Which coaches are sweating their positions?
Roar Guru
By Steve Kaless, 14 May 2010 Steve Kaless is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Catalan Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Mick Potter, Nathan Brown, NRL, Rugby League
Former Australian rugby league team coach Ricky Stuart. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Let’s for a moment ignore the mass hysteria about which players may be leaving the NRL and instead focus on the impact of the coaches who are returning to these shores. In the past few weeks, England-based coaches Mick Potter and Nathan Brown have announced their intention to return to Australia and explore opportunities in the NRL.
While they publicly made noises about “putting the family first,” privately it is only natural they harbour ambitions to coach at the highest level.
So who should be worried?
Both have enjoyed success in the Super League, particularly Potter who was a revelation in charge of the Catalan Dragons before moving onto St Helens; while Brown was won plenty of fans in Yorkshire during his stint in charge of the Huddersfield Giants.
Potter has probably seen the chances of him grabbing the assistant coach’s job at the Dragons disappear before he even touched down with favourite son Brown the favourite to take that role, and then ultimately the place of Bennett, once the high priest steps down.
But who else might be worth a phone call?
Broncos: Have to be worth asking the question. Current coach Ivan Henjak has even received the full support of the board. We know what that means.
Bulldogs: Potter won a Dally M Player of the Year award and Grand Final with the Bulldogs. He has little chance of displacing current boss Kevin Moore, but there may be some role available.
Cowboys: The pressure builds on Neil Henry. He’d have to be one of the coaches favoured for the chop.
Dragons: No chance of the top spot and Brown would be favourite to take any assistant role to become available.
Eels: Daniel Anderson has won himself plenty of time with last year’s Grand Final.
Knights: Rick Stone has waited a long time at Newcastle and the Knights are likely to give him a while to develop his own team.
Panthers: A key season for Matt Elliot at Penrith. Miss the finals and he’ll have to find another job, give them a shake and he could be there for a while.
Rabbitohs: John Lang fell into the role after Jason Taylor fell down the stairs. Rusty and Co may prefer to get someone in who has a longer term potential.
Raiders: Zero chance of anyone shifting Furner for a long time.
Roosters: An assistant coaches role to Brian Smith could be good option with a pathway to the top job defined (surely Smith can’t coach forever). And Smith’s mentoring is highly thought of.
Sea Eagles: Can’t see anyone moving Des until Des decides he had enough.
Sharks: That is a different story on the other beach. The mail is strong that Stuart won’t be there next year, and given the fact that there could be little else available, even coaching the Sharks becomes attractive.
Storm: At the start of the season, and even now, you’d say there is no chance of dislodging Craig Bellamy. But if revelations force the club’s hand for a completely new set-up, who’s to honestly say it couldn’t happen.
Tigers: Should the Tigers fail to make the finals this season, then surely it’s time for a change in Tiger town. That said, with Royce Simmons and Steve Folkes already in the queue, it looks a bit congested. Folkes himself might fancy getting out of the weights room and back into coaching in the UK.
Titans: John Cartwright could well be on the Gold Coast as long as Wayne Bennett was in Brisbane. A snow’s flakes chance in hell.
Warriors: Ivan Cleary must be getting very nervous, especially if the rumours of former Kiwi coach Brian McClennan heading south are true.
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The Crowd Says (32) | Page 1 of Comments
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Bob said | May 14th 2010 @ 6:11am | Report comment
The irony is that Furner should be one of the coaches under the most pressure. He has taken a squad brimming with talent (Shillington, Campese, Learoyd-Lahrs, Tongue, Dugan, Monaghan) to mediocre results. If you look at the Raiders squad it should not be anywhere near the bottom of the table. The Wayne Bennet’s of this world would have that team in the top 4.
That said – he is such a great guy he can stay there forever as far as I’m concerned.
Steve Kaless said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
I think that is a bit harsh Bob. I think the Raiders are a work in progress, most of their best players are pretty young and if they can keep them together (i.e out of Bondi) then they could become a real force in coming years.
Furner could argue he turned a solid first grader in Shillington into a kangaroo and Learoyd-lars has also kicked on in canberra, the coach should get some wraps for that.
I think the Raiders need a dominant halfback before that they claim they should be in the running at finals time.
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:49am | Report comment
I support Bob and Steve, the Raiders have issues. Not only have they under performed with a fist full of players with representative experience, they have struggled to keep their talent, which Steve makes a point of.
I am inclined to assert that they under perform despite excellent home ground advantage, and they have some quality players in key positions, e.g. Josh Dugan, Terry Campese, Schillington etc, so really they should be better than what they are.
Steve they are a work in progress too, but to also side with Bob they are good enough on paper to be a top eight team. And I agree Steve that the Raiders have been raided of their playing stocks over the years e.g. Michael Weyman and William Zillman.
berra boy said | May 20th 2010 @ 8:48pm | Report comment
Agree completely. If anything, word around town is that Dave isn’t the best communicator but the squad under his control will mature with him. I went to school with Dave and think his demeanour and his approach (though clearly not the most scintillating in the league) is what is needed.
