Michael Maguire has broken his silence regarding the prospect of coaching New Zealand, being an assistant under Ricky Stuart at the Raiders and becoming the NSW Blues head coach.
This comes after the currentย Canberra Raiders assistant coach emerged as the number one contender for the head coaching role and hasย reportedly verbally agreed to take theย NSW Blues head coaching job on Thursday, replacing Brad Fittler.
Speaking for the first time since entering official negotiations with the NSWRL, Maguire believes coaching both the NSW Blues and New Zealand Kiwis will be mutually beneficial to one another, in which will see him enter a surprising position.
โBecause it's a campaign and not a full-time position, I actually think it's an advantage to be across what's happening at club and international level,โ Maguire told The Sydney Morning Herald.
โThat will help me at state level if that comes to pass. I'm still plugged into what's happening in football at other times of the year.โ
Reports emerged from several news outlets that Magurie has "verbally agreed" to become the next NSW State of Origin coach after accepting an offer from New South Walesย Rugby Leagueย for the job.
This was later confirmed by NSWRL Chairman Paul Conlon, who admitted that the former Rabbitohs and Wests Tigers head coach is the preferred candidate. But, he revealed that further discussions would be put on hold until after the Pacific Championships have ended so he can focus on coaching New Zealand against Australia and Samoa.
โHis sole focus is on preparing [New Zealand] for the upcoming three Test matches. In fact, that is exactly the quality that attracted us to him for the coaching role,โ Conlon said.
โHe has made a long-term commitment to New Zealand Rugby League and we wish him all the best for the upcoming Test matches.โ
Although New Zealand had given him permission to negotiate with NSWRL and give him their blessing to coach the state team, he has yet to put pen to paper for the New South Wales coaching job. This is due to the former premiership coach not wanting it to cause a distraction ahead of the Pacific Championships.
โI am so focused on the Kiwis at the moment,โ Maguire said.
โI put so much time into making sure that we have the best team we can put on the field and that is my full focus at the moment.
โI've got a steely focus on international footy, this is where we are going and this is what I'm doing.โ
However, unlike Maguire, former Kiwis representative Tony Kemp has blasted the move that would see the premiership coach both the Blues and New Zealand.
โIt did get my blood boiling this morning and don't get me wrong this is nothing to do with โMadge' Maguire,โ Kemp toldย SEN 1170 The Run Home.
โFor years of being an advocate, I've seen this brewing, this type of battle brewing, this losing battle, in and around the Pacific players that predominantly come out of New Zealand and filter through to Australian player pathways, now it's happened to our coaching ranks.
โIf we don't arrest this with our next appointment, which should be Stacey Jones, then I think if we go for another Australian coach we might as well just become another part of the Australian Rugby League.
โYou've got Queensland, New South and the Australian New Zealand Rugby League.โ
Despite this, Maguire has received a ton of support recently from two former legendary State of Origin greats who believe he is the right fit for the top coachingย NSW Bluesย job.
โI thinkย Michael Maguireย would be a great pick,โ four-timeย NSW Bluesย five-eighth Matthew Johns said onย SEN 1170's The Round Up.
โSome would sayย Michael Maguireย isn't currently a head coach, he's an assistant toย Ricky Stuartย but he's looking afterย New Zealand. The difference with 'Madge' is even when he's not coaching, he's coaching.
โHe's always working on his principles and how he wants to go about work. As soon as this NSW job came about, I'd have no doubt that Madge would be starting to scribble notes down just in case he got it.
โHe's doing a great job atย New Zealand, I don't think they would necessarily be happy about this with Madge being constantly spoken about but it's important to say that Madge actually hasn't put his hand up, his focus is onย New Zealand, but I really think he'd do a good job.โ
Johns' words on Magurie were followed by that ofย Lote Tuqiri. Not only has Tuqiri played six games for Queensland in the Origin arena from 2001-02, but he is also a former player under Maguire.
โI reckon Madge would be the leading candidate because he's really passionate about what he does,โ Tuqiri toldย SEN 1170 Sportsday.
โSome of the players that played under him (would know) to sustain that level of passion for 26 to 28 rounds is very tough.
โHe's learnt a fair bit, but I think a six-week block with cream-of-the-crop players, Madge could do a really good job withย Nathan Clearyย and the players he has at his disposal.โ
The currentย New Zealandย Kiwisย Testย coach previously applied for theย NSW Bluesย coaching role in 2018, prior toย Brad Fittler's appointment.
He will also bring a winning record of 55 per cent in his club coaching career with theย Wigan Warriors,ย South Sydney Rabbitohsย andย Wests Tigers, as well as a 67 per cent winning record when in charge ofย New Zealandย - a role he has held since 2018.
