Broncos appoint Michael Maguire as Head Coach

[Big Pete]

Source

It's a three-year deal, so as it stands he'll be here till the end of 2027.

 

[MRN]

All hail his Madgesty. Hopefully this means we are always in a f**kin' game from now on.
But seriously, I really hope the players buy in to his tougher approach and the prima-donna's of the group adjust their diva attitudes to a 'work harder for the team' mindset.

 

[Big Pete]

Of all the available candidates, Maguire shaped as the most logical appointment. He's had success at all levels of the game, has the most experience and he's known for his structures which the Broncos have been lacking.

As far as whether it will lead the Broncos to the promised land, the jury is out. The dream would have been for Kevie to step aside and the Broncos would then go ahead and sign the next Bennent. Unfortunately there's nobody in the game with the credentials Bennett had in '87 and even if there was, the Broncos don't have that type of influence.

If you had have told Broncos fans 10 years ago Madge would be at the club I'd imagine they would have been over the moon. It appeared that Madge would spend the rest of his career at South Sydney and help establish them as one of the most dominant clubs in Australia only for things to slowly but surely crumble.

If you were to ask the average fan to describe that 2015-17 era for Souths in one word, it would be stale. The club struggled to stay ahead of the curve and made things harder on themselves by signing over the hill players like Glenn Stewart, Tim Grant and Robbie Farah.

Then once Seibold came in, the Rabbitohs made some minor adjustments to the team and played with more variation and suddenly they were contenders.

After that, the Tigers found themselves in the lurch after Cleary left mid-contract to go coach his son, a decision I'm sure he regrets every single day. They turned to Madge to help steer the ship only to find themselves well and truly stuck at the bottom of the ladder. Now sure, it's not Madge's fault that Cleary went ahead and signed a bunch of over the hill ex-Warriors and Moses Mbye. However Madge responded in kind by signing the Leilua brothers, James Roberts, Ryan Matterson and Jackson Hastings. It was like he learned nothing from signing Auva'a, Grevsmuhl, Carter and players of that ilk.

In spite of all that, after watching the Broncos bumble around in 2024, the fans are ready for a change. The fans believe in Donaghy and since Dave goes back a long way with Maguire there's this idea that they'll be able to work together, use the vast resources of the Broncos and help pilot the team to premiership #7. Madge wouldn't be the first coach to have early success, fail at a struggling club only to find more success 10+ years later.

If nothing else, it'll be refreshing to have another set of eyes to see if anything can be done with this roster or if Kevie was right to be utterly brain-broken after the 2023 grand final.

We'll find out in due time. Early reports are that the Hetherington and Paix moves have been put on hold as Maguire wants to give the current playing roster a fresh start. We'll see what that means in the coming weeks, as teams will be looking to make some moves before the pre-season.

 

[Showtime]

I’m looking forward to it, I find it hard to believe we’ll be easy beats with Madge but time will tell. At the very least, I’d imagine the players will be fit come game 1 and we won’t see a repeat performance of that roosters debacle in Vegas.

I like the idea of Paix and Hetherington being kept around mainly because I don’t think we have the depth to discard them. Hetherington is no star but I’d be attempting to offload others before him and to be honest I can’t remember what Paix was like as a player because it’s been a while but the difference between he and Walters can’t be vast.

Any information of whether or Teo and Barrett’s deals will be honoured?

 

[MRN]

I’m looking forward to it, I find it hard to believe we’ll be easy beats with Madge but time will tell. At the very least, I’d imagine the players will be fit come game 1 and we won’t see a repeat performance of that roosters debacle in Vegas.

I like the idea of Paix and Hetherington being kept around mainly because I don’t think we have the depth to discard them. Hetherington is no star but I’d be attempting to offload others before him and to be honest I can’t remember what Paix was like as a player because it’s been a while but the difference between he and Walters can’t be vast.

Any information of whether or Teo and Barrett’s deals will be honoured?

No indication yet to my knowledge. Madge said in his presser today he had to meet with them and talk about what their ideas/plans are when he was asked about it. Fair enough too. It's not really only a case of Madge wanting them or not but also if they still want to be there. Same went for Alfie and all the other staff when asked.

 

[Big Pete]

Peter Psaltis spoke to Madge today about the job and the challenges of winning the old boys over. I think it was largely a diplomatic interview, so difficult to take his words as gospel but on Paix and Hetherington he said he'd speak to them to see where they're at and to talk about their place in the squad. He did go onto say that he's watched both of them play and he's a fan.

Source

 

[Showtime]

Peter Psaltis spoke to Madge today about the job and the challenges of winning the old boys over. I think it was largely a diplomatic interview, so difficult to take his words as gospel but on Paix and Hetherington he said he'd speak to them to see where they're at and to talk about their place in the squad. He did go onto say that he's watched both of them play and he's a fan.

Source

In your opinion, is Paix better than Walter and Smoothy?

 

[Big Pete]

In your opinion, is Paix better than Walter and Smoothy?

Not yet, but he could be.

Time is running out. He's going to be 25 next year and while I'm willing to put the past 18 months down to a personal falling out. I think the Broncos have done a poor job of developing him and still hold out hope that he can make something of his career.

Mind you, I have a higher opinion of Smoothy than most. I respect a player who has gone back and worked on his own game, had a couple of knock-backs and yet still continued working on his game.

I also don't necessarily buy into the whole nepo-baby stuff with Billy. Yeah, he got an extended go under Kevie and I think his days should be numbered, but he's another player who failed to get picked up by an NRL system, plugged away at BRL/QRL until he got noticed by the Storm. I could live with 2022-24 with Billy, but I think it's time for a change.