Michael Maguire has not spoken to his former assistant coach Anthony Seibold since he succeeded him at South Sydney at the end of 2017.
While there was plenty of focus on Penrith coach Ivan Cleary coming up against Wests Tigers last weekend, few in the game would be aware of the extent of the strained relationship between Maguire and Seibold.
No comment: Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire wouldn't be drawn on his relationship with Anthony Seibold.Credit:ninevms
Maguire guided Souths to their first premiership in 40 years, but was bounced out the door three years later and then virtually replaced overnight by Seibold. Maguire blooded the likes of Cameron Murray and Campbell Graham before Seibold, in his first NRL head coaching role, enjoyed the benefits as Souths fell one game short of the grand final.
Maguire refused to get drawn on Seibold as he spoke to the Herald at Sydney airport.
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Id prefer to talk about the Wests Tigers because theyre my club, Maguire said.
One of the most driven and passionate coaches in the game, Maguire and his Tigers have the chance to upstage the Broncos on Thursday night and consign Seibold to a 1-4 start to life at Red Hill.
In a further twist, Maguire was briefly linked to the top job at Brisbane, but said the Tigers were always a better fit.
I look to the people, thats my biggest thing, Maguire said. Its nice to have all the resources [Brisbane have] but at the end of the day this club has a great group of people; we all want the same thing.
There are a lot of areas we can improve but this is definitely the place I want to be. The club is in a really good position to take enormous strides on and off the field. I appreciate what everyone did prior to me for putting the club in the position it is in. This is not a rebuild.
One thing that stood out to Tigers officials about Maguire was his belief the Tigers were ready to succeed now, rather than hide behind the excuse they would need a few years to blossom.
And until 90 seconds from full-time last Friday against the Panthers, the Tigers looked set to chalk up their third win in four starts. The Tigers are at big odds to beat the Broncos, who have struggled to adapt under new coach Seibold.
Maguire could not fault the return of livewire Josh Reynolds but has dumped international forward Elijah Taylor and promoted Josh Aloiai while persevering with Esan Marsters as his goalkicker, despite his wobbly right boot forcing the Penrith game into golden point.
We missed an opportunity last week and its about looking forward now, Maguire said.
Esan has been kicking at 90 per cent at training. Hes done a lot of practice in the background and sometimes you have those moments. ItsRead More – Source
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