Sacked Tigers coach Michael Maguire smashed a table with a BASEBALL BAT to fire up players

Michael Maguire didn’t get enough wins to keep his job with the Tigers but he definitely didn’t lack fire in the belly, with skipper James Tamou revealing his former coach shocked players by smashing a table with a baseball bat during a pre-game rev-up.

A fired-up Maguire pulled the stunt before Wests’ round seven clash against South Sydney and it definitely did the trick.

Maguire is well known for wearing his heart on his sleeve. He’s seen here blowing up over his side’s poor performance in the ‘Tales from Tiger Town’ documentary

Luke Brooks slotted a field goal right at the death for an upset 23-22 triumph that marked the team’s second win after a shocking start to the season.

Co-captain James Tamou said Maguire never gave up on trying to draw spirited performances from his side, even if that meant giving the players a shock.

‘It actually got me fired up; it was certainly something different,’ Tamou told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘It was a great tactic. He ended up hitting a table – he realised he hit it too hard – but he stayed serious, so he could keep ramming the point home. It goes to show you the sort of coach Madge is.

‘He’s the really emotional type … Madge loved riling you up and trying to get you going.’

Wests winger Ken Maumalo, who joined the club midway through the 2021 season said, ‘I remember we had a team meeting before the game. All the boys were seated, then he was like, “Alright, boys, we better start f***ing swinging out there today”. Then he went off [with the bat].’

Maguire is known for his emotional coaching style, which once saw him smash a hole in the dressing rooms at Manly

Maguire’s aggressive style worked wonders at Souths, who won the 2014 premiership under him (pictured)

Maguire was known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, a Wests tradition that can be traced back to the late Tommy Raudonikis, who once shattered the windows in a Campbelltown dressing room at halftime to inspire his side.

Maguire coached 80 games for the Tigers and lost 51 of those outings in three disappointing seasons, a far cry from his 2014 premiership year at the helm of the Rabbitohs. 

The 48-year-old was the star of last year’s Fox’s 2021 docu-series ‘Tales from Tigertown’, a behind-the-scenes look into the club during their awful season.

Maguire has coached 303 first-grade games, starting with a short tenure in Super League with Wigan, followed by 153 games at Souths.

The former Canberra Raiders player currently holds the head role for the Kiwis international side, which will take on Tonga at Auckland’s Mt Smart stadium on June 25.