Broncos coach Michael Maguire has sought advice and perspectives from members of the club's 1992 World Club Challenge winning team as the NRL premiers prepare to face Hull KR.
The 1992 Broncos, who included Allan Langer, Steve Renouf, Glenn Lazarus and Michael Hancock, beat Wigan 22-8 at Central Park in a game timed to capitalise on many players being in the UK for the World Cup final less than a week before.
It was the only time Brisbane have won the world title play-off in England, with the 2001 and 2007 Broncos losing to St Helens at Bolton by narrow margins, and Maguire revealed he had spoken to the former players about their success.
"I've been able to talk to a few of the players who played in that game, and it meant a lot to them, the guys in '92," he said.
"Being able to travel across and be successful, they've been able to hold onto that since '92. These guys get to carry that, but we know it's going to be a tough one.
"I spoke to a lot of the old boys when I first arrived (at Brisbane) and they spoke about what the premiership meant to them, and they talked about going overseas.
"But I dug a bit deeper after we had the success last year, to find out a bit more about what it meant to them.
"And they all talked about what it meant to be able to travel with a group of men to come to the other side of the world."
The Broncos have left no stone unturned in their bid to win the World Club Challenge for the first since beating Hunter Mariners in the final of a 22-team tournament involving the 10 Australasian and 12 European Super League clubs in 1997.
The prestige of the World Club Challenge
The Broncos arrived in London last Tuesday to step up preparations for Thursday night's (UK time) clash with Hull KR at MKM Stadium.
On fullback Reece Walsh's sparkling performance in an opposed session with London Broncos at the weekend, he said: "We need a team performance. Reece is able to do what he does because of the team and it's something the boys understand. They all play their role".
Proving no expense has been spared in the pursuit of Brisbane's third world title, the squad travelled on a charter flight to the north of England on Sunday morning.
The Broncos then had another opposed session on Monday with John Cartwright's Hull FC - Hull KR's cross-town rivals.
Maguire had refused to talk about star prop Payne Haas’ three-year contract with South Sydney when the Broncos touched down in the English capital but as they moved base to Lincolnshire he spoke about the affair for the first time.
With the Rabbitohs having now officially signed Haas from 2027 after Brisbane waived the 10-day cooling-off period, Maguire said he had spoken to Haas about his reasons for leaving - but won’t be sharing them publicly.
"I've had conversations with Payne and they'll stay with me," Maguire said.
“You always want your players to be here forever, but the reality is everyone has their thoughts and feelings about what they want to do into the future. But one thing I do know is that Payne’s with us for the next 12 months.
"You know, I love coaching him, we love having him and that’s what we’re going to be doing - focusing on what we have right now.
“I’m not going to go into ‘why’. I’ve had discussions with Payne and as I said, our focus now is about what we’re doing right now.
"And that’s all I’m going to say. I’m going to continually say that because that’s what we have in front of us. I’m fortunate I can coach him for another 12 months and we’re looking forward to being able to achieve again.
"He’s been at the club for a long time, he’s been through everything you could possibly find in the club and I’ve always said he loves the club and he still does.
“Whilst we’ve got him here, I know his focus here is about getting stuck into the season and getting on the journey again."
Asked to respond to reports the pair did not see eye to eye, the coach said: “I don’t get caught up in the noise.
"I’ve been able to share some of the most incredible things with Payne. One with the NSW team, where we did something pretty special there, and last year with the premiership.
"So, you know, really special moments with Payne and I want to make sure we have more because that’s what you have, into the future, when you’re coaching a player.
"He loves being around the players so we’re looking forward to what’s ahead."
Maguire also talked up the 26-year-old's continuing relationship with his team-mates, saying: "He's got 12 months here, nine months now, and he's going to make sure he enjoys his footy with his team-mates that he's been here with for a long time.
"You talk about time spent together, they've had a lot more time than what I've been here. That time is the building blocks that we're still going to create something very special at the Broncos."
