Incoming Broncos coach Michael Maguire has said he is 'in a rush’ to bring success back to the Broncos, but will take his time to get to know his players as he attempts to bring out their best.
Unveiled at Red Hill on Tuesday morning, five days on from when the club confirmed the parting of ways with Kevin Walters, Maguire said the opportunity to coach fulltime was the main contributing factor to signing on with a club that has high expectations.
“Opportunities don’t come around very often," Maguire said. “I am a career coach, I love the daily stuff and my last campaign in the Origin, it was an incredible experience I have got to say, an amazing experience, but I am a person who likes the day-to-day.
“I’ve actually missed having staff, I’ve missed having players around me daily and that’s what I’ve got a lot out of as a head coach.
“I’m extremely hungry to win another competition. I’m not going to put a timeline on it, but I’m in a rush like all of us here at the Broncos, we all want to have success. I’ll work every single day to make sure we improve.”
With most of the playing squad making the most of their off-season break, Maguire was yet to meet most members of the team, but did have a history with some of the key players who will be looked upon to lead the side back into the finals.
Maguire – who was granted an early release from his head coaching role with the New South Wales Rugby League – most recently worked with star forward Payne Haas during this year’s State of Origin series and was counting on him to continue to lead the forward pack.
“I’ll get to know the players and the staff, my own staff, and the ability of all the players … I’ve studied every single player that plays at the Broncos for a long time, so I know the capabilities, but it’s being able to do that every day," Maguire said.
"[Haas] He was brilliant … Payne was incredible [in Origin camp] I’ve got to say.
"It was the first sort of time I got the chance to spend a bit of time around Payne and we all know the incredible person he is, but the knowledge I feel he and I can lift the group with, I saw him do it in Origin.
"He was a leader and in a leadership group within the Origin space. He spoke very strong about what he wanted in that space which helped me immensely, so I’ll call upon those sorts of things with Payne for sure.
“I know one thing about Payne, he’s very hungry to succeed, that’s what I like about him.”
Maguire was also looking forward to reuniting with Adam Reynolds, who he won a title with while at the Rabbitohs in 2014.
“I’m really looking forward to reuniting with Adam," Maguire said.
“That’s one thing he’s got, he’s got the knowledge of what the top end looks like. You obviously rely on players like that.
“I’ll talk to Reyno about that (staying captain). He’s a leader.
“(But) firstly, I’ve literally just arrived so I’ve got to get to the players and find out where they’re at across all facets of what they are doing and we’ll make decisions moving forward, but he’ll be a big part of the conversations.”
One key player Maguire coached against during the most Origin series, but will be a vital cog in any Brisbane success going forward is fullback Reece Walsh, who the Blues targeted to to neutralise his attacking threat.
Now, Maguire is tasked with finding the best way to unleash his attacking spark, and said he'd be speaking with the young talent about how he wanted him to play moving forward.
“I want to get to know Reece. That’s the first thing I want to do is get to know him as a person. Like all the players across the competition, they’re all talented, but again, getting to understand him and how he reads the game, educating him to the way I’d like him to play like all of them," Maguire said.
“It’s not just around one player, one thing you’ll get from me is that, is that it’s not just around one player, we’re a team and there’s going to be certain expectations and standards we’ll lift to and we’ll all be a part of creating it.”
