The club with the second longest premiership drought in the NRL – the Raiders – is the only one with two title-winning coaches on their staff.
Canberra haven’t won a premiership since 1994 but they’re taking a different approach this year with straight shooter Michael Maguire joining the club.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart swooped on the services of Maguire after he was axed by the Wests Tigers after losing the playing group in one of the most drawn-out sagas of 2022.
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Round 1
MORE NRL NEWS ‘OUT OF THE GAME FOREVER’: The brutal truth behind stars’ stand against NRL ‘200 PASSES EVERY DAY’: Inside the Tigers’ ‘attacking’ revolution… and Benji factor ‘SERIOUS QUESTIONS’: Issues over Dragons’ top 30 arise as Griffin takes a stand ‘SAD WHEN PEOPLE DOUBT HIM’: Jake’s passionate Turbo defence amid critics “We’ve been training hard but also having some pretty honest conversations, which is needed around here to win a comp. “They (Maguire and Stuart) are very similar, it’s a scary thing when there are two of them but it’s good.” The Green Machine won their last title 29 years ago when Stuart was halfback and they beat the Bulldogs in Mal Meninga’s last game. Stuart and Maguire played a handful of games together at the Raiders, with the latter a fringe first-grader between 1992 and 1998. It was a coach where Maguire flourished, taking the Rabbitohs to a drought-breaking premiership in 2014 and hooker Tom Starling believes he can spark something similar in Canberra. “You can tell Madge loves his footy. He’s non-stop thinking about it and talking about it, it’s been really good, he’s been a breath of fresh air,” Starling said. ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’: Legend takes aim at Bulldogs’ six-man captaincy model SWITCH: Garrick was a solution to Manly’s No.1 dilemma. He has another plan OFF-SEASON CENTRAL: Sheens tips basketball convert to push for Tigers’ No.1 ‘ULTIMATE’: Manly haven’t won a title since DCE’s rookie year. A new era can deliver “He’s bringing a lot of intensity and I think he’s going to take our defence to the next level. “He’s had success overseas and here, he brings a lot of knowledge. He’s a premiership-winning coach, it’s pretty tough to do that.” Canberra prop Joe Tapine has played under Maguire for New Zealand since he became the Kiwi coach in 2018. The pair most recently combined at the World Cup where New Zealand lost to Australia in the semi-final in arguably the match of the tournament. Sheens slams Brooks criticism | 01:11 Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now > Maguire fell just short of orchestrating what would have been one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, losing 14-16. “He’s very big on details, he looks at the real small details in everything we do and has that intensity to him and he won’t leave any stone unturned,” Tapine said. “Stick does a lot with attack and Madge on our defence side…they definitely have a presence (on the training paddock) and they work well together.” “They actually balance each other out because I suppose you can’t have too much boss in the room, they’re good together.” Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!
