Phil Rothfield says there is a “communication problem” between coach Michael Maguire and the Broncos players and they “can’t all relate to him”.
Rothfield was stinging in his criticism of the Broncos mentor, and took particular issue with his decision to address his team away from television cameras in the dressing room after their 34-6 defeat to Manly at 4 Pines Park on Saturday night, which was Brisbane’s sixth loss from their last seven games.
“I think it’s a siege mentality attitude to take them into a private room, behind closed doors, and not let anyone see his reaction to this piss poor effort,” Rothfield said.
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“What I saw the other night, no heart, no desire, no passion, no idea.
“As I’ve said many times this year, Madge is a particularly intense sort of fella.
“That intense club style didn’t work at the Wests Tigers, and at the back end at Souths, it didn’t work either, and he was forced out of both clubs.
“I think Madge is an intense sort of dude and they can’t all relate to him.
“I think there’s a communication problem there.
“He (Madge) has to take responsibility for the mess that that club is in.
“He’s very intense. He has to change his style.”
Rothfield wondered whether Broncos powerbrokers were now regretting the decision to sack Kevin Walters at the end of last season, and replace him with Maguire.
He also took aim at club CEO Dave Donaghy and chairman Karl Morris.
The Broncos are now in 11th spot on the ladder, with five wins and seven losses for the season.
Brisbane finished 12th last season under Walters, but he did guide them to a grand final appearance in 2023.
“Do you think they’re feeling the pinch, about making that decision to sack Kevvie, and bring in a guy, who has actually taken the team backwards, substantially?” Rothfield asked.
“Plus the fact that the CEO and chairman are hiding behind their phones, those fans are entitled to get some explanation for what is going on inside the four walls of that club.
“They are not playing for the coach.
“I don’t think they’ll make the eight.”
Gorden Tallis, a three-time premiership winner with the Broncos, also tore into Donaghy.
“He could be taking pressure off Kevvie last year, he could be taking pressure off Madge, he could be taking pressure off players, he could be answering questions about Payne Haas, and it goes away,” Tallis said.
Tallis believes Maguire is safe in his job, because sacking him would mean Donaghy and Morris would have to “sack themselves”.
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“The CEO (Donaghy) and the chairman (Karl Morris) would have to sack themselves. Absolutely. They’re not going to do it,” Tallis added.
Host Braith Anasta called on Donaghy to take responsibility for the situation at the club.
“I think they’ve got to front up. I think Dave Donaghy and the likes have got to front up and they’ve got something to answer to here,” Anasta said.
“How are they going to fix it? What’s their vision? What’s their direction? What goals have they got? They can tell us what the problem is at the moment because no one is able to put their finger on it.”
Tallis was critical of his former club’s efforts against Manly.
“I don’t see them playing for each other. There’s no connection,” he said.
Fellow panellist Brent Read agreed.
“They were shocking from the opening minute,” Read said.
“They looked like a team bereft of answers.
“They were just horrid.
“They looked clueless. They looked lost.
“They were shocking. I was there, I watched it from the sideline. They were disgraceful.”
