How coach Michael Maguire's mission to Harlem saved the South Sydney Rabbitohs There has been a lot of reasons for South Sydney resurgence, but many are pointing to Michael Maguire's influence. MICHAEL Maguire woke on the floor of an apartment in Harlem with only a backpack and ambition. It was 2003 and the New York City borough, home of the Apollo Theatre and Grammy-award winning rapper Puff Daddy, is the last place you'd expect to find an ambitious Australian, who a decade later would become the figurehead for a generation of desperate South Sydney supporters who share the belief that in 2013 they will finally claim their first rugby league premiership in 42 years. Maguire was 29 when he embarked on his fact-finding mission in the US. He arrived focused and determined. The same couldn't be said for South Sydney. That same year, the Rabbitohs would collect another wooden spoon, their sixth, after they finished last with just three lowly wins in the NRL competition. Not for the first time, the pride of the league was on its knees. Financially they were broke. The taxation department were only ever a phone call away. The 80,000 supporters that had marched to Town Hall three years earlier in 2000 to save the club from extinction could no longer stomach turning up to games. The day Souths snatched one of those rare victories, 41-14 against Melbourne, just over 7,000 people were in attendance at the Sydney Football Stadium. Michael Maguire's ambition has helped make South Sydney the pride of the league once more. Officials tried to fudge the crowd, but the empty blue seats every weekend made the dismal numbers impossible to fix. Given the on-field performances, you could hardly blame the shattered fans for failing to show their face. Their beloved team were the laughing stock of the league, thumped most weeks by 30, 40, 50 and 60 points. Club greats like John Sattler, who famously played the 1970 grand final with a broken jaw, described that period in the club's history as embarrassing. "It was seriously tough times, but I suppose the spirit of South Sydney is that we never give up and find a way,"" Sattler said. "It was hard to say you were a Souths fan back then, but now under Maguire we're walking tall."" Imagine if every Souths supporter back then was told it would take at least another 10 years before their beloved Bunnies would make a serious challenge for a premiership. Perhaps they would've understood if they'd known about Maguire. In just two seasons, Maguire has brought belief back to the Burrow. And while Oscar-winning owner Russell Crowe and superstar fullback Greg Inglis will always steal the splashy headlines, it's the modestly-spoken, Maguire, who rugby league immortal and club legend Bob McCarthy has no hesitation describing as the "best buy in the club's history." "I think Craig Coleman (former Souths halfback and coach) has said that too,"" McCarthy said. He's got every player fit and willing to play for each other, we haven't had that in some time. He's a special coach."' It seems you can't walk through Mascot, Maroubra, La Perouse, Botany or Redfern without bumping into another Maguire believer. Take this from former South Sydney captain Mario Fenech. The Rabbitohs celebrate a Dylan Walker try on the way to a narrow win against the Bulldogs. "I pinch myself sometimes and think, "Wow,'"" Fenech said. It was only a few years ago we weren't a shadow of the team that we've got now. Judging by what I'm seeing, it's the coach. They could've had Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett ... this bloke is as good. He and his staff have transformed our team from being a park footy team to being a team that is on top of the table. This side has got it all covered. They have an aggressive pack of forwards, great set of halves and strike power out wide. I'd hate to tackle the fullback (Inglis). Last year we finished one game away from a grand final. If Adam Reynolds doesn't pull his hammy last year, we probably would've been there. "There's no doubt now that we're heading in the right direction."" Neck problems forced Maguire to retire as a player in 1998. His career spanned only 18 first grade matches for the Canberra Raiders, which included five appearances for former Super League club, the Adelaide Rams. And while he may not have boasted the incredible power, footwork or speed as former Raiders teammates and club icons like Mal Meninga, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley or Bradley Clyde, Maguire understood the sacrifice required to be the best, by surrounding him with the best. He watched them, learned from them and with his own playing career over, he gravitated towards coaching almost immediately. He loved training and learning. Greg Inglis trains with the Rabbitohs. He would read books and study other athletes from rival codes and