‘Go ask them’: Maguire bristles after Walsh, Hunt dramas in Reynolds saga

Under-siege Broncos coach Michael Maguire insists he has the support of senior Brisbane players after superstar fullback Reece Walsh endorsed criticism of Adam Reynolds being denied a Suncorp Stadium farewell.

Maguire told reporters on Wednesday he had cleared the air with both Walsh and veteran playmaker Ben Hunt following their reactions to the ongoing Reynolds saga, which has intensified the spotlight on Maguire’s relationship with his underperforming side.

Hunt said on Tuesday that Broncos players “thought [Reynolds] deserved that send-off” against Melbourne on Thursday night after Reynolds had told multiple news outlets, including this masthead, that Maguire and Brisbane’s medical staff had made the call to rule him out of a game with no bearing on the finals.

The Broncos coach met with Walsh on Wednesday morning after he liked a Fox Sports Instagram post describing the selection drama as “embarrassing and sad”, before later removing the like.

Maguire acknowledged on Wednesday morning that the Walsh scenario bore similarities to Marty Taupau’s dismissal from the club last year after he liked a post by former Tigers forward Elijah Taylor that was highly critical of Maguire’s coaching.

“They’re two different scenarios. We’ve had that conversation and [Walsh] realises that social media moves very quickly. They’re different circumstances but the same sort of incident… I’m not going to go into what’s happened, we move forward now. Reece and I have had that conversation.”

Maguire said he had also clarified things with Hunt and bristled when questioned on whether he still had the full support of players, responding: “go ask them”.

He suggested the emotion of Brisbane’s popular premiership-winning No.7 missing out on an NRL farewell, as well as the logistics of Hunt’s early morning radio interview , had played a part in his telling 4BC Radio: “[Reynolds] wanted to get out there and from what I’m gauging most of the players are pretty disappointed, too.”

The Broncos coach reiterated the club’s stance that Reynolds made the final call on whether he played, despite the halfback’s comments on Monday evening.