‘We went on the piss’: How secret Sydney pub session saved Broncos’ season

It was the horror night that extended their winless run to four games and saw Michael Maguire hit back at a journalist after they suggested Brisbane’s attack had lost its spark.

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But as it turned out, a secret session on the piss following that 34-6 loss to Manly ended up being exactly what the Broncos needed and helped turn their season around.

That is, at least, according to assistant coach Ben Te’o who opened up on the evening spent at the Hotel Steyne where the players came together for a much-needed break.

Te’o said he left 4 Pines Park that evening thinking the team was in “big trouble”. That is, unless they “really get on the same page”.

Usually that would mean working on defensive combinations and that was obviously part of the solution as the Broncos charged back into the top four and eventually won the premiership.

But first, with Maguire’s approval, the playing group did something unexpected.

“We went on the piss. That’s what happened,” Te’o said on the Inside Ball podcast.

“Rugby league is always going to be the same. It’s always about mateship and it’s always about pressure and how you deal with it.

“At that stage it was kind of like, no matter how hard we tried, it got worse, it got worse. It was a bad loss.

“We went to the Steyne, the players had a great night out and it sort of took the pressure off, we had a breather and from then on I think we lost two games.

“We’ve got a lot to thank the Hotel Steyne for.”

Te’o went on to explain that he had pulled Broncos skipper Patrick Carrigan aside to make the suggestion, adding that coach Maguire was “great” with it all too.

“Having a drink together after a loss I know most people would go, ‘Why would you go out and have a drink?’. That’s the best time,” Te’o said.

“Go out and have a drink, get together, forget about footy for six hours and have a beer and enjoy each other’s company. I think that was a great thing. It wasn’t something that was organised, it just happened.

“Madge was great. He saw it, let it happen and (said), ‘Boys go and do it’.”

Of course, while the Broncos clearly benefited from that booze-filled night they later also came together and pledged to give up the drink in the lead-up to the finals.

Gehamat Shibasaki later broke that team-imposed ban and was dropped from first grade for a week as a result before going on to redeem himself with a grand final double.