Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nPat Richards, the Tigers\u2019 2005 premiership hero who also played 244 games for Wigan between 2006 and 2013, remembers the very first session he had under Maguire at Haigh Hall.<\/p>\n
WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n
It was the start of the 2010 pre-season. Maguire, who did his coaching apprenticeship under Craig Bellamy in Melbourne, was taking over from former Great Britain coach Brian Noble.<\/p>\n
The Warriors players knew that he\u2019d been the assistant coach at the Storm, but outside of that?<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose no one really knew who Madge was,\u201d Richards said, while Sean O\u2019Loughlin, whose legendary career at Wigan spanned more than 450 games and 19 years, admitted Maguire was \u201ca bit of an unknown to us\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what we were going to get to be honest,\u201d added Deacon, the only other new face at Wigan outside of Maguire.<\/p>\n
What they ended up getting was a pre-season which Deacon described as \u201chorrific\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done without a shadow of a doubt,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deacon recalled doing eight weight sessions a week and running \u201cI don\u2019t know how many kilometres a week as well\u201d.<\/p>\n
But he can remember the exact number of kilometres \u2014 five \u2014 he and the rest of the Wigan players were made to run through the forests surrounding Haigh Hall during that first training session under Maguire.<\/p>\n
He remembers how many minutes they had to rest too. Only five. And once those five minutes were over? Another five kilometres.<\/p>\n
\u201cMadge was there watching us hiding in the bushes and things like that,\u201d Richards laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys were absolutely cooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest broncos fan has been found | 01:53<\/p>\n
After those extra five kilometres were done, they then went straight into a wrestling session.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember from the very first session that we did, everyone just realised that a level had just gone up and it\u2019s either you go along with it or you get left behind,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n
Then came the two army camps.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth as horrific as each other,\u201d Deacon cackled.<\/p>\n
The first was in Lancashire but the second, in the top-end of Scotland, was particularly brutal. Picture push-ups on concrete, except it takes you a while to even realise it is concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there was that much snow on the floor,\u201d Deacon said.<\/p>\n
There were 20-kilometre hikes that involved carrying and then passing around a backpack full of bricks, 3am wake-ups to be on lookout for an \u2018enemy\u2019 that didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
Again, that one word \u2014 \u201chorrific\u201d \u2014 comes up from Deacon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut good in a way,\u201d he added, and it was a similar message from the rest of his former teammates.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Loughlin, who jokingly recalled Mark \u2018Piggy\u2019 Riddell not being able to get into bed one day \u201cbecause his back was seized up\u201d, said that while it was a \u201ctough time\u201d it was something the playing group needed \u2014 and wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just was a breath of fresh air to everyone,\u201d O\u2019Loughlin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a tough time, tough pre-season \u2014 probably one of the hardest I\u2019d had at the time. But there was a good group of lads that were hungry for success and what he brought in kind of delivered on that front.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bellamy prepared for 11th GF | 01:06<\/p>\n
Maguire was Wigan\u2019s 11th coach since the switch to a summer Super League in 1996, which also marked the end of a dominant stretch which saw the Warriors win the Challenge Cup every season from 1988 to 1995 while also doubling up with the past six Championships.<\/p>\n
Archrivals St Helens had usurped Wigan, who since 1996 won the Super League and Challenge Cup just once while losing three grand finals and two Challenge Cup finals.<\/p>\n
The ultimate humiliation came in 2005 when St Helens won the Challenge Cup quarter-final against Wigan 75-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was unheard of, like absolutely unheard of,\u201d said James Graham, who played 238 games for St Helens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey changed coaches, they brought in big name players but they just couldn\u2019t seem to turn it around and then they go and sign this relatively unknown coach from Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within a year, that relatively unknown coach from Australia was at the centre of a sea of red, lifting the trophy at Old Trafford after taking Wigan to its first Super League title since 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe turnaround was incredible really,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