would often spend hours pouring over statistics. That fixation on excellence still exists, with Maguire admitting to waking at 2am to analyse video of the Rabbitohs next three opponents during the season. It was originally the taste, first as Canberra's strength and conditioning coach, then as their assistant reserve grade coach in 2001 which began to feed his huge appetite for coaching. And so he packed his bags and began knocking on the doors of the biggest sporting franchises in the world. A friend's flat in Harlem was Maguire's base as the wide-eyed Aussie boldly showed up on the door step of NFL clubs including the New York Giants and New York Jets. He also visited Stanford University. He would ask to speak with the head coach, assistant coach, strength coach, nutritionist, the office secretary - anyone involved in the business that Maguire felt he could learn from. "I'm still looking to learn every day,"" he says. True to his word, Maguire met with Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson twice during his two years, from 2010-2011, as head coach of English Super League club Wigan. That quest for knowledge, and a desire to share it "especially with my players"" was never more prevalent than last week. It was just after 7am last Wednesday and Maguire was seated alongside artistic director and lead violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti. For 90 minutes, the South Sydney coach, wearing collared shirt and suit pants, sat comfortably in front of a collection of just over 40 suits, including high-powered chief executives, managing directors, business stakeholders and marketing experts, who had gathered over an intimate breakfast to learn more about ways to achieve success. Just like 10 years ago, it's the last place you'd expect to find Maguire. The oddity of the unlikely duo sharing their wisdom, given their vastly different backgrounds and occupations, was quickly erased when Tognetti smiled knowingly as Maguire spoke about discipline, training and leadership. "Greg Inglis after every game will still come and sit in my office and talk about how he can get better,"" Maguire said. If you think great players don't need leadership, I do that with them every single day. Sammy Burgess is the same, he's a massive personality within the community and he still makes mistakes, as we've seen. "So we sit down and talk about strategy and how to handle the environment better."" Within the game, Maguire is seen as a disciplinarian who isn't afraid to axe a player for turning up late to training. Players are expected to wear the same socks every day to training with Maguire refusing to let them take the training paddock until they do so. But he also exerts a tough love mentality. He is forever praising his players and encouraging them to develop not only as footballers, but also as men. However, if they fail to meet the standards of which he and his leadership group of players have determined, he'll wheel out the big stick. "I've dropped some big names from our team for certain reasons over the last two years,"" Maguire said. But I'm very open about it with the players and we set boundaries and I'm very transparent that if they do cross that there'll be ramifications. "The leadership group are asked if a certain individual is harming our chance to win the grand final and if they say, "Yes," well it's an easy situation to deal with."" Fenech bleeds red and green. He's watched the conveyor belt of coaches roll through the club over the past decade, only for disappointment to follow. Fenech, who played 181 first grade games for the club, points to Maguire's "winning culture" that has everyone from the gear steward to the club captain knowing that if the line is crossed, there'll be repercussions. "I remember early in the year Nathan Merritt came in slightly late for training and he (Maguire) said, "Hey, see you later. Stuff like that is big in terms of discipline. You can't tolerate that type of attitude and every player knows where the bar is set, which is pretty bloody high. Boasting 25,000 club members, the most in the NRL, the Rabbitohs don't actually need stories like this one. They are self-sufficient again, flush with Crowe's cash and corporate support. Their jersey is worth over $2 million in sponsorship, a remarkable achievement, not only considering where they've come from, but also for the fact that they are only one of two other clubs in the NRL, along with the Brisbane Broncos, who can boast a positive balance sheet. But in a sporting year that will forever be tarnished by the drugs in sport inquiry, a year that so many fans would rather forget, South Sydney are the club that gives every fan hope. They are the club who have been to the brink. It might have taken 10 years, even longer for others, but they are back once again, the pride of the league.