Gorden Tallis rejects peace offer from Michael Maguire in truth bomb for new Broncos coach
Tallis confirmed details of the snub on grand final day.
Gorden Tallis has confirmed reports he rejected a peace offering from Michael Maguire after bumping into the new Brisbane Broncos coach on NRL grand final day. Tallis is a former teammate and good friends with ex-Broncos coach Kevin Walters and has not been shy in discussing his sacking and the appointment of Maguire as coach.
The Broncos great was highly critical of the club's decision to part ways with Walters after he took Brisbane to the 2023 grand final and went very close to winning it. But 2024 was a different story as the Broncos struggled with inconsistent form and injuries to key players as they missed the finals series for the third time in four seasons under Walters.
Tallis concedes it was a hugely disappointing campaign but argued that Walters had earned the right to try and turn things around. And he hasn't held back in his assessment of Maguire, who was released from his contract with NSWRL after helping the Blues win back the State of Origin shield from the Maroons at his first attempt. That came after Maguire also helped New Zealand thump the Kangaroos 30-0 in the final of last year's Pacific Championships.
Maguire also has an NRL premiership to his name as coach after helping to mastermind South Sydney's drought-breaking 2014 grand final victory. But Tallis has also pointed out that Maguire's time at South Sydney did not end well and he also struggled at the Wests Tigers before being sacked as coach.
Tallis spoke on Fox League's NRL 360 and on Triple M recently to criticise the sacking of Walters after a 12th-placed finish for the Broncos in 2024. And he was quick to remind people about Maguire's own record the last time he was a coach at club level, arguing that it's a much different beast than coaching at rep level. Tallis said he could understand if Walters was replaced by one of the elite coaches such as Ivan Cleary or Craig Bellamy but said the appointment of Maguire made little sense to him.
“When it’s a big club you go and get the best coach and if you don’t ask Craig Bellamy, you don’t ask Ivan Cleary, (then) you don’t know,” Tallis said on Triple M recently. “They sacked Kevvie because he came 12th and then Madge in his last six years (at club level) came 12th, 12th, 9th at the Tigers, then he got worse. He came 11th, 13th, then he got the wooden spoon. They’re not replacing him (Walters) with Craig Bellamy.”
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Gorden Tallis rejects offer to catch up with Michael Maguire
Maguire has made it clear he's interested to speak with Tallis and some of the other Broncos greats who've been critical of his appointment. And Tallis revealed he rejected an offer from Maguire to have a coffee and a chat after a chance encounter with the new Broncos coach on grand final day.
According to reports from the News Corp, Tallis was walking back from a promotional event at Sydney's Accor Stadium when he bumped into Maguire and his wife Joelle. The Broncos great revealed that Maguire was keen for a catch up and a coffee but Tallis told him, "I don’t drink coffee", and brutally rejected the offer.
“I don’t need to be friends with any coach. I never caught up with Kevvie, I don’t catch up with Des (Hasler) and I never caught up with Justin Holbrook," Tallis told The Daily Telegraph. "What I say is just my opinion. It’s not an opinion on behalf of the Broncos old boys. No-one tells me what to say. I’m paid to give my opinion and when I’m asked I am just going to give my honest thoughts.”
The revelation from Tallis comes after he previously suggested Maguire should "lose his number". The Broncos legend also argued the club should have given Walters more time in the top job after transforming the team from wooden spooners to grand finalists within three years, citing several reasons behind their struggles in 2024.
“To go from the wooden spoon, I thought it’d be five years to get the club back where it was, he did it in three," Tallis added. “Losing Flegler, Farnworth, Capewell (for the 2024 season), three real experienced players, that probably hurt them a little more than they saw coming.”