But his impact was felt far beyond the four walls inside DW Stadium and now, as Maguire prepares to break another long-standing premiership drought, foxsports.com.au spoke to Wigan legends and his former right-hand man to understand the magic behind Maguire as a coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe changed the culture of the club without a shadow of a doubt,\u201d Deacon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work ethic, the mindset, he transformed Wigan and in my opinion he transformed the game over here as well in England.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Maguire took Wigan all the way in his first year.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u2018THAT ONE STORY WILL STAY WITH ME FOREVER\u2019 <\/p>\n
Ask Deacon for stories from his time playing under Maguire and he will tell you he could \u201cgo on and on\u201d. <\/p>\n
But there is one that he said \u201cwill stay with me forever\u201d.<\/p>\n
It was a wretched Wigan winter and Deacon couldn\u2019t get his car out of the driveway. So, Sam Tomkins came to give him a lift. They then stopped to pick up Cameron Phelps, who also happened to live only a few minutes away. <\/p>\n
But they didn\u2019t end up making it to training that day. At least, in Tomkins\u2019 car they didn\u2019t. <\/p>\n
You see, they were going down the road and then the car suddenly started to skid in the snow, crashing into a garden wall. So, they knocked on the door and sorted it all out with the owner before calling Maguire to let him know they wouldn\u2019t be able to make it to training.<\/p>\n
Which only seems reasonable, right? With any other coach, maybe. But this wasn\u2019t any other coach. Maguire immediately asked where they were and told them he\u2019d be there in 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo word of a lie,\u201d Deacon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came around and picked us up and took us to training. There was no missing training with Madge.\u201d<\/p>\n
That may seem extreme. Sure, there are bound to be some excuses that simply aren\u2019t good enough. But being in a car accident?<\/p>\n
Deacon said it was the one story that best \u201csummed\u201d Maguire up and in a lot of ways, you can see why. <\/p>\n
NRLW’s biggest stars eye Premiership | 14:07<\/p>\n
Yes, Maguire was intense. A \u201ca strict disciplinarian\u201d as Kris Radlinski, Wigan CEO and then Maguire\u2019s right-hand man, put it. <\/p>\n
He wanted the best out of his players and in Wigan\u2019s case, they wanted the best out of themselves too after so many years of falling short. But he didn\u2019t just demand the best. He showed the way. <\/p>\n
On that occasion, it meant hopping in the car to make sure all of his players would be at the training session because he wanted to build that connection. <\/p>\n
Everyone felt the same pain when they lifted the backpack full of bricks. Everyone felt the same joy when they lifted the trophy.<\/p>\n
It is why when one of the players dropped the ball in a drill at training he made everyone get down and do 20 push-ups. What they didn\u2019t know, however, was what he had his eyes on one player in particular to make sure he did all 20. He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he literally in the first couple of days called this person out in front of everybody,\u201d Radlinski recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018I thought we were committed to each other. I asked you to do 20 press ups, why are you only doing 18?\u2019. It just showed you OK, this is a different way of working.\u201d<\/p>\n
What that did, Radlinksi explained, was create a \u201cself-policing system\u201d of sorts where everyone is holding each other accountable and Maguire \u201cpushed it so hard\u201d that by the end was able to just stand in the background and watch \u201cit evolve and literally control itself\u201d.<\/p>\n
Maguire celebrates with Wigan fans.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
But, again, that wasn\u2019t a one-way street. Maguire was putting in the work too. It was the old adage of first one in and last one out according to Radlinski, who operated as rugby general manager at Wigan during Maguire\u2019s time at the club.<\/p>\n
Radlinski would often train in the morning with Maguire and remembers one day when he asked if he wanted to do some boxing and sparring. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe put the gloves on and then he literally just went at me,\u201d Radlinski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting that but that was him in a nutshell. Everything was full on, everything was.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re doing this we\u2019re absolutely doing it properly and that was every element of his life whether that\u2019s coaching, in a video meeting, training. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re going for a beer we\u2019re not just having one beer, we\u2019re having a bucketful. It was pretty intense.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was an intensity that Wigan needed at the time and while Radlinski admitted it may have been a \u201cshock to the system\u201d at first, the buy-in from the playing group was almost instant.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody soon realised that in order to be successful you have to make sacrifices, make commitments and be committed to each other,\u201d Radlinski said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI always say this about Madge\u2019s coaching, it is not rocket science, it\u2019s just a good old fashioned group of blokes committed to each other and working hard for each other and that\u2019s just what he drove relentlessly on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire built a strong culture.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
