Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Under-siege Broncos coach Michael Maguire insists he has the support of senior Brisbane players after superstar fullback Reece Walsh endorsed criticism of Adam Reynolds being denied a Suncorp Stadium farewell.
Maguire told reporters on Wednesday he had cleared the air with both Walsh and veteran playmaker Ben Hunt following their reactions to the ongoing Reynolds saga, which has intensified the spotlight on Maguire’s relationship with his underperforming side.
Hunt said on Tuesday that Broncos players “thought [Reynolds] deserved that send-off” against Melbourne on Thursday night after Reynolds had told multiple news outlets, including this masthead, that Maguire and Brisbane’s medical staff had made the call to rule him out of a game with no bearing on the finals.
“I got through training, I felt pretty good, but after talking with ‘Madge’ and the medical staff, they weren’t keen to see me go out there and finish with another potential injury, then go out like that,” Reynolds said on Monday.
“They’ve worked with me behind the scenes for years, they know me better than myself. They didn’t want me being injured to be last image fans remembered me by.”
The Broncos coach met with Walsh on Wednesday morning after he liked a Fox Sports Instagram post describing the selection drama as “embarrassing and sad”, before later removing the like.
Maguire acknowledged on Wednesday morning that the Walsh scenario bore similarities to Marty Taupau’s dismissal from the club last year after he liked a post by former Tigers forward Elijah Taylor that was highly critical of Maguire’s coaching.
“I spoke to Reece this morning, we went through it,” Maguire said.
“They’re two different scenarios. We’ve had that conversation and [Walsh] realises that social media moves very quickly. They’re different circumstances but the same sort of incident… I’m not going to go into what’s happened, we move forward now. Reece and I have had that conversation.”
Maguire said he had also clarified things with Hunt and bristled when questioned on whether he still had the full support of players, responding: “go ask them”.
He suggested the emotion of Brisbane’s popular premiership-winning No.7 missing out on an NRL farewell, as well as the logistics of Hunt’s early morning radio interview, had played a part in his telling 4BC Radio: “[Reynolds] wanted to get out there and from what I’m gauging most of the players are pretty disappointed, too.”
The Broncos coach reiterated the club’s stance that Reynolds made the final call on whether he played, despite the halfback’s comments on Monday evening.
“He basically said to me, ‘I think it’s time Madge’,” and that’s how it went,” Maguire said.
“Up until the time that he called it, he was a live [option] ready to play. And it got to the point where he said, ‘look Madge I’m done’ … In my eyes I was going to give him every opportunity to try and get there.”
Reynolds – who will move into a coaching role with Brisbane next year – fronted TV cameras on Tuesday after internal blowback over his initial round of interviews.
“I just think it’s unfair to blame Madge,” Reynolds said. “Everything’s been blown out of proportion and I feel for Madge. There’s probably no better relationship in sport than myself and Madge.
“The time we’ve had across two clubs, both on and off the field, I would hate to see that friendship there diminish. There’s a lot of respect among both of us and that friendship will continue.”
