Michael Maguire bracing for heat from NRL coaches as Blues' post-Origin celebrations revealed
The victorious Blues team will have woken up on Thursday morning feeling sore from more than just the brutal State of Origin decider.
Coach Michael Maguire revealed his troops were up and about well into the wee hours of the morning as they celebrated their historic series win at Suncorp Stadium.
And he reckons that might earn him some heat from NRL coaches hoping their Origin stars will back up. Not that he's particularly fussed.
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"It was nice to see them and all the families ... I think we we're still going there at two o'clock," he said on Nine's Today on Thursday morning.
Maguire appeared on Nine's Today on Thursday morning. Nine
"I'd say there might be a few coaches a bit annoyed with the fact that they celebrated, but you don't get to do this very often in your life.
"It was really nice to see all the families and the players together for so long last night."
Based on various Instagram posts from Blues players, it looks like celebrations began in the dressing room immediately after the presentations wrapped up.
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Angus Crichton and Jarome Luai posted these photos to instagram after the State of Origin decider. Instagram
Some then moved into the Suncorp Stadium stands, before kicking on to Caxton St.
With a post from well after midnight, Blues five-eighth Jarome Luai bid "goodnight" to Brisbane with a photo out the front of the iconic Caxton Hotel.
"They all had a bit of a go, but I won't give away too much so they don't get in trouble," Maguire chuckled.
"It was pretty special with all the players and the staff there, especially at the end of the night, being together and celebrating what they achieved."
Angus Crichton posted these two photos to instagram after the State of Origin decider. Instagram
For the man himself, Maguire said an Origin series victory was the realisation of a childhood dream.
"You always dream of these moments as a young kid, and then all of a sudden I got the opportunity to coach," Maguire said
"There's so many people sitting here (saying) 'if you don't win the first one, you're not going to win the series'.
"To the credit of my players and the staff, they just pushed away the noise and came together in a great way.
Payne Haas and Zac Lomax posted these photos to instagram after the State of Origin decider. Instagram
"The camps that we had, we've shared a lot of special moments together. I think that's probably something that was shown there within that game.
"To come up here, history was probably against us, but they were able to achieve it."
The Raiders will host the Warriors in the first NRL match of the weekend on Friday night. The Warriors have named both Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell to back up.
