Maguire’s clear message after Broncos’ comeback falls short

The Brisbane Broncos have been left to confront a familiar flaw after their loss to Hull KR, with coach Michael Maguire warning his side that repeated slow starts will continue to prove costly.

Despite a late surge that narrowed the margin and threatened to steal momentum, the Broncos once again found themselves chasing the contest after failing to lay the groundwork early. 

It is a trend that crept into the back end of last season and, according to Maguire, remains unresolved.

“Look, if you put yourself in that position over and over, at some stage it's gonna hurt you,” the coach said.

“As much as we came back at the end there, you just can't keep doing that.

“We probably did that a bit at the back end of the (2025) season. We've got to work hard at the start of the game.”

The Broncos showed resilience to fight their way back into the match, but Maguire stressed that the momentum generated in the closing stages cannot mask deficiencies in the opening exchanges.

"You can have the momentum, but if you're going to... do the hard work early in a game, you don't put yourself in that position," Maguire said.

Captain Adam Reynolds delivered a similar assessment, acknowledging the side's tendency to delay its best football until the pressure has already mounted.

“There's no point waiting 60 minutes or until halftime to start playing some footy”, Reynolds reckoned.

“It worked for us at the back end of the season last year, but we want to get our start right so we can hold our lead. That's the type of footy we're trying to learn.

“We can't always rely on doing the comeback and rely on magic to happen.”