HOW MAGUIRE \u2018CHANGED\u2019 WIGAN… AND THE GAME ITSELF<\/p>\n
When Maguire was officially appointed head coach of Wigan in October 2009, he was taking over a team that had for too long suffered in the shadows of St Helens.<\/p>\n
Not that it had always been that way. Quite the opposite, in fact.<\/p>\n
There was once a period in the early 1990s when the Warriors were the kings of British rugby league, conjuring one of the most remarkable runs the sport had seen with eight consecutive Challenge Cup wins.<\/p>\n
Tomkins, who scored a late try in 2010 to snuff out a late Hull KR comeback as the Warriors won the League Leaders\u2019 Shield \u2014 their first trophy since 2002, hardly had any memories of such dominance.<\/p>\n
After all, he was only 13 when Wigan beat Saints in the 2002 Challenge Cup final. <\/p>\n
On the other hand all Graham, a \u201cborn and bred\u201d St Helens fan who went on to become an icon at his boyhood club, can remember is \u201cbeing sick\u201d of seeing Wigan win everything.<\/p>\n
Graham, like Tomkins, didn\u2019t have to wait long to get his first taste of Super League glory. Saints won the League Leaders\u2019 Shield and Challenge Cup in 2006, when he was just 20 years old.<\/p>\n
It was the same year St Helens beat Wigan 48-10 in what was its first Good Friday derby defeat in six years and left the Warriors languishing at the bottom of the Super League table with one win in nine games.<\/p>\n
All of this is to say Graham knows what Wigan once was and what it had become before Maguire took over. He also saw first-hand how Maguire restored the Warriors to their previous glory days. <\/p>\n
Can Madge end Broncos’ 19-year drought? | 04:21<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really brought that defensive attitude to that Wigan side,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember there were a couple of what people would consider real first grade players for them that weren\u2019t playing. The talk was they didn\u2019t meet the defensive standard. It was too attack-focused. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was uncompromising, which is a big call to come over as an Australian and set that standard with some big-name players.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it was all about setting a culture, which is a word that is so commonly thrown around in the sports lexicon nowadays that it starts to lose all meaning, or at least lose its gravity. <\/p>\n
Culture wasn\u2019t just some buzzword at Wigan, though. It meant something. It looked like something.<\/p>\n
\u201cCulture\u2019s not always like fluffy and nice, sometimes the culture needs to change to, \u2018Actually we need to work harder\u2019, and he definitely brought that to Wigan,\u201d Deacon said.<\/p>\n
Radlinski saw it most clearly not in what the playing group did on the field or at training under Maguire\u2019s close watch but in what they did away from the team facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think most clubs can keep the players under control from nine until three when all the decisions are made for players,\u201d Radlinski said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWear this, eat this, come at this time. The real champions are the ones when they have to make decisions themselves after three o\u2019clock. Should I go here, should I eat this, should I do that?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Madge created was a group of people who did the right thing at all times. The lessons he would teach us in the day time in the workplace would carry on into life outside of sport and I think that\u2019s the cultural shift that he created. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe made people question themselves and ask is this the right thing for myself and is this the right thing for the team and our success.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how I define culture is the decisions you make when nobody is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
“So overdue!”: Broncos destiny in reach | 01:42<\/p>\n
Alongside that culture shift was a considerable change to the way they played, which goes back to what Deacon mentioned earlier about not just transforming Wigan but the game itself in England.<\/p>\n
Coming from the Storm coaching staff, Maguire brought with him an emphasis on the art of wrestling. <\/p>\n
Wrestling had always been a part of the game according to O\u2019Loughlin, but it was something the players did only once a week and typically during the pre-season.<\/p>\n
Under Maguire, however, O\u2019Loughlin recalls a two-week period where they barely touched the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just did weights and wrestled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The result wasn\u2019t always the most attractive brand of football but it produced results, with Wigan making the fewest errors and missing the fewest tackles of any Super League team in their 2010 premiership-winning season under Maguire.<\/p>\n
