Madge’s secret spray? Post-game move shows coach ‘feeling the pressure’ as Broncos told to ‘harden up’

Brisbane coach Michael Maguire moved his post-match address away from TV cameras after the disappointing loss to the Sea Eagles.

For veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield, it showed Maguire is feeling the pressure and the Broncos are “in a world of pain” after becoming the flops of the 2025 season.

Trailing 22-6 at halftime, Maguire addressed his players in front of the cameras, hoping to inspire a comeback.

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Instead, the Broncos were unable to conjure any further points and conceded two more tries, with Maguire relocating his post-game address to his struggling squad.

“After the game... Michael Maguire broke the normal practice of addressing the side in the dressing room. He didn’t want anything on (the coverage),” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast.

Michael Maguire avoiding the TV cameras post match. Source: FOX SPORTS

“They’ve got that little TV camera inside every NRL dressing room. So they took them to a private area and did it behind closed doors.

“Is that a sign of a man who is feeling the pressure? I think it is. He didn’t want a repeat, that (2021 documentary) Tales from Tiger Town, that didn’t show the best side of Madge.

“There’s talk that his hard-arse coaching methods, that he does have a deteriorating relationships with the players.

“They’ve lost six of their last seven, I think the Broncos are the biggest story in rugby league right now. They’ve been the flops so far.

“It’s not as if they are just getting beaten, they are playing just terrible aren’t they? They were blown off the park by a Manly side without Jake and Tom Trbojevic.”

The Broncos now sit in 11th place, with questions once again being raised regarding Maguire’s notoriously tough coaching methods.

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In May, former enforcer Martin Taupau left the club after liking a social media post from retired NRL star Elijah Taylor which criticised Maguire’s coaching style.

Taylor’s post that was liked by Taupau included three reasons why the Broncos weren’t delivering despite having a host of multimillion dollar stars, whilst also touching on Maguire’s “intensity”.

Rothfield also pointed to the Broncos’ elite squad, which boasts the likes of Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, Ben Hunt and Kotoni Staggs.

“The bottom line is the blowtorch will stay on Madge because he has a premiership-winning roster there... that is a side that should be at the top of the ladder,” Rothfield said.

“I’m not sure the Broncos are playing for Madge. Do you blame Madge? Do you blame the under performing players? Does Madge need to change his ways and drop a bit of intensity?

“I don’t know, I just know they are in a world of pain and have a really tough draw coming up. The way they are going they won’t make the top eight.”

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Meanwhile, Melbourne great Ryan Hoffman — who was coached by Maguire in an assistant capacity at the Storm — put the heat back on the Broncos players.

“They’ve been extremely disappointing. They showed a lot of promise at the start of the year with their new coach in Michael Maguire taking a harder-nosed stance than his predecessor Kevin Walters,” Hoffman said on ABC’s Offsiders.

“He was criticised a bit for not being tough enough to the players. Now Michael Maguire’s been accused of being too tough.

“I don’t think it’s a coaching issue at Brisbane, to be quite honest. I think play to understand that it’s a hard game and they need to harden themselves up because that was a really lacklustre performance from the Broncos last night.

“The rest of the NRL expects the Broncos to be up the top.

“I’ve been coached by Michael Maguire before. I know that he is a successful coach. But you need to buy into what he’s about.

“He’s going to breed a tough football team, but you’ve got to train tough to be tough.

“Look, I’m going to back Michael Maguire in. I think he’s a very good coach. I think he’s what Brisbane Broncos need.

“I think the players themselves need to understand that ‘this is what we need right now, we need to buy into what he’s about’.”

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