‘The big fella had a few tears': Journeyman to make debut as Broncos lose key men for Bulldogs clash
Jensen (calf) and Arthars (rib) will miss Friday night's clash, while veteran Ben Hunt is likely to return next week as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
It's a blow for the Broncos who were already without Origin stars Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan, Reece Walsh and Gehamat Shibasaki for next week's decider, but Maguire is confident his forward pack can get the job done.
Ben Talty will make his debut off the bench after starting the year playing with North Sydney in the NSW Cup, while journeyman Delouise Hoeter will start his first game since 2023.
'Ben Talty has come in here about a month ago and put his head down, and he's going to be on the bench,' Maguire said.
'He reminded me about how special rugby league is. I was able to sit with him yesterday and talk about how he is going to debut.
'The big fella had a few tears and gave me a big squeeze. It gave me a real sense of what it really means to play NRL.
'He has been trying for a long time, so it just goes to show how special it is what our game brings.
'For 'Della' (Hoeter), he has been out for 12 months, so it's another great story.'
Maguire backed Shibasaki to handle the pressure on his Origin debut, with the backline changes opening the door for Cobbo to return to the Broncos side for the first time since round 13.
Cobbo was dropped to reserve grade and has subsequently signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins after the Broncos were unable to offer him enough money to entice him to stay.
Maguire didn't want to comment on Cobbo's looming departure and backed him to take his opportunity at fullback.
'I'm not going to go into that. I stood here at the same thing last week talking about the same story. Selwyn is now focused on playing,' he said.
'We talk about players and how it's hard to keep everyone. That's what we're working through.
'Selly is working through this year and we've got a great opportunity with where we are at the moment. The competition is well and truly alive.
'Selly has been good over the past month.
'As much as you talk about turbulent, we've worked through things and Selly is really focused on playing with his teammates.
'He's in good form at the moment and trained really well just then, so he's ready to go.'
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Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Cam Murray, Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are among key men to have spent time out of the side this year. The latest injury comes just as 16th-placed Souths appeared to be approaching full strength and could open up a spot for beleaguered Lewis Dodd to return to the halves. Signed before Bennett's coaching return was confirmed, the Englishman has been given only one chance to start in the halves at struggling Souths - at Magic Round amid a slew of injuries. But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. "He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else," the coach said. 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But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. "He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else," the coach said. Anthony Seibold insists Tom Trbojevic is happy staying at centre for a consecutive week after a controversial shift from fullback for Manly's win over Wests Tigers. "He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation," the Manly coach said. "He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback." NRL larrikin Brandon Smith will make his long-awaited South Sydney club debut as the Rabbitohs cop another blow in a season of injury misfortune. 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"He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation," the Manly coach said. "He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback."
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an hour ago
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Tiny Queensland country town becomes mud-racing capital of Australia
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