Graham, who was playing for St Helens at the time, called Wigan \u201cfar and away the most drilled side\u201d in the wrestling department while Deacon said the ruck in the Super League \u201cchanged\u201d after Maguire left.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing over here (from England to the NRL) you could close your eyes and you could know when you were involved in a Melbourne tackle,\u201d Graham added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attention to detail, the positions that they put you in. More often than not you end up on your back which creates more time for them and less time for you. It was very much the same sort of feeling when you came up around a Madge Maguire Wigan side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bellamy with then assistant coach Michael Maguire.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n
Wigan won 11 of its first 12 games under Maguire to open the Super League season, demolishing the Crusaders 38-6 to open the year before following it up with a 32-6 win over Hull KR.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they knew what hit them in regards to the contact level and the wrestle,\u201d Deacon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe brought in a style of football that blew the comp away his first year,\u201d added O\u2019Loughlin. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were fit, we were strong, we were doing tons of wrestling and we were physical. We played some of the best football the competition had seen for a number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
But more than just results, Maguire gave Wigan something else: an identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Madge gave us,\u201d Radlinski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were never going to get beat by a lot of points. If somebody\u2019s going to beat us they\u2019ll have to earn it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only six teams did it and almost every time they were made to earn it, with just one (Harlequins) winning by more than double digits. Maguire dropped four players after that game.<\/p>\n
By the end of the season, the Warriors were just one game away from their first trip to Old Trafford since 2003 and as was the case last week at Suncorp Stadium, standing in their way was the competition juggernaut. <\/p>\n
The three-time defending Super League champion Leeds Rhinos.<\/p>\n
It was going to require something special from Maguire, and what he did next stood in stark contrast to the intense disciplinarian he is so often painted as. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see grown men in tears… it\u2019s a pretty powerful sight,\u201d Radlinski said.<\/p>\n
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THE \u2018POWERFUL\u2019 MAGUIRE ACT THAT HAD \u2018GROWN MEN IN TEARS\u2019<\/p>\n
The Warriors had been in this same position before. Three times to be exact, and twice against the same opponent. All three times they had fallen short. <\/p>\n
After the most recent of those losses, a 14-10 defeat to St Helens in 2009, Maguire\u2019s predecessor Brian Noble confirmed what was at the time one of rugby league\u2019s worst-kept secrets. <\/p>\n
The loss would not only end Wigan\u2019s season but also Noble\u2019s 34 years at DW Stadium. His replacement had already been picked out too, with a press conference called for the following week to unveil the low-profile Maguire as the man to restore Wigan to its previous heights.<\/p>\n
He did just that in the regular season but by the time finals rolled around, it looked like the Warriors were going to fall at the same, all-too-familiar hurdle. <\/p>\n
Wigan lost to Leeds 27-26 in the qualifying playoff and, in the process, had surrendered home ground advantage for the semi-final rematch with the Rhinos.<\/p>\n
Maguire could have gone back to the training paddock; back to the forests surrounding Haigh Hall and back to the persistent pursuit of perfection. <\/p>\n
But he didn\u2019t need to. His work was already done. What this team needed wasn\u2019t more kilometres or more push-ups. Instead, all they needed was to understand why.<\/p>\n
Why they were here and why this wasn\u2019t going to be like the last three years. <\/p>\n
So, Maguire took them to Edge Hall Road, the training ground in nearby Orrell which was initially built to serve the local rugby union team in 1950 before later being used for training and Wigan Academy games in the late 2000s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was an old changing room,\u201d Radlinski recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was cold and damp and nobody wanted to go in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, naturally that is where Maguire held the team meeting at the start of the week. <\/p>\n
But this wasn\u2019t like any other team meeting. <\/p>\n
Best 17 on Paper: “I think Brisbane” | 02:39<\/p>\n
He had each of the players telling each other how much it would mean to win and then when they were finished, Maguire had them write their biggest dream on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n
All those pieces of paper, along with the hopes and dreams they carried, were then burned and put in a little silver box. <\/p>\n
