Brisbane coach Michael Maguire has hit back at the criticism the team received after locker room footage showed some Broncos players laughing ahead of their loss to the Roosters last weekend. Cooper Cronk and Darren Lockyer questioned the Broncos players that appeared in Fox Sports broadcast footage sharing a laugh only moments before kick-off.
The criticism did not resonate with Cronk, who questioned the team’s attitude, suggesting it may not have been in the right place before they copped a defeat at home to the Roosters. The Fox League analyst believed they weren’t up for the game to the extent they should have been.
“It doesn’t tell you all the story, but it gets you a little bit of a snippet of the mindset of what the team is about to run out on the field with,” Cronk said. “And there was just a little bit of joking around with the Broncos, a little bit of sort of … not complacency, but not truly being dialed in to where you need to be every week in the NRL.”
The Queensland legend thinks a number of Broncos players were trying to take “shortcuts” once they got on the field. Speaking on Channel 9’s QLDER show, Lockyer was divided over the footage, while admitting it was a ‘bit odd’ seeing them laughing before they ran out.
However, Maguire has come out and hit back at the criticism, suggesting the small snippets from the cameras don’t tell the story. “That’s not representative at all of this group,” Maguire said. “People have to remember the cameras captured one brief moment, a few seconds of what happened prior to the game,” he said after the criticism.
“That’s just people’s opinions, but unfortunately it gets brought up, and the critics want to connect it to what the result is. I have some standards here, and I can’t be happier with the group of men that I have. They are buying in, and unfortunately for us, we didn’t get it right last Friday night against the Roosters, but that’s not to say the guys aren’t professional or committed to the task.
“The players really care about this organization, and we’re fortunate to have the expectation because it’s such a great club. I’ve spoken to the guys. They know you can’t afford to be complacent in this competition. It’s how you turn up, and the challenge for every team in the NRL is making sure you turn up every week.”
Cronk knows what it takes to win a premiership and felt the Broncos players were trying to take “shortcuts” once they got on the field. “This is a very good team; it’s arguably better balanced than most teams,” he said. “So when they put it together, we’ve seen what they can do. But the consistency piece is still a struggle for most teams, unless you’re the Dogs or the Melbourne Storm at the moment.
“There was a little bit of … call it looking for shortcuts in that first half. Looking for the big play every play to win it. Adam Reynolds was arguing with the referee a little bit. So there were a couple of little things.”
Michael Maguire responds to loss with training change.
And after the loss to the Roosters, where the Broncos pack were outmuscled in the contest, Maguire put the players through a wrestling drill. And Broncos star Jordan Riki admitted the session was an eye-opener after the weekend. “We have got to man up and front up,” he said. “On Monday we had a fairly decent wrestling session. It was pretty physical.
“A few of the boys that played Cup on the weekend came in and took their part in the wrestle group. I’ve had quite a few conversations with Madge (Maguire) and defense coach Benny Teo as well, and I definitely do believe that’s one thing I can bring: a bit of physicality.
“It’s not just myself. I feel like everyone across the park needs to probably man up a little bit and definitely bring the heat. We know that the Warriors are going to come out firing against us, but we’re definitely ready to go there and do the job.”
