Why Broncos must read the room on Michael Maguire of face a player exodus, Ivan Cleary and option to replace Maguire, opinion and analysis, Paul Crawley

After such a rotten year for the Brisbane Broncos on every level, would it really have killed Michael Maguire to give up one lousy interchange player and let Adam Reynolds run out for a little cameo against the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night?

Even the NRL is using the match to trial the new kick-off rule because there is nothing riding on the result.

Yet somehow the Broncos still couldn’t come up with a plan to send their retiring captain out with the celebration he deserves.

And I know Reyno said on Tuesday it was his decision to withdraw from the match because of his calf strain _ and that he really felt sorry for Madge.

But I’m calling bulls*** on that.

Because I’m still going with Monday’s version of events when Reyno said he could have played but Madge and the medical staff ruled him out.

I actually thought it showed class and balls from the little bloke to front up on NRL 360 and speak from the heart about his disappointment of missing out on a final home game.

And in no way shape or form did he lay the boot into Madge or anyone at the Broncos in that interview.

But he said what he said, and at least that much of this week I still believe was real.

The rest just confirmed for me that not Madge or anyone of the Broncos hierarchy can read the room.

And that goes to the heart of the bigger problem the Broncos are facing right now.

Because there is absolutely no doubt Michael Maguire can coach teams to win premierships.

It’s just that he obviously has a personality that can’t get him consistently on the same page as his players for a sustained period.

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It happened at South Sydney.

It happened at Wests Tigers.

Now history is repeating itself at the Broncos.

And what should really be of concern to Broncos fans is that Madge’s inability to read the room also appears to be contagious.

Because I still can’t get my head around the fact that the bosses at the Broncos have been so quiet this week.

The last I recall hearing publicly from anyone up there was chairman Karl Morris insisting Maguire would be handed a contract extension beyond next year _ and there was no chance he would be sacked.

Seriously, are they watching what the rest of us are watching?

Because when you have a player with the social media clout of Reece Walsh _ with his 700,000 Instagram followers _ “liking” a post labelling the decision not to allow Reynolds one final home game as “embarrassing and sad”, you know there is a problem.

And yes, you can get Walsh to “unlike” the post.

But you can’t make the feeling behind it just disappear.

Just like you can’t ignore what Reynolds said on Monday simply because he was forced to backflip on Tuesday.

Like I said, I know which version of the so-called truth I still believe.

Especially after Ben Hunt weighed in and admitted he was also disappointed Reynolds wasn’t getting his farewell game at home.

Hunt has been around rugby league long enough to understand the potential fallout that comes with making a comment like that.

So for him to say it publicly tells you something about the obvious feeling within the playing group.

And that is what the Broncos should be worried about most.

Because, yes, Reynolds is retiring and nothing is going to change that.

And the same goes for Payne Haas who is already bound for South Sydney next year.

But what happens when the next wave of Broncos stars come off contract?

What happens when Walsh, Pat Carrigan and the other players this club desperately needs to build its future around have decisions to make?

The Broncos can’t afford for those players to start questioning whether this is where they want to spend the best years of their careers playing in an environment when every indication is that they’d rather be laying bricks for a living.

And convincing them to stay won’t be as simple as getting them to “unlike” a social media post.

So let’s go back to the point I started with right at the top.

Because with neither the Broncos or the Storm still in finals contention, why the hell wouldn’t you let your retiring captain come on for a cameo if only to give the fans a chance to farewell him properly?

And the other part of this mess that has almost been forgotten this week is that this is also Haas’ last home game before he leaves for Souths.

Surely a bloke who has won a record six Paul Morgan Medals as the Broncos’ best player deserves better than the almost complete lack of recognition he has received this week.

And Reynolds deserves better too.

He came to Brisbane when the club was on its knees and helped drag it back to the top.

Taking the Broncos to two grand finals and captaining them to last year’s premiership.

That should count for something more than the embarrassment he has been put through this week.

Instead of celebrating two players who have given so much to the Broncos, this has become another round of protect-the-coach-at-all-costs.

Regardless of who gets thrown under the bus along the way.

