IT'S BEEN a long journey from the fields at St Edmund's College to NRL mentor but Michael Maguire is just two wins away from ending one of the longest droughts in rugby league.
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The former Canberra junior engineered a stunning turnaround for South Sydney last night as it won its first final in 25 years and stormed into the semi-finals.
The Rabbitohs trounced the Canberra Raiders 38-16 at ANZ Stadium and will play the Canterbury Bulldogs on the weekend with the winner advancing to the grand final. The impressive and ruthless performance came just a week after Souths were belted by the Melbourne Storm.
And fans of the oldest club in the competition are starting to dream about a fairytale rise to the top as they aim for their first premiership since 1971.
''It's a good feeling, but we know we need to improve as a group going into this week,'' Maguire said.
''It's not about me, it's about the players. I'm just very focused on the players and making sure they perform and if we do that we'll give ourselves a good chance.''
Maguire is a former Raider. He played schoolboy rugby with Raiders coach David Furner when the pair were at St Edmund's, but the semi-final battle pitted them against each other more than 20 years later.
But had the Canberra rivalry added any extra motivation for Maguire? ''No, not at all,'' Maguire replied. ''I was just really keen for the boys to get their best performance and I thought they did that.
''The [Canberra rivalry] didn't really cross my mind at all to be honest.''
Issac Luke, Adam Reynolds and John Sutton were outstanding for the Rabbitohs as they dominated the Raiders.
