We have seen this story before with the Brisbane Broncos, but coach Michael Maguire has cautioned that hoping for another fairytale ending is a pipe dream. The Broncos were dreadful in their 30-26 loss to last-placed St George Illawarra on Sunday at home, marking the third consecutive time they have lost by that exact scoreline to the Dragons at the same venue.
This defeat was Brisbane's fourth in a row, leaving them in 11th position after 13 rounds with five wins and seven losses. Interestingly, the defending premiers were also 11th after 13 rounds last year with the same win-loss record and were also on a four-game losing streak. Coincidentally, they host the Gold Coast on Saturday — the same team they played at Suncorp Stadium in round 14 last year, when a 44-14 victory turned their season around and sparked a charge to the premiership.
However, Maguire dismissed any notion that history would repeat itself for the Broncos in 2026. “If we’re relying on past history, we might find ourselves in a bit of trouble,” he said. “Everyone can tell a good story about the past, but it’s what you’re doing right now. I can compare stories, but I’ve never seen two years the same. I’ve never seen a group of men do it the way they did it in the past.”
The Broncos have spent far too much time standing behind their own tryline during their four consecutive losses. They were out-enthused by the Dragons from the opening whistle, with poor line speed in defence and a lethargic attack, aside from the magnificent Payne Haas. “The way the game panned out, that’s definitely how it looked,” Maguire said. “The commitment in areas of our game that we hold pretty high, we didn’t hit the mark. Obviously, there’s something there that we as a group — myself and everyone — need to find very quickly, because there is a talented team there, and we all know that. That’s my role now with my senior leaders and everyone involved to find it.”
Returning from a six-week injury lay-off, Haas had run for more metres at half-time than the rest of the starting pack combined. He finished with an incredible 281 metres with the ball and made 33 tackles with just one missed. After the match, Haas summed up the Broncos’ current situation in a telling interview with ABC Radio. “We are all talk at the moment,” Haas said. “We keep saying we are going to do all these important things on the field, but to be honest, we are just bullshitting each other.”
Haas is delivering on his words, but most of his teammates need to lift. Aside from Haas and a strong second stint from forward Xavier Willison, Brisbane was outmuscled up front by a Dragons outfit that wanted it more. The Broncos did lose Queensland forward Pat Carrigan to an ankle injury, but they only started playing well in the final 11 minutes when they were trailing 30-8. The Broncos were the comeback kings of 2025 with their knack for winning games from double-digit deficits, but they now appear to be a side resting on that record and believing their own press.
“We’ve got to continually work hard at training and try to change what’s going on at the moment,” captain Adam Reynolds said. “Obviously, we’re not getting the starts right, we’re not matching intensity at times, and it’s not good enough.”
