A year after he won the premiership with Souths, I worked on a book with Michael Maguire. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who wants to win so badly.
On a perfect winter Sunday in 2015, Michael Maguire was enjoying the sunshine at his Maroubra house. He was the reigning premiership coach, having brought the Rabbitohs their first title in 43 years. Sam Burgess had gone to rugby, but Maguire was still guiding a team featuring Greg Inglis, Adam Reynolds, John Sutton, Luke Keary, Jason Clark, Kyle Turner, Isaac Luke, George and Tom Burgess – the guts of the 2014 team. The 2015 chase was looking good. We were working on a book.
I learnt a few things about Michael Maguire that year. None of it was earth-shattering, more the kind of thing you haven’t thought about until, up close, you see how intense it is. Then you understand the proverbial: who would want to be a coach?An NRL coach has a renter’s edginess. Nothing is permanent. No promise can really be trusted, not long term anyway. Clubs love you and then they don’t. This was true about Maguire: he’s a realist.
Who would be a coach? Who would allow their life’s work – winning – to be decided by the bounce of the ball, an injury, a poor refereeing decision, a moment of madness or genius, half a field away from the limits of your influence? Who can suffer that insane imbalance: control-freakery and meticulousness of preparation while sacrificing it all to blind luck and the brain snaps of 20-somethings? Leaving nothing to chance, while leaving everything to chance? Honestly: who would do it, and who,...
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