Broncos assistant Ben Te’o in heated altercation with Madge... and it could see him walk

The off-field dramas at the Brisbane Broncos have continued with reports emerging that a heated verbal altercation took place between coach Michael Maguire and assistant coach Ben Te’o.

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Days after being embroiled in a feud with club legend Gorden Tallis - which ended with his name being removed from a conference room at the club’s headquarters - the Broncos have once again found themselves in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

According to Code Sports, Maguire and Te’o clashed over team tactics in the lead-up to their win over the Melbourne Storm last round and the duo have since undergone crisis talks with the club’s football boss, Troy Thomson.

A Broncos spokesman confirmed the meeting between Maguire, Te’o and Thomson to the publication.

This comes after a “robust discussion” reached a boiling part during a dinner days before the club’s 2025 Grand Final rematch last Friday night.

It is understood that Te’o, who was hired by Kevin Walters before his sacking, is contemplating whether he will remain at Red Hill and there are fears among the staff that he could quit his job on the coaching staff.

Previously playing under Maguire where he was a member of the 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs team that broke the famous 43-year premiership drought, he works in the Broncos’ defensive system and has built a formidable combination with other assistants Matt Ballin and Trent Barrett.

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Veteran rugby league reporter Peter Badel, who broke the story and is as plugged in as journalists come in Brisbane, said he was “blown away” when he first caught wind of it.

“I’m totally shocked by this,” Badel said on SEN Radio.

“Ben Te’o and Madge go back to their South Sydney days. In 2014, they won a comp together... Ben Te’o was one of his key back rowers, and they’ve had a long history since.

“Of course, Ben Te’o then employed by Kevin Walters just weeks before he was let go and Michael Maguire took over. He honoured Ben Te’o’s contract, and Ben Te’o has been wonderful for that club.

“The last few years when he helped them to a premiership, he was the man that resided over their defensive structures and I know he’s hugely popular with the players and so this has come as a total bombshell for me... I’m totally stunned right now.

“This is the last thing the Broncos need going into the battle of Brisbane.”

Meanwhile, former Broncos legend Corey Parker — who knows both Te’o and Maguire from his connection from the club — said the altercation “must be so bad” for the former to be considering quitting.

“Having disagreements as coaches and assistants is OK because that’s ultimately how you challenge each other ultimately trying to get better,” Parker said on SEN Radio.

“This altercation must be so bad, the fact that Ben Te’o is potentially going I’m done.”

Te’o opened up on Maguire’s “evolution” as a coach in an appearance on James Graham’s ‘The Bye Round Podcast’ last year, revealing how he had “changed” since his early days at South Sydney.

“He was) young, aggressive, straight-forward, very challenging and he’d go off pretty easily,” Te’o said at the time.

“I’d say he’s a lot more measured now. Obviously (he has had) time and experience. But the blow-ups aren’t the same. He’s evolved.

“He’s gone to different clubs, he’s gone through rep footy, but his principles are the same it’s been different being a player underneath him and now working for him.”

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