Maguire will return home to Northern Jets this year for the shortened Farrer League season after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the NEAFL.

Maguire has spent the past three seasons at Canberra Demons, where he has developed into one of the premier midfielders in the NEAFL competition.

There is concerns for the future of the NEAFL, given the desire of some AFL clubs to leave the competition.

There is also fears for the future of the Demons given the impact of the pandemic on the sporting industry.

Maguire, who is virtually a poster boy for the pathway the Demons' are trying to establish, believes it is imperative that the Demons return next year.

"It'd be nuts if they didn't have a state league Canberra side going forward," Maguire said.

"There's such a big pool we can grab from, whether that's South Coast, Wollongong and then all of the Riverina. It's great for blokes like myself, from around the Wagga region, to go only two and a half hours to get to play in a state league comp instead of having to go Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney or wherever.

"It's been enormous (for me). The NEAFL competition was on the improve and was a reasonably strong competition. It's great for the development of those sorts of players and even your blokes like your Rhys Mooneys and Riley Corbetts and players like that. They played really good footy in RFL and Farrer, they can decide even when they're 19, 20, 21 if they want to have a crack then they can come down and have a go. Even if it's only for a year or two, it's good for their footy.

"The second benefit of it is those blokes come down, have a year, two, three years there, and then if they do decide to go back to the country, then it's only strengthening the country league as well in the long run."

"It's a really good thing."

Maguire said the Demons had been 'huge' for his development as a footballer.

His 2018 season got him a start at Sydney Swans pre-season and had him very close to being drafted by the AFL club.

Maguire believes the Demons, and NEAFL, 'must' return next year.

"I think it's just got to happen, really," he said.

"There is too much talent around that area that will be lost because of it, if it doesn't go ahead. So I'm very hopeful for that."

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