Fresh off the back of a World Cup campaign, leading the men's New Zealand side to a semi final clash, Michael Maguire is set to join Raiders pre-season training in December to take up his new role as senior NRL consultant.
For Raiders centre Matt Timoko, the opportunity to learn from Maguire and take his game to a new level is something that he is excited about.
Timoko was named in the extended Kiwis squad before the World Cup began, before missing out on a spot in the final squad.
The 22-year-old said Maguire spoke to him before making the final decision and he is looking forward to improving his game with Maguire around.
“He [Maguire] just said ‘look there’s a few things we need to work on in terms of defence and stuff’. But with him being here it’s going to help out a lot more, not only getting Ricky’s opinion but I’m getting Madge’s opinion as well," Timoko said.
"He is another respected coach who’s been there and done that, he’s won a comp with the Rabbitohs back in 2014, so it’ll be good to get two perspectives on how I can improve my game.”
Timoko also believes that Maguire's hard approach will benefit the team, and can't wait for the players to all buy in.
“We’ve heard that Madge is tough, he loves going hard in training and I think that’s something that’s going to help us this year," Timoko said.
"We’re going to relish off that, just being that tough team. He is on break at the moment, but I’m looking forward to him coming back and all the boys getting stuck in.”
While he just missed out on a spot at the World Cup, Timoko said that having a break over the off-season has him primed and ready to get to work in the pre-season.
“I was a little bit bummed that I didn’t make it but at the same time it was good to get a break. It was my first full season last year and I got to go home and spend time with family and friends I haven’t seen in three to four years," Timoko said.
"I’m looking forward to putting in the work this pre-season and obviously it’s good we’ve got Madge here too so we can keep track of how we’re going. I’m looking forward to putting my best foot forward this year.”
Timoko returned to pre-season training two weeks ago, alongside many of the younger players in the squad. Despite not being due back for another couple of weeks, a few on the senior players came back early, including Jamal Fogarty and Corey Harawira-Naera.
Timoko said that it was great to have those two players return ahead of schedule and help guide the younger players.
“It shows how dedicated they are to the club. They still had an extra couple of weeks they could’ve spent off but they’ve come in and chose to help out with the younger boys as well and it just shows that they are maturing to real leaders," Timoko said.
“I want to try and be [a leader], obviously I’m still young but at the same time I want to be approachable to those younger fellas. I want them to feel like they can talk to me about things and I can try and teach them things. So yeah that’s something I’m looking to try and be.”
