Michael Maguire has declared he'll bring his renowned intense approach to the Wests Tigers in a bid to end the longest-running finals drought in the NRL.
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Maguire turned up for his first day of work as an NRL coach since he was sacked by South Sydney at the end of 2017 on Monday, and wasted no time starting training with players.
Off the field, he appeared just as determined as ever - the very reason Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe was so keen to lure him to the club.
While his predecessor Ivan Cleary inadvertently coined the "on the bus" mantra on his first day on the job last year, Maguire couldn't have been more direct when asked if he had a similar motto for players and fans.
"Just work hard each day," Maguire answered.
It may have been a throwaway line in a media conference, but it also provides an insight into how he plans to take the Tigers to their first finals series since way back in 2011.
Maguire is regarded as one of the toughest coaches in the NRL, but by 2017 his exit coincided with rumours he'd worked the Rabbitohs too hard throughout his six-year tenure.
What can't be denied is that it worked.
Souths had played just one finals series in 21 years when he took over in 2012, but by 2014 they were premiers after two straight grand-final qualifiers.
Likewise, Maguire took Wigan to an English Super League title in his first year as a head coach in 2010, after learning under Craig Bellamy in Melbourne.
"At the end of the day it takes a hard-working team to be successful," Maguire said.
"And if they do that I'm sure this team will go a long way in moving up the ladder in this competition.
"I also enjoy winning too. So being able to win competitions is part of what the intensity you do at coaching.
"I probably haven't changed my personality too much from Wigan to Souths and they seemed to get us places."
Maguire insists some things have changed though since he was sacked by Souths 14 months ago.
He's spent the last year working with the NRL and Kiwis, and is ready to put lessons on leaderships and relationships into practice.
It afforded him the ability to visit a number of clubs and watch every NRL match involving every team, spending weekends at games not just involving the Rabbitohs.
He's also confident the Tigers' players are ready for his approach, a number of whom he's already dealt with before.
"I know Benji and a lot of the team anyway and they know what I'm like," he said.
"They'll probably take the mickey out of me at times and have a laugh about that.
"But at the end of the day they know the reasons why I do things is because I want each individual to be successful to better the team."
Australian Associated Press
