Brisbane's disastrous season has continued to plunge with another humiliating home defeat, with the Broncos smashed 46-20 by Melbourne in a brutal rematch of last year's Grand Final.
Neither side will feature in the finals this season, but the Storm ensured Brisbane's final home game of the year was one to forget, running in twice as many tries despite being reduced to 12 men for 10 minutes in the second half.
The Broncos were desperately poor defensively throughout the contest, missing 43 tackles as their confidence appeared to drain with every Melbourne attack.
The result also saw Brisbane make unwanted history, becoming the first team in Broncos history to concede 30 points or more in six consecutive games.
It was a stark contrast to the side that lifted the premiership trophy less than 12 months ago, with a full-scale review now looming after a dramatic fall from defending premiers to missing the finals altogether.
The Broncos have publicly backed Maguire and are understood to be considering handing him a fixed contract that would not have an end date, in a bid to quiet speculation over his future.
Maguire, however, once again refused to be drawn into the discussion when questioned directly on whether he was the man for the job.
“You ask me this every day,” Maguire snapped back at questions over his role as coach.
“I know what this group is capable of.”
Michael Maguire admitted his side had repeatedly made life difficult for themselves, despite showing last week that they were capable of performing at a much higher level in their win against the Raiders.
“I know what this team's capable of when they stick to it like we did last week. We just shot ourselves in the foot at times throughout that game and put pressure on ourselves. And if you do that at this level, whoever you play, it's always going to be hard,” Maguire said.
“We need to be smarter and better at times within games.”
The defeat comes after a turbulent week for the Broncos, with noise surrounding the playing group and reports of frustration over Adam Reynolds being unable to receive an on-field NRL farewell after his season was ended by injury.
There had also been conjecture over whether it was Maguire or Reynolds who ultimately made the call on the veteran halfback not taking the field for his final home game.
Maguire moved to shut down any suggestion the issue had divided the playing group.
“There's plenty that goes on around every club. There's plenty that goes on around this club. They rallied around each other. They love their captain, and we all wanted him to run out there and have a crack at it, but it just wasn't to be,” Maguire said.
For Patrick Carrigan, however, the responsibility for Brisbane's failed season ultimately falls on the players as much as anyone.
“This club has a high standard and rightly so. It's been a disappointing year, so we've got a lot of work to do,” Carrigan said.
When asked whether his team has let down their coach, he replied.
“Yeah, there's always sentiment of that,” Carrigan answered.
“I've been here for a while now in the ups and the downs, and I've always been a big believer that players play the game, and we have a responsibility to do that as our job. We've missed the mark this year, so, yeah, disappointed, frustrated, and a lot of hard work has to go into having a successful season next year.”
Carrigan will also be at the centre of another major decision for the Broncos, with Reynolds' departure set to leave the club searching for a new captain.
The 28-year-old is the clear front-runner to take over the captaincy, having already emerged as one of the club's key leaders through a difficult campaign.
But before any decisions are made, Brisbane faces a significant summer of soul-searching.
The club's full-scale review into its failed 2026 title defence is pending, with the dramatic collapse of the reigning premiers expected to come under the microscope.
While Maguire's position has been assured by the club, Thursday night's capitulation against Melbourne leaves plenty of questions that Brisbane must answer before it can begin its push to return to the top of the NRL.
