Maguire reveals reasons behind proposed bus ride down Caxton Street

Queensland Police have formally knocked back NSW Blues coach Michael Maguire’s request for the team bus to take a trip down the infamous Caxton Street prior to Game III on Wednesday night due to safety concerns.

The ride down the heart of Brisbane prior to an Origin game was a long-standing tradition for the travelling Blues team but it was officially put to an end after 2011.

Maguire, wanting the current crop of Blues to re-live some of the historical moments he has been eagerly teaching his side about, was very keen to take a detour en route to Suncorp Stadium but was quickly shut down.

The Premiership-winning coach admitted that his heavy emphasis on the rich history of the Blues was the main factor in the proposed move that didn’t eventuate for the visiting side.

“100 per cent true (I wanted to do it), I wasn’t aware that you couldn’t do it,” Maguire told SEN 1170 The Run Home.

“We’ve learnt a lot about that history of the Origin team and way back in 85, when Steve Mortimer took the bus down the street, it wasn't aware that it’s been locked off for a long time.

“It would’ve been nice to be able to experience something there that the boys have now got the knowledge of, but the police force here in Brisbane knocked it on the head straight away and said it hadn’t been done in years.

“Obviously because of the way the world has shifted.”

Despite being criticised by Queenslanders for never playing an Origin game himself, Maguire has fully bought into the ‘old boy’ mentality that saw NSW dominate the early decades of the marquee event.

“It (the idea) was actually around the history,” Maguire added.

“One thing that the players have really created is getting more of a knowledge around the past and the old boys, we had a really special night prior to the first game, which they call the ‘True Blue night’.

“We had about 80 of the old boys in a room and proper players were in that room together, it was a very special time getting the players and the new crop (together).

“They’ve definitely hung on to a lot of that as they’ve moved throughout the series.”

Maguire will have a chance to become the first coach since Ricky Stuart in 2005 to lead his side to a Game III victory in Queensland on Wednesday night.