Michael Maguire has emerged from a night of partying with his Brisbane Broncos players vindicated that he was right after copping a season of criticism before claiming the NRL premiership.
The first-year Broncos coach steered his side to victory over the Melbourne Storm at Accor Stadium on Sunday, delivering the Queensland club its first premiership in 19 years.
And he turned up to face the cameras on Today at 7:30am Queensland time, looking slightly worse for wear.
‘It’s been a crazy night,’ he said.
‘Look I’ve probably only just got home I should say, if I’m being honest.
‘I’ve just been up with the boys and it’s a very special time.’
Broncos coach Michael Maguire was looking a bit worse for wear after staying up all night partying with the players
In his first year as Broncos coach, Maguire led the side to a drought-breaking NRL premiership
Normally stoic, Maguire let all the emotion out, pictured celebrating with Ezra Mam after the win
The incredible premiership came after the Broncos slid to 11th on the NRL ladder at the halfway point of the season.
That led many critics to sharpen their pencils, slamming Maguire over his coaching practices and harder-nosed stance with some labelling it as outdated and unfair on the playing group.
The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley said on NRL 360 that Maguire ‘has to change.’
‘There is a lot of noise coming out of the Broncos at the moment and there is a lot of unrest among the playing group,’ former NRL 360 journalist James Hooper said.
‘The only way he’s going to fix it is by winning games because otherwise I do think it has the potential to really implode.’
And veteran journalist Buzz Rothfield called out Maguire’s decision to take his players on a luxury cruise around Sydney Harbour in the days before a shock loss to Souths.
It all came after Maguire was parachuted into the role at the expense of favourite son Kevin Walters, moving his family from Sydney to Brisbane to take up the role.
And he said all those slings and arrows came rushing back as the celebrations began at Accor Stadium.
It has been a lonely road at times for Maguire, who copped plenty of criticism of his coaching methods earlier in the season
The Broncos coach was vindicated with the premiership and said it all started to click in the back end of the season
‘All those things come into your mind,’ he said.
‘The move to Brissie, I moved my family, and then the criticism.
‘My players are very special to me and they copped a bit, we all copped a little bit at times.
‘Which was probably warranted, especially in the middle of the season.
‘I just felt toward the end they really understood what I was trying to do.
‘Credit to my leaders and the players, they got on board.
‘To fight like they have in the last month just says a lot about each other.’
Maguire also singled out Ben Hunt and Adam Reynolds for their resolution after the senior players also copper their fair share of criticism throughout the year.
Maguire also praised star veterans Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt for their resilience during a season where they came under fire at times
Hunt was cruelly reminded on social media of his dropped catch in 2015 that helped the North Queensland Cowboys steal victory from the Broncos.
While Reynolds has been criticised for his wretched run of injuries on the way to the premiership.
‘Benny Hunt of all things, he has been through so much from 2015,’ Maguire said.
‘As a player, they get criticised or talked about in certain ways.
‘To see players like Benny Hunt redeem himself and get the rewards he deserves.
‘Adam Reynolds, he has had moments in grand finals. To see him win last night, from the player that I have been with for a long time, known for a long time, it was a great moment in time.’
Even though the Broncos trailed Melbourne at halftime in the decider, Maguire was not nervous. Because he knew his players were on the same page and poised to hit back.
‘The players themselves, they dug in here and we able to come back from 14 points down [against Penrith],’ he said.
Maguire can now smile at all his detractors after taking the Broncos all the way to the NRL summit
‘Even yesterday we were down at halftime, I don’t want to brag, but I thought they were actually in a really good place, which is quite amazing in the circumstances.
‘Because we played against a very, very good team.
‘Melbourne have been showing themselves for a long time as being such an organisation.
‘They had to fight and they showed that in spades last night.’
It was a common theme throughout the NRL finals, with Maguire steering the club to come-from-behind victories over Canberra, Penrith and then Melbourne in the big dance.
‘Canberra was one thing and then we went to Penrith and then last night I probably showed a little emotion there at times,’ he said.
‘It was unbelievable to be honest … what a finals series.
‘We fought back from being out of the game to being in the game.
‘The Canberra game was quite amazing. We probably were gone twice. Then all of a sudden we found ourselves back alive.’
