Michael Maguire makes telling Selwyn Cobbo call as ugly Broncos training detail emerges

The new Brisbane Broncos coach has made a huge call on his back ahead of the 2025 season.

Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire has made the call to shift Selwyn Cobbo back to the wing in 2025 after reporter Joel Gould made a big claim about the outside back's return to pre-season training. The 22-year-old's future at the Broncos has been a major talking point with reports either Kotoni Staggs or Cobbo will have to take a pay cut to remain at the club.

Maguire has spoken highly of Staggs since taking over pre-season training at the Broncos and also talked about potentially shifting Cobbo back to the wing. Cobbo made his name for the Broncos playing on the wing in 2022, but shifted to the centres under Kevin Walters in 2024.

Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire (pictured right) has claimed Selwyn Cobbo (pictured far left) will start the season on the wing. (Images: AAP)
Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire (pictured right) has claimed Selwyn Cobbo (pictured far left) will start the season on the wing. (Images: AAP)

Despite playing both positions when required, many feel Cobbo's best footy comes out wide or at fullback. And Maguire appears to have made the call to shift Cobbo to the wing in 2025. Maguire has now had two months of pre-season training with the Broncos and admitted he has been using Cobbo on the wing ahead of the 2025 NRL season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Selwyn has come back in good shape,” Maguire told The Courier Mail. “He is in a really good frame of mind. I’m looking forward to this next month and seeing how he develops.

“At the moment I’ve been playing him on the wing. With what he can do and his carries, how he can play and his height, he is probably on the wing at the moment."

Deine Mariner could be the man to shift into the vacant centre position with Jesse Arthurs occupying the other wing. Cobbo can also be used to fill in at centre and fullback throughout the season.

While Maguire claimed he has been impressed with Cobbo's training, AAP reporter Gould claimed the young star may have returned to training under done. Gould was asked about Reece Walsh's fitness after reports the superstar fullback was struggling to start pre-season.

New Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire (pictured left) will start Selwyn Cobbo on the wing in 2025. (AAP)
New Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire (pictured left) will start Selwyn Cobbo on the wing in 2025. (AAP)

Gould claimed Walsh was never that far behind the pack and had certainly improved under Maguire's 'military' style training. However, the reporter told SEN Radio on Friday that he felt Cobbo needed to prove himself in training having claimed he 'needed work to do'.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I don't see that with Walsh. He may have come back not as quick and as good as some of the other players...Selwyn Cobbo was certainly in that frame. I would say if there was anyone that looked like they needed work to do, it was Selwyn Cobbo," Gould said on Friday.

"I think he was probably one of the guys that was a bit behind. But he has certainly improved from when I saw him." Regardless, Maguire has been impressed with the back and a strong season could go some way into sorting out a future contract with Cobbo's deal ending at the end of 2025.

Some speculation that was shut down was fitness concerns around Reece Walsh. Gould moved to quell any fitness doubt around the superstar fullback and suggested the 22-year-old appears to be back to his best after a tough regime under Maguire.

RELATED:

Maguire has a big decision to make on his two backline stars with big money tied up in the rest of the squad. Walsh, Payne Haas, Ezra Mam and Patrick Carrigan have all recently signed on big money at the Broncos and the salary cap squeeze means Cobbo and Staggs might need to settle for less or head to a rival club.

ADVERTISEMENT

The recent addition of Ben Hunt to the Broncos squad on $1.2 million over two years has made things tougher, but Adam Reynolds is likely to retire at the end of 2025 and free up some money. Maguire talked about his desire to retain both stars, but admitted some of it was out of his hands.

"I want to keep both Kotoni and Selwyn,” new coach Michael Maguire said late last year. “How we achieve that is up to the organisation and what we do there. I tend to steer away from that (salary cap management) and how that happens. At the end of the day, I want both of them here … but how we do that is a work in progress.”

Selwyn Cobbo before a NRL game.
Selwyn Cobbo (pictured) will start on the wing in 2025 as he prepares to negotiate a new contract.