Having said that, if that cowardly traitor Henry had’ve stayed we’d be in a better position – love watching the Cowboys lose these days
M1tch said | May 14th 2010 @ 3:11pm | Report comment
The Raiders dont have a halfback – Campese tries his guts out week in week out but he cant do it himself, the raiders are a building side, Furner will have them pushing for a grand final by 2012
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 3:19pm | Report comment
I agree M1tch, but at present I feel that they are good enough on paper to be a top eight team.
berra boy said | May 20th 2010 @ 8:50pm | Report comment
Canberra Raiders – rebuilding since 1995
Thanks for the dark decade Mal…
oikee said | May 14th 2010 @ 7:08am | Report comment
Steve, i have been very vocal with this very subject over the last few months, but i am starting to realise that maybe its not the coaches fault. Injuires, the ups and downs of a long season, its not really the coaches who are the problem. I think most coaches are pretty good.
I think Ricky Stuart is a great coach, the team does very well considering they have no real superstars. Henjak seems to be doing well with the younger players, i am starting to feel more impressed by there progress, so if the Bronc’s dont make the 8, i wont be worried.
I think sacking a coach if they finish near last is not the way to go, someone has to finish in the bottom 8, and the teams are all pretty good to watch. I have even started to enjoy watching the sharkies play, which i never used to much.
Maybe support coaches is the way to go, like R Simmons at the tigers.
Bob said | May 14th 2010 @ 7:50am | Report comment
Sometimes sacking simply has to be the way to go. Witness the Roosters turn it around after Fittler, ditto the Bulldogs after Folkes. In Super 14 the Reds have gone from whipping boys to mid-table after a simple change of coach (even with a weaker squad).
That being said I am very much opposed to the soccer style mid season sackings that you see in the EPL. All that acheives is the creation of a culture of fear.
oikee said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:29am | Report comment
Agree, young coaches are a no-no, they need a mentor and at least 5-10 years under them. Also if your anywhere near Bennet, you have my vote.
R.Simmons would and should be the next in line, he has done a good appretiship under Sheens.
Emperor Penguin said | May 14th 2010 @ 12:06pm | Report comment
This is the Nathan Brown cautionary tale. Went from hooker to coach.
Probably has the ability to be a good coach, but was out of his depth coaching blokes he played with. He needed time to settle into the role and distance himself from the players a bit.
I’d like to see him at the Dragons doing an aprenticship under Bennett.
Emperor Penguin said | May 14th 2010 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
Ricky Stuart is not a great coach. He is a Jason Taylor level coach.
He inherited a good side and coached under the wing of Gus Gould at the Roosters.
He inherited an okay roster at the Sharks, yet decided to fill the squad with second rowers in every position. Then, when the rules changed at the end of 2008 he couldn’t adapt at all.
He failed at rep footy, losing the world cup. The Sharks would sack him in a heart beat if they could afford to.
Gob Bluth said | May 14th 2010 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
The thing with Stuart is that he disingenious about the state of finances at the Sharks.
He is always happy to say publicly “We have no money and can’t attract anyone” when in fact he is terrible at recruitment and makes plenty of disastrous decisions. There was that bloke from the Bulldogs who hadn’t played first grade, was given $200K a season as the next Sonny Bill and played one first grade game. Now they have Adam Cuthbertson they spent another $200K on, getting splinters in reggies. Sure you have no money when you spend a big chunk of your cap on blokes destined for NSW Cup.
How many halfbacks has he fallen out with as well.
Coaching is more than screaming and yelling and kicking a few chairs on the sidelines. the game has moved on from Stuart.
Tom said | May 14th 2010 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
Not to mention he had Cartwright helping him out at the Roosters. His subsequent performances tend to suggest that Cartwright was the brains behind that operation.
berra boy said | May 20th 2010 @ 8:52pm | Report comment
Champions rarely make great coaches…
M1tch said | May 14th 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
With the players the Warriors are signing, Ivan would have to round 12 2011 to keep his job, Stuart surely must be under pressure, Nathan Brown to be Sharks coach for 2011
Brett McKay said | May 14th 2010 @ 10:57am | Report comment
Steve, just looking through the list there, I wonder if this could be the first season in I-don’t-know-how-many where all 16 coaches see out the year??
That’s not to say there might not still be change for next year though…
Steve Kaless said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Brett,
To be fair, I’m not sure there are many seasons when there are mid season sackings. I could be wrong, but most of the changes seem to happen in the off season.
I think many clubs are loathe to pay out coaches on big salaries when the next bloke will have the same crop of players.
