MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Michael Maguire has proven track record of success heading into NRL grand final

So where are all the Michael Maguire haters now?

At the start of the year, we were hearing complaints Madge was flogging the Broncos to death and not everyone was responding and onboard with his idea of tough love.

The results were pretty good early on – three wins from the first four games – as all that pre-season work kicked in and Brisbane hit the ground running.

The whinging suddenly stopped.

Fast forward a couple of months and Maguire again came under fire as defeats started to mount up.

They lost five of six matches during a rough patch and those questioning Madge’s methods again came out of the woodwork.

A lesser coach may have caved in and made drastic changes, but not this bloke.

Yes, he tweaked a few things – some forced by injury and suspension and some by necessity – but Maguire had been down this road before and wasn’t about to make major detours.

He calmly negotiated the potholes and got the train back on the tracks.

I feel Madge is at his best when he is cornered, and people say he can’t pull something off.

Now only mighty Melbourne stands between Madge and him delivering Brisbane its first premiership since 2006.

All that hard work over summer was designed to have the Broncos prepared to push through the pain barrier at this time of the year.

It’s a big up yours to all the non-believers but Maguire is a genius at proving people wrong.

The bigger the occasion, the more he rises to the challenge.

And if there’s a drought to be broken, he’s your man.

In 2010 he led Wigan to its first Super League grand final win in more than 10 years and followed it up with Challenge Cup success the following year.

South Sydney hadn’t won a title since 1971 when Maguire arrived at Redfern in 2012.

Two years later the Rabbitohs were kings of the NRL world.

Granted, his subsequent stint at Wests Tigers wasn’t a great success, but the club didn’t show the required bottle or support to go the distance with him.

If they had, they would have played finals by now.

The NRL’s loss was rep footy’s gain when Maguire moved on to coach New Zealand.

Again, success followed.

He engineered a stunning 30-0 upset over Australia in the 2023 Pacific Championship final before opting out to coach NSW.

We all know how that ended – a come-from-behind, against-the-odds series win to the Blues.

I feel Madge is at his best when he is cornered, and people say he can’t pull something off.

He was given little chance of knocking off Australia and look what happened.

Same deal with taking on Penrith, who most expected to roll into a sixth straight GF.

He will be underdog again on Sunday so watch our Melbourne!

I’ll finish off on Madge by retelling an anecdote I wrote about earlier in the season.

A few years back, a young bloke came in with a mate to do a session at Spudd’s Gym.

I had no idea who the kid was, but we gave him a solid workout until I saw him turn white.

I led him to the door, placed him on the front step and told him no one had ever been sick in my gym and he wasn’t about to be the first.

That’s when his mate Harry piped up: “Hey Spudd, that’s Madge’s son Kaden?”

I began to worry I may have pushed him too far.

When Maguire’s number flashed up on my phone the next day, I braced myself for a spray.

I got the complete opposite.

“How good is that, Spudd! Nothing wrong with taking it to the limits. The young fella will get plenty out of that,” Madge excitedly told me.

Maguire is relentless and so are his teams.

Just look at the way the Broncos hung in and fought back against Canberra and Penrith over the past fortnight.

They just do not go away – and they’ve got the flash to match the grit when quick points are needed.

It’s a similar model to what Craig Bellamy has built at Melbourne over a long time.

That’s why I expect the grand final to go the distance.

And the team which blinks first will exit Accor Stadium the loser.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

Big men win big games and that’s why I’m predicting Payne Haas to lead the way for Brisbane in next Sunday night’s decider.

The little men produced the magic as the Broncos came back from 14-0 down to stun the Panthers, but it was Haas who led the way with his charges through the middle.

Even when he was struck down by injury late in the second half, the big fella continued to rack up the metres to put his team on the front foot.

It was an inspiring performance.

Melbourne put in a typical Melbourne performance against Cronulla.

They remind me of a python who just slowly strangles its prey.

The Sharks were suffocated out of the contest and the Storm’s brilliant spine – Papenhuyzen, Munster, Hughes and Grant – did the rest.

Brisbane needs to come up with a plan to somehow neutralise their threat.

If they keep that quartet relatively quiet, I can see the Broncos winning by eight points.

And if Haas gets the better of his opposite Stefano Utoikamanu, I firmly believe he can become the first prop since Brett Kite in 2008 to win the Clive Churchill Medal.

Given the quality throughout both teams, this could be a grand final for the ages.

I can’t wait to see it all unfold.