Maguire worst agony: NRL pundits officially ganging up against the broncos management after Eels riots” talent like Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, and Pat Carrigan has totally turned into sudden flops under the misfortune coach… here’s the shocking statement from Phil Rothfield….

Maguire worst agony: NRL pundits officially ganging up against the broncos management after Eels riots” talent like Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, and Pat Carrigan has totally turned into sudden flops under the misfortune coach… here’s the shocking statement from Phil Rothfield….

Pressure is mounting on the Broncos after their surprise defeat to the Eels, with growing concerns that their star-studded lineup isn’t living up to expectations. Despite having top-tier talent like Payne Haas, Reece Walsh, Adam Reynolds, and Pat Carrigan, the team is currently placed sixth and just lost to a rebuilding side. Veteran journalist Phil Rothfield has weighed in, saying that anything short of a top-four finish would be a letdown.

I think with the roster they have they’re entitled to be in the top four… I think if they make the eight that’s a satisfactory season but that’s all,” he said on NRL 360.

“You know as well as I do that’s a roster that can make the top four, you know I’ve had doubts about them all year.”

Rothfield referenced comments made by Queensland Origin coach Billy Slater to back up his argument that something is amiss at Red Hill.

The comment from Slater that Rothfield referred to was — “I don’t think the Broncos understand who they are or what they’re trying to do.”

Fellow veteran journalist Brent Read, however, believes there needs to be patience with the Broncos and that they are on the right track.

“I think the thing with Brisbane was that it was always going to take some time,” he said.

“‘Madge’ (coach Michael Maguire) came in and blew the whole joint up basically so it was always going to take some time for them to embrace what Madge does and how he operates.

“I think we’ve seen the fruits of that in the past month — that loss on the weekend was a setback for them — but they’ve been better.”

Gorden Tallis believes Michael Maguire should give his x-factor players the freedom to play their natural game, instead of forcing them into his preferred system.

“Those guys don’t suit Maguire’s style of footy, so you’d basically need to overhaul the whole roster,” he said.

He pointed to Reece Walsh as an example, saying the fullback is being criticised for his risky passes, but without him, the Broncos wouldn’t have beaten the Titans the previous week.

Tallis stressed that the flamboyant players known for throwing spectacular passes might need to dial it back slightly, but that same style nearly won them the 2023 Grand Final when Walsh and Ezra Mam started playing instinctively.

“They just need to be better at defending their errors,” he added.

Braith Anasta agreed with Read that the Broncos are heading in the right direction but said their real test will come in the final six weeks of the season. During that stretch, they’ll face the Storm twice, the Dolphins, Rabbitohs, Knights, and Cowboys.

“That loss was a setback, but it’s understandable — in today’s game, every team has off weeks, and we’ve seen that all year,” Anasta said.
“Overall, they’ve made major improvements recently, and like many teams, the next couple of months will reveal a lot about them and their coach.”

Meanwhile, Rothfield remained critical, insisting the defeat to the Eels was a major failure.
“Look, I get the idea of being patient — but with the quality in that lineup, they should’ve beaten Parramatta easily. That game shouldn’t have even been close,” he said.