Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire and stand-in captain Patrick Carrigan have opened up on their disappointment after the club’s hopes of going back-to-back came to a close.
The latest loss against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday evening all but confirmed that the Broncos would miss the 2026 NRL Finals series, ending their hopes of defending their premiership.
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The first team since the Wests Tigers in 2006 to miss the finals in the season after winning the premiership, Maguire admitted that the result had been difficult for everyone involved.
“It is tough because we’ve got a real high regard about how these boys go about things. You can’t fault how they try,” Maguire said post-match.
“Unfortunately, at the moment we’re not getting things going our way, so I feel for everyone that’s going through it at the moment.
“But they’re a group that support each other and that’s what it’s about now.
“We’ve got to make sure that we look after each other through this period.”
Stand-in skipper Patrick Carrigan acknowledged that the result was difficult to comprehend, but he refused “to play victim” as the premiership defence came to an end.
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Although they have nothing to play for, he insisted that the club remains determined to finish the season off strongly with Adam Reynolds, Gehamat Shibasaki and Payne Haas departed at the end of this year’s campaign.
“Thoroughly disappointed. It’s something each individual sets out to achieve at the start of every year, let alone on the back of last year, but I’m not going to play victim to it, to be honest,” Carrigan said.
“We’re not having a lot of luck at the moment, but we’re all accountable to be able to get our job done and we didn’t get it done tonight. We’re fighting hard. The effort is there.
“Obviously boys are playing out of position, but every club’s dealing with that at the moment so it’s disappointing that our year’s finishing.
“But we’ve still got a lot to play for and a lot of the boys in that change room that mean a lot to this club and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
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Speaking on behalf of the playing group, the star forward accepted responsibility for their performance and stated that they had fallen short of expectations.
“I think it’s hard to stand behind performances like that but I think as players we take accountability for that,” Carrigan continued.
“Madge has detailed his preparation and his care for us.
“Players is second to none and like I said before, it’s a playing group that goes out on the field and get an opportunity to perform in those eighty minutes and we’re not nailing our job at the moment.
“Once you cross that white line it’s up to you as an individual and we’re falling short.
“Whilst our performances have been off, there’s definitely a lot of belief there and we’re a hundred per cent behind Madge and as a playing group we have to turn this around.”