The Michael Maguire era at Brisbane has begun with a gruelling training session in searing heat that could easily be tagged "The Hunt for Broncos' October".
On the lips of watching fans and media was the possibility of a return of former St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt to the NRL club where he made his name.
The lips of the players were parched after being flogged in 30-plus-degree heat at the unorthodox time - for the Broncos at least - of 1.30pm. Prop Martin Taupau threw up at the end of it.
Maguire, determined to get the club back to playing in the big dance in October as soon as he can, said in characteristic fashion that the timing of training was "just the norm".
The new coach also waxed lyrical about why securing Hunt for the 2025 season was on his radar, while realistically stating there was plenty to do to make that a reality.
Hunt, 34, said in Australian camp this week that returning to the Broncos was on his agenda and had a certain "romance" about it, considering he was signed as a 12-year-old and played his best football at the club in 187 games.
Hunt's manager Col Davis is speaking to several clubs about their interest, with the Broncos one, and after his commitments in the Australia camp at the Pacific Championships are over those conversations will ramp up.
"Ben is a world-class player and has plenty of experience,'' Maguire said.
"We all know what he is capable of and what he would bring to the place. We will let him go through the Australian space this week, and after that he will probably sit down and work out what he wants to do.
"They are things that are a work in progress. One thing I won’t do is talk too much about contracts, but someone of Ben’s calibre coming to the team would definitely be great."
Hunt's stated desire to return to the Broncos also piqued Maguire's interest.
"What it does say is a fair bit about the place and the experiences he’s had. It shows how special the Broncos (environment) is. I will talk to the right people once he finishes with the Aussies," Maguire said.
Salary-cap space will be an issue, and another factor will be the playing future of Ezra Mam, who was involved in a car accident that injured three people while he was allegedly driving unlicensed and under the influence of a prohibited drug. Results of a second drug test are still pending.
The Broncos five-eighth subsequently checked into a rehabilitation facility.
A final resolution on Mam's playing future is yet to be determined.
"I couldn’t tell you the time-line. That is a work in progress," Maguire said.
"Ezra is working on himself at the moment. I met Ezra four years ago and he is a good young man.
"He is going through a bit. I said ‘if you own it you can deal with it moving forward’, and that is something I know he is doing."
Maguire was impressed with the players' efforts in their first session on Monday and said Taupau would recover.
"He was doing it a bit tough there, but he’ll be fine. He was OK. They all had a red-hot crack. It was nice to see," Maguire grinned.
Big guns Payne Haas, Selwyn Cobbo and Brendan Piakura were among a large squad that took part.