Then, the night before the semi-final at Leeds, Radlinski managed to talk the groundsman into letting him and the team onto the field at Headingley Stadium, where they opened the silver box with all the ashes. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd every player got a handful and sprinkled it on Headingley,\u201d Radlinski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was all Madge\u2019s brainchild, his storytelling of committing to each other and it had a profound impact on the group and the lads still talk about this meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see grown men in tears saying how much it means to them, it\u2019s a pretty powerful sight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following day Wigan ended Leeds\u2019 hopes of a fourth-straight Super League title with a 26-6 victory, qualifying for the club\u2019s first grand final since 2003.<\/p>\n
\u201cMadge is really good the bigger the game is,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows how to really bring the emotion into the game and work out why you\u2019re playing the game and who for.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just feel unbeatable when you\u2019re in an environment like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And unbeatable the Warriors were, crushing archrivals St Helens the following week to claim their first Super League title in 12 years. <\/p>\n
Michael Maguire surrounded by his players after the grand final.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It capped off a fairytale first season for the team under Maguire. He had already been named Coach of the Year. Richards, meanwhile, was the Man of Steel and Tomkins \u2014 dazzling as the yellow boots he famously wore \u2014 was crowned Young Player of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou couldn\u2019t have asked for anything better from the players,\u201d Maguire said after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commitment they have put in right throughout the year and what they showed tonight. It tells a story about the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it also told a story about the coach. A coach who was intense, who was tough, who was hard-nosed. That was just one side of Michael Maguire though. <\/p>\n
There was the Michael Maguire who was, as Deacon put it, \u201ca different character when the work had been done\u201d. The Michael Maguire who was a \u201cgood family man\u201d and \u201cloved a beer\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a pretty stern figure,\u201d added Radlinski. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when you\u2019re seeing some of his interviews he doesn\u2019t give much away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut once you get to know him, I\u2019ve had some of the absolute nights of my life with him because once you\u2019re in his trusted circle then he\u2019ll run through a brick wall for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
And by the end of his first season in charge, any of those players inside the \u201ccold and damp\u201d changing room at Edge Hall Road would have been willing to do the same. <\/p>\n
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A WHATSAPP GROUP AND BONDS THAT WILL \u2018NEVER BE BROKEN\u2019<\/p>\n
Just six months later Maguire confirmed he would be leaving Wigan to coach the Rabbitohs and within a few years, he ended South Sydney\u2019s 43-year premiership drought. <\/p>\n
Now, he has become the first coach to take the Broncos to a grand final in his maiden season in charge while he could become just the sixth coach to win a title with multiple NRL clubs. <\/p>\n
Wigan, meanwhile, plays in the Super League grand final next week after booking its spot in the decider with a 18-6 win over Leigh Leopards on Saturday. <\/p>\n
It means there is still a very real chance that Deacon and O\u2019Loughlin, who now work as assistant coaches at Wigan, could face their former mentor in the 2026 World Club Challenge.<\/p>\n
Not that they need a reason to reminisce on all those memories \u2014 both and good \u2014 from playing under Maguire. <\/p>\n
While Maguire\u2019s phone has probably been blowing up this week, there is one particular WhatsApp group chat that was being flooded with new messages. <\/p>\n
It was the one the Wigan players created in 2010 and Maguire is still in it. <\/p>\n
Mixed in is the usual banter. <\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone tends to rip Piggy Riddell about army camp now and again,\u201d O\u2019Loughlin laughed.<\/p>\n
But more recently there have been messages of support, along with plenty of stories re-told. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt must be really heartwarming for him,\u201d Radlinski said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a coach who\u2019s opted to take a career to improve people \u2014 that\u2019s what coaching is \u2014 and then 15 years later he\u2019s still had an impact on the group even though he\u2019s at the other side of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maguire has his team preparing for another grand final. Picture: Adam HeadSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Radlinski still texts Maguire \u201call the time\u201d and exchanged a few messages with the Broncos coach this week. <\/p>\n
He will be tuning into Sunday\u2019s grand final, as will O\u2019Loughlin and Richards. Deacon said he may have to miss the end of the game because his son is playing rugby at the same time, but he\u2019ll definitely be up to watch the start and will record the rest to catch up on it later \u2014 if he doesn\u2019t get spoilers from the WhatsApp group first.<\/p>\n
