Maguire defends under-fire Burgess twins
Aug 10, 2017 - 5:31 PM South Sydney coach Michael Maguire has hailed the turnaround in form from Burgess twins Thomas and George after they played a key role in the win over Canterbury.The front-row pair combined for over 250 metres gained as they made plenty of inroads into a soft Bulldogs middle at ANZ Stadium on Thursday.
The display comes a week after club legend Mark Carroll suggested the duo shed some kilos in a bid to rediscover the form that led them to the club's breakthrough 2014 premiership.
"They've been under all sorts of different pressures through the way people talk about them but I thought between both of them tonight, I was really happy for them," Maguire said.
"Tom showed a really great performances there and George has been working hard on his game. They've been put under a fair bit of pressure through all sorts of different media.
"But I'm just really impressed by how those two are playing."
Older brother and club captain Sam said his siblings were aided by the team's 84 per cent completion rate, but was was also proud of their efforts.
"We just make it easier for the big boys when we complete and hold the ball. It's a bit of a vicious circle. We've found our game a little bit in terms of completion," he said.
"I'm certainly proud of the way Thomas and George, the way they've handled themselves."
The skipper also reserved praise for rookie Cameron Murray, who matched the Burgess' performances with 113 metres, four tackle busts and a team-high 36 tackles in his first career start.
"I thought he was fantastic for us, just lived what we're about as a club," Sam said.
"He's a young kid, a captain through many grades underneath him, through Origin and under-20s team. He's a joy to be around, he makes the senior boys feel young at times."
Maguire said he was proud of the way his team have rallied with wins over the past fortnight despite falling out of the finals race.
"I've been very impressed with how the boys have handled this last month," he said.
"Just to see the young boys come in and play the way they have been and obviously with our leaders taking them under their wing making sure that they do all the little things.
"It's allowing us to get some good performances."
Source: AAP
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