Footy legend admits he warned Broncos coach Michael Maguire he could KILL one of his stars as he prepared them for Grand Final glory

Michael Maguire has been repeatedly criticised during his first season with the Brisbane Broncos from many within the footy world.

The rugby league coach, perhaps most notably, raised eyebrows for his brutal pre-season training demands, which had left some Brisbane players throwing up in buckets on the side of the training pitch.

It was revealed in September 2024 that even the NRL were worried about images that had surfaced, which appeared to show players sweating it out during a roasting hot Queensland day on a set of Wattbikes, with the sick buckets placed on the handlebars of one of the machines.

The former New Zealand and New South Wales Blues coach is a notoriously tough cookie, but the brutal training regimes even left one of his staff members, Trent Barrett, expressing his fears about the welfare of the playing group.

But Maguire's rigorous training plan, has perhaps paid off, with Barrett, who enjoyed a glittering playing career between 1996 and 2010, conceding that the side’s pre-season training helped the Broncos dig deep during their finals campaign.

‘Without the work the players did earlier this year, we probably wouldn’t have survived the last month,’ the Broncos assistant coach, Barrett, explained to The Daily Telegraph.

‘Madge was proved to be right.’

‘There was no secret motto or potion, they just worked hard,' Barrett added. 'There were times in the pre-season when I said to Madge: “You're going to kill one of these blokes.”

'We had a couple of really hot days but they got through it. 'Madge' always says how amazed you can be at what the body can do. It's all in your mind. You can be surprised what your body can do – it's all mental.’

At the time, Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy played down fears that the side was working their squad too hard.

‘Our staff did extra training beyond the NRL requirements to ensure our players would be looked after in the pre-season, given the climate in Brisbane,’ he explained to The Daily Telegraph.

‘We test our players in the pre-season, but we also respect the rules and make their safety the utmost priority.’

In the build-up to Sunday’s Grand Final, Gehamat Shibasaki, who scored a brace of tries during the comeback win, revealed that he was one of the players who was forced to use one of Maguire's now infamous buckets during the pre-season.

His story is equally as inspiring, with the footy star giving a shot in the NRL one final roll of the dice, after he had struggled for game time across the past seven seasons. How brilliantly that has worked out for the 27-year-old centre.

Shibasaki admitted that he had been very unfit coming into the session, but revealed to News Corp the incredible piece of advice that Madge had given to him: ‘It’s not about what’s just happened, it’s about what you control after.’

This was, perhaps, the story of the Broncos' season, with Maguire copping more criticism after his side dropped to 11th in the table during round 13, having lost four games on the bounce.

Wins against the Titans, Sharks, Warriors, Bulldogs and Titans would see the new Brisbane boss, who took over from Kevin Walters late last year, steady the ship, coming into the crunch end of the season.

But finals footy is perhaps where the Broncos' pre-season preparations came to the fore.

On three separate occasions, Maguire’s men, led by Reece Walsh, came back late to book their spot in the NRL Grand Final. They overturned a 16-point deficit in the second half of their qualifying final against Canberra. In their semi-final match against Penrith, the Broncos would go down 14-0 at half-time, but thanks to tries from Kotoni Staggs, Xavier Willison, Deine Mariner and a conversion from Adam Reynolds, Maguire’s side would book their place in the NRL Grand Final.

Despite opening the scoring on Sunday, the Broncos again showed their grit, mounting yet another late surge, which was inspired by the brilliance of Walsh, to clinch their first NRL premiership since 2006, leaving Melbourne stunned.

For Barrett, who also represented New South Wales on 11 occasions, working hard last summer was key to helping the Broncos reach Grand Final glory last weekend.

'They trained hard and that is what 'Madge' is used to – that's his background coming from Melbourne. Without the work those players did earlier in the year, we probably don't survive the last month,’ he said.

'For us to go so deep in games as we did, and the 94 minutes against Canberra, probably proved what you've got to do. And they were repaid for doing it in the end.

'I learned a lot of Madge, particularly over the past month. He is very, very good at knowing what buttons to push and getting teams and individuals up for big games. Ultimately, it's not what we did, it's what the players did. I wouldn't expect next year's pre-season to be any easier.'

A bleary-eyed Maguire has, meanwhile, also had his say on the criticisms he and his side have faced this year.

Following on from his team’s wild all-night-long party, Madge arrived to face the media on Monday at the 7:30am.

'It's been a crazy night,' he said.

'Look, I've probably only just got home I should say, if I'm being honest. I've just been up with the boys and it's a very special time.'

Speaking on his critics, Maguire told SEN Breakfast: ‘Everyone has got an opinion, and people are paid for them.

‘It’s not the opinions I care about, it’s the people I'm fortunate to be with. They look at the past and come up with things, but we came up with something that the right people talk about.

‘The right people know what goes on to create what we did. They're the people you want to hang around so that’s why I stick with them.’