Broncos coach Michael Maguire has given his players a three-day break after their shock loss to Parramatta on Thursday night in a bid to turn around their woeful start to the NRL season. And the coach has put all his players on notice that no-one is safe ahead of their Round 3 clash with Melbourne.
The Broncos fell to 0-2 to start the season after a 40-32 loss to the Eels at Suncorp. It followed a 26-0 loss to the Panthers in Round 1, which came after the defending NRL premiers also lost the World Club Challenge to Hull KR.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has sent his players away for a freshen up. Image: AAP
Speaking to The Courier Mail on Sunday, Broncos hooker Cory Paix revealed that Maguire gave everyone three days off after Thursday night’s loss, rather then getting them straight back into training. Maguire is known for his relentless methods and demands, but obviously sees the need to give his players a freshen up.
“We have to turn it around really quick,” Paix said. “Teams are prepared to take us to the deep end but we’re not prepared to do it back to them. To concede 40 points isn’t good enough, that’s the disappointing part. We need a good hard look in the mirror.”
Could Broncos coach swing the axe for Storm clash?
Pat Carrigan made some eye-opening comments immediately after the game that players were “taking short-cuts”, adding: “We just fade in and out of games too much, and it’s not good enough. We’ve got to be willing to make some tough choices and do it for a long period of time.”
The Eels exploited the Broncos’ left edge defence of Ezra Mam and Gehamat Shibasaki, which looked all at sea at different parts of the game. With Adam Reynolds under an injury cloud, it’s hard to see Mam losing his starting spot for the Storm clash.
Ezra Mam and Gehamat Shibasaki were found out in defence.
(AAPIMAGE)
But with Grant Anderson waiting in the wings to potentially face his former club, Shibasaki could easily face the axe. The State of Origin and Test centre has failed to fire in a disappointing start to 2026.
“I’ll be having a look at each player in the squad,” Maguire said in his press conference on Thursday night. “We had a few issues there on the left, but as a group and as a team, they all help each other and that’s what a defensive line is. We’re just not hitting the mark there.”
Anderson has been biding his time in Queensland Cup since making the switch to Brisbane from Melbourne. Deine Mariner and Josiah Karapani could also come under pressure to retain their spots with Jesse Arthars performing well in reserve-grade as well.