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We know Paul Kent best as the guy who writes for News Limited and sits alongside Ben Ikin as the co-host of NRL 360 on Wednesday night, but he also sees himself as a human resources expert specialising in rugby league coaches.
His star client is Ricky Stuart, who he has been pushing onto readers and viewers now for years for the State of Origin, Parramatta and Canberra.
After Stuart walked out on the Eels holding the wooden spoon, Kent described him as a “great coach” – not a good coach, a great coach. What a rock, what a mate.
News Limited devotes two pages to Kent on Saturdays, and even though we are ten days away from an Origin decider, he dedicated the guts of his column to his newest client, sacked Cowboys coach Neil Henry. Kent is pushing Henry for the Dragons head coaching job.
How lucky is Henry? He just received a free two-page advert in one of Australia’s biggest newspapers.
NRL 360 had a segment listing the 10 most powerful figures in rugby league today, but surely Kent should have replaced his number one selection, his boss Lachlan Murdoch, with himself.
I doubt even Murdoch could have sold the unsellable like Kent has.
Ricky Stuart is a laughing stock with the most important people in the game, the fans, who have seen him leave the Roosters, Sharks and Eels in tatters. He has been sacked from the Roosters, the Sharks and as the national coach after he lost the ‘unlosable’ World Cup final.
His win record during his last two years at the Roosters and the Sharks was 25 per cent. He won only 5 from 24 games (21 per cent) as Eels coach. Ricky Stuart is now 18-61 (29 per cent) since 2009, but the naïve Raiders board, clearly Paul Kent disciples, signed him up for 800k a season without blinking.
You can understand why Neil Henry must be so excited to be part of the Kent Head Hunting Group.
Dragons CEO Peter Doust is interviewing Neil Henry to be the club’s head coach.
PD: Hello Neil, sit down. I have heard some good things about you.
NH: Thanks Peter, may I call you Peter?
PD: Been reading the Tele and watching NRL 360 and Paul Kent keeps singing your praises.
NH: Good bloke Kenty, I’d like to think he has some idea.
PD: How do you explain that you had the two Australian props, Matt Bowen, Brent Tate and Johnathan Thurston, and only managed to win 48 per cent of games over four years?
NH: You read Kenty, I had a lot of bad ref calls, and I did make JT the player he is today.
PD: Why did you hardly play Jason Taumalolo and Tariq Simms last year?
NH: I preferred Dallas Johnson, Glenn Hall, Gavin Cooper and Tariq’s brother Ashton.
PD: OK, thanks for coming in Neil, and you can call me Mr Doust.
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