For all the criticism of Maguire\u2019s methods, from his early days at South Sydney to talk of player burnout at Red Hill, the results speak for themselves and for Richards, it is easy to see now how the Broncos are \u201cbuying into it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re playing a really good brand of footy. They\u2019re defending really well, they\u2019re really connected,\u201d the 2005 premiership winner said.<\/p>\n
Radlinski, meanwhile, admitted there was \u201cno doubt\u201d it was an \u201cintense environment\u201d at times under Maguire. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut within that as well there\u2019s a lot of fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a group of lads who are all sharing the same experience and all want the same thing. \u201cCome the end of the year you all wanted a bit of time away from him, there\u2019s no doubt about that, but it wouldn\u2019t be long before you were on the phone saying, \u2018Hey what\u2019s next\u2019 because intensity brings success and then success means you want it more.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, that\u2019s why they ran five kilometres, and then another five kilometres, through the forests surrounding Haigh Hall. And that\u2019s why after all that running they went straight into a wrestling session.<\/p>\n
They made the same sacrifices. They shed the same amount of blood, sweat and tears. And through that blood, sweat and tears they created a bond so strong that it \u201cwill never be broken\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like two worlds collided with Madge and Wigan. He came at the right point,\u201d Deacon added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the character that the club needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, as Maguire prepares to lead another group of young men out for a grand final, he may \u2014 even just for one second \u2014 think back to what it felt like to lift the trophy for the first time. <\/p>\n
But unlike the ashes scattered on the turf at Headingley and later lost in the evening breeze, it is a memory that will be with him and that special 2011 playing group for the rest of time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Deacon jokes he \u201cstill has nightmares\u201d about it every time he walks the dog. But Michael Maguire\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[112846,18743,8300,120546,24164,45082,64,63,689,12030,120524,4428,120547,120542,120513,48073,120521,120505,19061,120537,8089,120543,120518,106613,120545,120522,34150,1208,2057,120540,111706,763,120510,2105,11288,120516,120512,5330,120533,120517,94196,120526,120525,647,4466,120528,6407,761,762,2613,120531,3583,158,677,56541,11396,120529,120536,120507,120544,10185,120532,99733,29107,52764,668,120548,120527,120535,16694,120534,65198,120506,159,120514,120509,5994,120539,85,120520,120508,120550,120530,120519,120551,54355,120541,72166,120552,120538,53149,120515,120523,660,120511,120549,120553,21380,40620,52698,120554],"class_list":["post-190128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-adam-head","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-andrew-jackson","tag-army-camps","tag-assistant-coach","tag-assistant-coaches","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-boyhood-club","tag-brian-noble","tag-brisbane-broncos","tag-british-rugby-league","tag-broncos-fan","tag-cameron-phelps","tag-car-accident","tag-changing-room","tag-coaching-apprenticeship","tag-coaching-staff","tag-competition-juggernaut","tag-craig-bellamy","tag-culture-needs","tag-culture-shift","tag-day-coverage","tag-day-time","tag-derby-defeat","tag-duke-of-montrose","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-evening-breeze","tag-family-man","tag-fox-league","tag-garden-wall","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-final","tag-group-chat","tag-grown-men","tag-head-coach","tag-home-ground-advantage","tag-kris-radlinski","tag-leeds-rhinos","tag-life-outside","tag-long-standing-premiership-drought","tag-melbourne","tag-melbourne-storm","tag-memory-lane","tag-michael-maguire","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-zealand-warriors","tag-news-heading","tag-northern-europe","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-pat-richards","tag-paul-crawley","tag-paul-deacon","tag-people-question","tag-picture-push-ups","tag-player-burnout","tag-playing-group","tag-pre-season-training-sessions","tag-premiership-drought","tag-premiership-hero","tag-premiership-winner","tag-press-conference","tag-press-ups","tag-pretty-stern-figure","tag-real-champions","tag-real-chance","tag-recruitment-blunder","tag-right-thing","tag-right-hand-man","tag-rugby-league","tag-rugby-league-powerhouse","tag-sam-tomkins","tag-scotland","tag-silver-box","tag-sports","tag-sports-lexicon","tag-stars-eye","tag-stories-re-told","tag-storm-spine","tag-success-means","tag-super-league-champion","tag-tamika-upton","tag-team-facilities","tag-team-meeting","tag-time-finals","tag-tough-time","tag-training-session","tag-unknown-coach","tag-veteran-stars","tag-victoria","tag-video-meeting","tag-weight-sessions","tag-wigan-academy","tag-work-ethic","tag-world-club-challenge","tag-wrestling-department","tag-wrestling-session"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}