Brett McKay said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:19am | Report comment
Steve, that could well be right I guess. It’s funny, it seems like someone goes every couple of years, but in reality it’s probably nothig like that. Rick Stone is obvioulsy the most recent mid-season replacement, but then I can’t actually think who would have been the most recent before him.
Actually, I can: Brad Fittler.
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment
Mid-season dismissal of coaches has a notable history since the year 2000, but more coaches have departed at seasons end. With Jason Taylor, Chris Anderson, Murray Hurst, Paul Langmack and Peter Sharp coming to mind (just to name some) as mid-season departures, I feel that Brett McKay’s point certainly holds some substance.
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 11:24am | Report comment
This is an intriguing subject, and many worthwhile points have been noted above.
Coaches play a vital part as a stakeholder in team performance, but as Oikee has noted there are other factors to consider. The players’ performance is of crucial importance, yet the most valuable for me is club culture. A miserable culture is the most significant causation of failure. Yes, a losing culture hurts morale, but if a club has a comfortable environment the potential is near unlimited.
There are some variables which can hurt clubs like disharmony among players, troubled relationships between players and coaches, team performance, and what I will call “other drama” and please use your imagination for what this might include, but when you boil it down clubs with a supportive culture, who back their coaches and players as much as they can seem to bounce back quite quickly.
Yes, some changes to personnel helps too, including the coach, yet for me a stable and encouraging work environment can solve many of the problems which have been identified.
As a side point I would like to see Phil Economides back in a coaching or development capacity of some kind, he seems to be able to get the best out of his resources. Nicholas R.W. Henning – Australian Author
Steve Kaless said | May 14th 2010 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
Where is Phil? He worked wonders at the Gold Coast and hasn’t been heard of since? Well I’m sure he has been heard of, its not like he is a missing person, but you get my drift.
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
The last coaching assignment he had, which I am aware of, was coaching Fiji and I recall he coached them during the last Rugby League World Cup. He has spent most of last twelve years working as a builder.
M1tch said | May 14th 2010 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
He is coaching the Souths-Logan magpies in the QLD cup, doing pretty well currently 3rd
sunshinecoaster said | May 14th 2010 @ 3:17pm | Report comment
steven kearny must be up there as a young coach on the rise,the best coaches obivously rate him highly.
Ferner,well i think he deserves next year at least,my impression also is something is brewing at the Radiers,next year should tell us that
Ricky Stuart,i honestly still dont know about this guy,looking at his roster at the Sharks its hard to hang him on that but he seems to have had issues every where hes coached,to me hes got a great football brain but probaly needs to be less emotional about things he cant control
Cleary,yea i dont think hes safe,things have imploded fairly rapidly at the Warriors in the past just ask Daniel Anderson.I hope hes safe because he has been hit by an injury crisis to his big gun players,he needs to get them back on track once he has them back on board and prove he has something to build on.
oikee said | May 15th 2010 @ 2:49pm | Report comment
Agree, he would be the 1st coach to get a job. He has been mentored by 2 of the best, and has the respect of players to boot. He was fanrtastic for the Kiwis, always gave his heart and soul. Very Immpressive.
Gob Bluth said | May 14th 2010 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
Kearney is certainly the most rated coach not coaching an NRL team (head coaching obviously). He is clearly biding his time for the right role.
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 14th 2010 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
A question I would like to put forward is: Do we have too few high quality coaches or too many high quality coaches?
The reason I ask this is because there are a lot of teams, who in the eyes of fans are underperforming, but coaches working overseas, and who have not coached an NRL team, have been mentioned in this discussion as a solution.
Corey said | May 15th 2010 @ 9:22am | Report comment
I think in relation to Kearney the Kiwis need to make him full-time coach, don’t let the Aussies beat them at this, employ him as full-time coach of the national side where his other duties involve talent scouting, school implementation and player recruitment (I mean by this going to the ESL and looking at players who would suit his team better in the 4 nations and World Cup).
Hopefully this moves League forward with a National Full-Time Coach.
sunshinecoaster said | May 15th 2010 @ 1:42pm | Report comment
Not so sure really Corey
A coach like a player should be coaching at the top level consistantly to stay at the top of his game,would also be a waste of Kearnys talent to be working with school boys and as a scout and lets face it there isnt enough international football to justify a guy like Kearny being full time,not saying they are not very important roles in the game that goes without saying but those roles can be filled by others,Dean Bell is a perfect example
oikee said | May 15th 2010 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
Kearney has already been re-instated as Kiwi coach until 2013. I read a NZ report not long ago stating that they have reappointed him. Nice work.
Hansie said | May 17th 2010 @ 10:09am | Report comment
Stuart has to be first out the door. His post-match display yesterday was a disgrace. His team got done by 20 points (and was 20 points down with 30 minutes to go), and he puts on a petulant rant about the officials. How about taking some responsibility for the performance of the team? How can he expect the team to improve when all he does is make excuses?