Jack Gosiewski as Broncos defend 18-error loss to Manly
jack gosiewski was not the issue Michael Maguire was talking about after Brisbane’s ugly loss to Manly. The Broncos coach said the defeat came from their own errors and missed chances, not from the bulging casualty ward that left Payne Haas, Adam Reynolds, Deine Mariner and Kotoni Staggs unavailable.
Maguire backs Brisbane
Brisbane committed 18 errors against the Sea Eagles, and 15 of them came in the second forty. That collapse with the ball left the Broncos chasing the game and gave Maguire the clearest reason for the 42-point combined slump across their last two defeats.
“The boys unfortunately, didn’t give themselves an opportunity with the lack of possession that we had and then obviously off the back of errors you put fatigue into yourself and then you can’t give yourselves a chance. So, that was the disappointing part.”
He was even firmer when asked about the injuries and the line-up changes. “To be honest with you that’s not an excuse” and “I’ve got full confidence in those players in that change room.” Brisbane had already shown it could handle absences when it beat the Tigers in Campbelltown and Canterbury, but Saturday night brought a different result.
Errors in the second forty
“Silly fundamental errors cost us … it was disappointing for us.” That was the thread through Maguire’s post-match message, and it matched the numbers on the night. Brisbane spent too much of the second half without the possession needed to settle the contest, and the coach said fatigue followed from the mistakes.
He did not soften the assessment. “We missed the mark tonight, it’s as simple as that.” And he added, “I love how they expect that and tonight they’re hurting because they know that’s not the way the Broncos can play.”
The unavailable players mattered in the build-up, but the Broncos had spent enough recent time showing they could cover them to make excuses hard to sell. Maguire pointed to that directly when he said, “If we give ourselves possession and complete high, which we did in those two wins, you can perform the way we know we can.”
Broncos must clean up
That leaves Brisbane with a simple problem: the errors are doing more damage than the injuries. Two straight losses by a combined 42 points is a sharp drop from the standard the club expects, and Maguire said the group now has to fix the basics rather than lean on the injury list.
“Tonight was one of those nights we’ll have to look pretty deep and make sure we fix it.” For the Broncos, the next response has to come from cleaner possession, fewer mistakes and a performance that matches what the coach says the players already know they can produce.
