Madge lifts lid on Walsh change that sparked Broncos title surge… and his final message before GF

Watch Yvonne Sampson go Face to Face with Broncos coach Michael Maguire on Fox League at 7:30pm AEDT on Tuesday!

“Just go out and have a crack.”

Michael Maguire’s final instructions to his Broncos in their breakthrough 2025 premiership win against Melbourne will carry a similar meaning on Friday night when the two sides meet in a highly touted grand final rematch.

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The Broncos’ title defence has been shaky through the opening rounds of 2026, with two consecutive losses, and the announcement that Payne Haas will depart the outfit at season’s end.

But in a new Face to Face interview with Fox League’s Yvonne Sampson that will air on Tuesday night, Maguire reveals the mindset that guided Brisbane to a premiership last season.

The insight will give Broncos fans some encouragement ahead of Friday’s pivotal rematch, where Brisbane are once again going in as underdogs.

“It wasn’t so much about who we were playing, it was about what we wanted to set out as a group,” Maguire said of his preparation against Melbourne in the 2025 grand final. “We’ve got the talent, we’ve got this group of men. I said ‘just go out and have a crack’.

“Even at halftime (where the Broncos were down by 10 points), the belief that the group have of each other – that they built way back in December, January and February, throughout the preseason – that to me is where I saw the group really evolve.”

Brisbane have started the 2026 season on the back foot, first suffering a clinical 26-nil drubbing at the hands of Penrith, before a topsy-turvy 40-32 loss against a fast-finishing Parramatta outfit in Round 2.

It came after the shock news that Haas will depart the club at season’s end, in a surprise defection to Wayne Bennett’s Rabbitohs.

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For Maguire, the spotlight is nothing new. He was an easy target at Brisbane through the first half of 2025, particularly when the Broncos suffered through six losses in the space of seven games.

The two-time premiership winner told Sampson there is no harsher critic than himself.

“I’m extremely hard on myself,” he said.

“That’s probably the part of the coaching side that I don’t know whether I’ll ever master. You’re chasing success with your players and there’s always something that you could have possibly done.

“I think the evolution of what I’ve gone through as a coach is definitely changed. I have learned to get out of the way at times now. As much as I want to be involved, you allow your players to express parts of what they’re developing and I really enjoy that.

“I think it’s growing players. When I say stepping away, it’s allowing them to find their feet. I’m a bit of a carer so I like to try and help.

“I think [empathy] is the number one thing you need. It’s the stuff that’s away from the footy field that’s actually the most enjoyable part. It’s families, it’s the kids, it’s helping someone develop outside of footy.”

Like any successful modern day NRL coach, Maguire has ridden his share of highs and lows, but his resume is resounding: NRL premierships at Brisbane and Souths (2014), a Pacific Championships crown as New Zealand coach (2023) and a Super League premiership with Wigan (2010).

Asked how he wanted to be defined, outside of the titles and statistics, the 52-year-old offered a surprising response.

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“It’s probably how I’ve made players feel. You have special moments with players and staff; highs and lows, and challenges. But they’re the things that bring people together and they’re the things that I enjoy remembering with the people that I get to work with,” he told Sampson.

“I was hungry to achieve a (NRL) premiership and to do it at two special clubs. It has been a special ride,” Maguire added.

“I’m on the journey here at the Broncos, obviously on the back of various things that I have done. I tend to look forward in what I want to achieve, it’s a very special club and they’ve given me an unbelievable 12 months.

“To be able to chase that again, the group is probably at the start of the journey of what we’re setting out to try and achieve.”

Maguire’s arduous training regime has been a hot topic in recent seasons – with some arguing it has attracted unwarranted attention.

He revealed it was the additional work by star players including fullback Reece Walsh that helped give the Broncos an edge in 2025. Likewise, Maguire credits the grit and determination of lesser-heralded players like Kobe Hetherington behind Brisbane’s 2025 successes.

“People talk about the zone or the flow that you have as a player. A player at their best doesn’t tend to do a lot of thinking. They’re just out there playing and feeling and enjoying what they’re doing,” Maguire explained.

“To be able to get players into that –that’s through the simplicity of how you go about what you do each day. Reecey is a great example of that, being able to get out and just enjoy doing what he’s doing without having to do a lot of thinking.

“Watching him do that, it was all hours and moments out on the training park. Watching video with my staff, with Trent (Barrett), with Benny Teo getting his defence right. Those are the reasons why a player can go out and perform the way he did.

“He’s probably known a lot for his attack, but he saved quite a number of tries that put us in to the position continually to keep going in that game.”

After delivering Brisbane’s first premiership in 19 years, Maguire clearly isn’t intending to be a one-hit wonder. If anything, he believes this is just the beginning of a Brisbane dynasty.

“I definitely credit what we’ve built in the last 12 months, this has been a work in progress and there has been plenty of people involved. Previous coaches and all those sorts of things,” Maguire said.

“I feel that the group now understands the opportunity that they have to be able to continually build and chase the success.”

Watch Yvonne Sampson go Face to Face with Broncos coach Michael Maguire on Fox League at 7:30pm AEDT on Tuesday!