, if that’s our problem next week, I’ll be pretty happy.”
Bellamy also conceded the nine-day turnaround benefited his Storm side. “I think it is an advantage,” he admitted after the prelim win over Cronulla. “But we didn’t make that decision. I think people have been a bit critical, as if it’s been us saying we want to play Friday and put them on Sunday. At the end of the day, the NRL made the decision, not us.”
Michael Maguire proud of Brisbane’s second half fightback
Maguire said he was immensely proud of the way his Broncos fought back to topple the mighty Panthers in the second half. Brisbane’s coach has been big on fitness and came under fire for his pre-season boot camp at the start of the year. But he was confident it would hold the Broncos in good stead at the back-end of the year, and Sunday’s win was further proof he got it right.
“It’s how the boys have been to be honest the last couple of months,” Maguire said. “I guess the way I’ve seen them train over the year and then knowing that that’s inside them, that they can come home like that, and they’ve shown that.
“That’s the reasons why… a pre-season is the things that you do and the belief within the group, they showed that by what they’ve been doing the last month. We’ve been in positions like that today, and they’ve come solid at the back end, so it was good that they did it again.”
Broncos players celebrate after a second half try in Sunday’s big comeback win over the Panthers in the NRL preliminary final. Pic: Getty
Reynolds’ game-clinching sideline conversion also helped the Brisbane skipper exorcise some of the demons from his missed conversion in South Sydney’s 14-12 defeat to Penrith in the 2021 grand final. The veteran denied that miss was playing on his mind before Sunday’s winning kick though, as he set up the chance for Brisbane to end their 19-year premiership drought.
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“I wouldn’t say put to bed a few demons, I mean, you’d want those kicks over again for sure, but there are moments in your career that you learn from and I certainly learnt from that,” Reynolds said. “A few years ago I didn’t separate the emotion from the actual kick and (it’s) something that’s been going over my head for a long time.
“If I ever got that opportunity again, they just shut off completely, and just focus on the basics, and making sure I’ve got good contact with the ball, and just go through my routine. I’ve done it over and over and over again and once you’ve got that trust and belief in it, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t kick it.”
with AAP