And like I said, it is obvious that Maguire simply can’t read the room.

But the bigger worry for Brisbane is that the people running the club apparently can’t either.

And if they keep ignoring what their players are telling them, even if it’s just a “like” on Instagram, eventually it won’t just be Haas walking out the door.

SURELY IVAN IS AT LEAST WORTH A PHONE CALL?

Here’s a hypothetical for the Broncos bosses to mull over as they contemplate another week of unwanted headlines.

If Maguire doesn’t end up lasting beyond the end of next year, who could possibly take over?

I’ve got one from left field.

What about Ivan Cleary?

I know Cleary has already said he has no interest in coaching another NRL club when his current Penrith deal expires at the end of 2027.

But if you were Karl Morris and Dave Donaghy, would you really be rushing to extend Maguire now?

Or would you at least pick up the phone and find out if there was any chance Ivan could be tempted to take on arguably the biggest and toughest job in rugby league?

The fact Cleary and Madge come off contract at the same time would make it perfect timing at the very least.

And if there was ever a coach seemingly purpose built to handle the pressure cooker that is Brisbane like Wayne Bennett once did, it would be Cleary.

He not only has the laid-back temperament needed for the job.

But he also has the runs on the board with four straight premierships proving he not only knows how to win, but he knows how to sustain success.

Maybe Cleary really has coached his last NRL club after Penrith.

Maybe there is absolutely no chance he could be convinced otherwise before he rides off into the sunset and takes over the Australian Test side.

But wouldn’t you want to know for certain before committing the Broncos to another Maguire contract?

HOW DOGS USED KYLE FLANAGAN AS CLEARY’S CRASH TEST DUMMY

Now to the Panthers’ showdown with the Bulldogs on Friday night.

And you only had to watch the way the Dogs went after Kyle Flanagan on a couple of occasions in last round’s win over the Dragons to get an idea of what they might have in store for Nathan Cleary in this blockbuster.

It was like the Dogs were using Flanagan as Cleary’s crash test dummy.

It was also a flashback to what Canterbury did to Cleary in that boilover back in round six.

In an age where halves have become almost off limits when it comes to whacking them even marginally late, the Dogs still found a way to get at Flanagan with at least two questionable tackles that pushed the boundaries of what has become acceptable.

One involved Jaemon Salmon in the lead-up to a second-half try to Mat Feagai, with Salmon put on report after collecting Flanagan late in the back after he had passed the ball.

Viliame Kikau was also lucky he wasn’t penalised for another line-ball shot in the first half when he took Flanagan to ground after a clearing kick.

I wonder if that tackle had occurred on Cleary, would the match officials have let it go through to the keeper like they did with Flanagan?

I’m certainly not saying it was some full-on assault that demanded a post-match investigation.

But at the very least it was a timely reminder of how the Dogs rattled Cleary in his 200th milestone match back in April.

I wrote at the time that Canterbury had again exposed Cleary’s “kryptonite” because I couldn’t remember seeing the champion halfback look as unsettled as he did under the Dogs’ aggressive defence.

They were up in the Panthers’ faces all night and taking away Cleary’s time was instrumental to the result.

His kicking and passing were well short of the standards we’ve come to expect.

You may also remember that was the game Matt Burton cheekily tossed the ball into the air several times as Cleary lined up a crucial conversion _ which he subsequently missed.

Burton later conceded to the SMH that targeting Cleary was part of the plan.

“I didn’t think he’d miss that. I was cheering,” Burton said.

“I thought he would have been watching the ball, not watching that [tossing the ball]. It must have worked.

“We knew it was a big occasion for Nathan, with 200 games. We had to go after him, and I thought we did a good job on him.”

To his credit, Cleary didn’t complain or make excuses.

But you can bet the Bulldogs haven’t forgotten what worked that night.

And neither would have Nathan, who doesn’t usually get caught out the same way twice.

You only have to go back and remember how he learnt from his mistakes between Origin II to Origin III this year to understand what a quick learner he is.

This time he’s had four months to stew on it.

I can’t wait to see his response on Friday night because you just know the Dogs will be out to get him.