“Blah, blah, blah”
Broncos coach Michael Maguire clearly didn’t care much for the mid-season fault-finding directed at him and his team.
Moments after Brisbane won a thrilling grand final over the Storm in Maguire’s first season at the helm, the coach responded to his critics with a cheeky post-game dig.
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Midway through the season, Brisbane were five from 12 and on the outside of the eight looking in. Things weren’t necessarily grim, but there were worrying signs at Red Hill.
Things exacerbated when reports emerged that there were several Broncos who had found it hard adjusting to Maguire’s heavy-handed coaching style and that a tough, intense pre-season had perhaps taken its toll.
Whatever the problems were, the Broncos were able to sort them out. It also proved that the tough pre-season worked wonders, as the club were able to run over the top of their rivals in all three of their finals wins.
Against the Raiders in the qualifying final, the Broncos overcame a 16-point deficit. They were down 14 against Penrith and in the decider on Sunday, Brisbane trailed by as much as ten points.
Brisbane won 13 of their last 15 games, including finals, to collect their first premiership since 2006.
When Channel 9’s Phil Gould put to Maguire if there had been any premiership winning team in history that didn’t train too hard, the Broncos coach was straight to the point.
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“No. Honestly, it’s quite embarrassing that people talk about it,” Maguire said.
“Well, it takes time. I mean, you can’t just turn up and think that they are going to be grand finalists. You’ve got to put them through all sorts of things to be able to teach them and to believe.
“I had belief with this group when I first walked in. You could hear and feel what they wanted … The hunger was in the belly.”
Both Reece Walsh and Payne Haas made references to the difficult pre-season t
“The culture from sitting in that those bushes in that army camp to ride wave now. Oh baby!” Walsh exclaimed to the raucous Accor Stadium crowd.
Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds, who didn’t finish the game because of another hamstring injury, collected his second grand final and first since 2014.
Both of those have come under Maguire. Reynolds reminisced on the 2025 season to Channel 9.
“It was enjoyable. I loved it. I’ve had a lot of history with Madge. We’ve had a lot of great moments. And this one just might top it,” Reynolds said.
“It’s been a hell of a ride.
“The hard work we do through the pre-seasons for moments like we’ve seen tonight, show resilience at the back end of that game.”