Reece Walsh’s decision to like a social media post criticising Michael Maguire and the Broncos only serves to highlight the “issues” lingering at the Red Hill club.
That is according to The Australian’s Brent Read, who believes Maguire’s tenure in Brisbane has been soured by the “constant pressure” he places on his players.
Maguire’s ruthless training regimes have been widely documented and the club made an equally ruthless decision to deny Adam Reynolds an NRL farewell to close out the 2026 season.
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While Reynolds initially said on NRL360 on Monday it was Maguire and Brisbane’s medical staff who believed he was unfit to take the field, he backflipped when fronting media on Tuesday.
Instead, he revealed the decision to hang up the boots was his own — leading Walsh to like a Fox League Instagram post from NRL360 discussing the messy saga.
Maguire then spoke to the media on Wednesday, addressing Walsh’s social media antics while also revealing Reynolds “ended up calling it a day” on his own terms.
“I spoke to Reece this morning and we went through it,” Maguire said.
Ben Hunt and Reece Walsh.Source: Supplied Source Known
Both The Australian’s Brent Read and The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis agreed that Walsh actions were not in the best interests of the club and he could now face sanctions.
“It’s silly, it’s not smart from Reece… but again, it’s symptomatic of what has happened at that club this year,” Read said on NRL360 on Wednesday night.
While Carayannis added: “You’ve got to be smarter than liking something like that, even if you’re scrolling, even if it’s an app, you just have to be smarter.
“This one, in the climate, you know (what they are talking about), even if you don’t watch the clip.”
Read was of the belief that the Broncos’ latest debacle was indicative of a club in turmoil, with the team environment rubbing players the wrong way.
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“We’ve been saying it all year there’s issues there, they are doing a review at the end of the year,” Read said.
“They clearly realise they’ve got some issues they have got to work out and they have got to resolve. This just highlights maybe the issues are worse than we thought they were.
“I don’t think it is about, we talk about them training hard… but footballers work hard, I don’t think the hard work is the issue.
“It’s the intensity, the constant pressure that surrounds the football club when he is there. Footballers aren’t adverse to working hard.
“When has hard work every worried Payne Haas? Never. So I think it is everything else that surrounds that.”
NRL360 host Braith Anasta also raised an interesting point — explaining that Walsh desperately needs to be in Maguire’s corner to turn the club’s fortunes around.
“Let’s be honest, Madge can’t get Reece off side right now. There’s already a bit of damage control going on there,” Anasta said.
“He needs Reece in his back pocket and he obviously hasn’t got him there.
“I don’t like being too critical of social media and likes, but it’s clear he knew what that reel was about and he has liked it, so it means something has been going on there.
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“You don’t need to be Einstein to work that out.”
It’s also not the first time the Broncos have been embroiled in a social media saga.
A similar incident led to the sacking of former forward Martin Taupau last season, who liked an Instagram post which was disparaging of Maguire.
However, Walsh won’t be sacked for his actions, according to Carayannis who outlined one key difference in the scenarios.
“You know why it is different? It’s clear. Reece is a superstar,” Carayannis said.
“Firstly, I am not saying he should get sacked, he shouldn’t get sacked for it. But he isn’t getting sacked.”
Maguire also believed the Walsh and Taupau incidents are two “different” situations.
“I understand there’s a like there on social media but we’ve had the conversation and he (Walsh) realises that things move quickly on social media … but yeah, different circumstances (between Walsh and Taupau),” he said.
“I’m not going to go into that (why the circumstances are different). We move forward now and Reece and I have had that conversation.”