Michael Maguire appointed Broncos coach, Brisbane Broncos, Kevin Walters sacked, Gorden Tallis, Reece Walsh #adessonews

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“A lot went on here at the club. Then they reached out and presented the opportunity to come and coach the Broncos,” he said.

Maguire insisted he was “very privileged” to be coaching the club, but admits the decision to walk away from the final year of his contract with the NSWRL deal wasn’t a walk in the park.

“It was really tough. Obviously with this opportunity it’s huge but what I felt and had with the NSW people and players and staff it well and truly exceeded any expectation I had around the Origin space,” he said.

In the end, the man who broke South Sydney’s premiership drought back in 2014 conceded the allure of club football proved too tempting for him to resist.

“I love the day to day stuff of building and being with people. Club land is something I’ve loved doing,” he said.

“Being around staff and a playing group is what I love doing.”

Maguire joined a Blues side reeling from consecutive series losses, and overcame a shocking defeat in Game I of the 2024 series to record a historic win, including a memorable Game III victory at Suncorp Stadium.

For this reason, he feels the NSW side has “been left in a strong place,” revealing his belief whoever dons the Sky Blue jersey next year will understand the magnitude of their responsibility.

“I think the playing group that’s coming through down there is (special) and when they get together in their camps they’ll know exactly what they need to do to progress forward. They have a staff there that was completely committed to the cause,” he said.

“I think it’s in a good place.”

Maguire’s appointment came under fire from Broncos legend Gorden Tallis, who told NRL 360 earlier this week that he doesn’t feel Maguire is a better coach than Walters, the man who led the club to within a whisker of 2024 grand final glory.

“I don’t think he (Maguire) is better than Kevin,” Tallis said.

Maguire conceded he will “reach out at the right time” to Tallis and other Broncos old boys, despite Tallis stressing the former Blues coach should “lose my number.”

Since his appointment, some have doubted whether Maguire’s coaching methods will resonate with the Broncos’ young roster.

Speaking to Fox Sports News, Maguire revealed he is yet to speak to many of his players, given most are on deserved end of year holidays, but he can only start planning for the coming season once he’s spoken to them all.

“I’ll delve into where they are at this present moment. You talk about leadership and what they want to achieve and all those sorts of things as we move forward. Once I get an understanding of the people that I have, that’s the most important thing to start with before we talk about premierships,” he said.

“Obviously that’s (premierships) why we’re here. We’re chasing that, and I’m definitely chasing that as a coach.”