In the last week Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter has been reduced to the status of a lame duck.
Unfortunately, it seems any successful NRL coach must not only get results on the field and survive club politics, he must also pander to the star players.
It is a tightrope that few manage to tread for too long. Since the 2000 NRL season the average time a first grade coach has stayed in their position is 3.5 years – a number inflated by the records of coaches at successful clubs.
The Broncos, Bulldogs, Manly and Melbourne all have an average coach tenure of five years.
At the other end of the spectrum, coaches last 2.5 years at the Dragons, Roosters, Cowboys and Raiders. At the Sharks and the Rabbitohs you’ve got around two years in the job and at the Warriors and Eels it isn’t even two full seasons.
Steve Price, Anthony Griffin, Peter Sharp and Matt Elliott have all departed this season. Ricky Stuart, John Cartwright and now Mick Potter are all under pressure to hold their spots. That is seven out of sixteen spots either turned over or under threat.
Four coaches – 25 per cent of them – also turned over in 2013.
However, you can bet that there will be willing candidates for any position that opens up, in spite of how daunting the jobs might be.
Stuart went willingly to a basket case at the Raiders. Paul Green took over perennial underachievers in the Cowboys. Michael Maguire came to a big challenge at Redfern, as did Ivan Cleary at Penrith, Brad Arthur at the Eels, and Andrew McFadden at the Warriors.
The only real protection a coach has is success on the field, and they can’t all be successful. Being a nice guy seems to give no protection for a coach.
Two of the nicest coaches I’ve dealt with are Anthony Griffin and David Furner. Both are well-intentioned, good men from my experience and by reputation. Furner was in the unenviable position of having to deal with poor results because of star players who thought they were bigger than the club, and injuries to key players. Griffin’s results were better but not good enough for the business that is the Brisbane Broncos Ltd. Their shareholders demand the profits that come with regular premierships.
Being a coach is brutal. Furner was informed of his sacking by his own brother and Griffin’s fate was played out in the press before the axe fell.
To be successful, a coach needs good tactics, good assistants, a good roster, a good leadership group, good junior development, to win matches, and lots of luck.
But most importantly, they need time to put all of the above together, which is in turn reliant on the unwavering support and backing of an effective and patient board.
The chances of getting these last two are slim. Of the teams who have not won a title since the beginning of this millennium, the coaches have had on average only 2.7 years in the job. Take out John Cartwright’s eight years at the Titans and that number drops to 1.8 years. That’s just about how long Mick Potter has been the coach at the Wests Tigers now.
However, it took Craig Bellamy and Des Hasler five years at Melbourne and Manly respectively to win their first premierships.
Many clubs expect their coaches will build Rome in a day, despite the chances of that happening being minuscule – especially if you have to deal with player dissent and white-anting.
A successful army is one in which the ranks carry out orders instantly and without question. Legendary tank commander General George Patton may have been hated by his men, but they did what they were told, when they were told, and how they were told. Patton got results and the Germans feared him like no other allied general.
To get those sort of results you must not only be a good tactician, you must also quell resentment in the ranks as it raises its head. To be successful the rugby league coach must also be unquestioned.
Given what has been said in the last week, it is hard to believe that Potter has been the lone voice of authority at the club.
Reports say that Potter not communicating well with the younger players is behind his lack of support. That is bizarre. Are we now determining a coach’s fate based on what a bunch of Gen Y football players think? Really? Or is an older, influential player seeding poor opinions about the coach among them?
A Matthew Johns article early this season revealed that Ivan Cleary had to deal with dissent from one of his only real star players just minutes into his tenure at Penrith. “This drill is dog shit,” was said straight to his face.
For most new coaches that sort of mutinous action could have been disastrous. Cleary, however, had the full backing of General Manager Phil Gould and a player clear out soon ensued. Although injuries are cruelling their 2014 season, it is clear that Ivan is totally in charge and it is getting results. Perhaps Grant Mayer could learn from that.
Star players seem to wield tremendous power in today’s game. What can Paul Green do if Johnathan Thurston isn’t happy with his tactics? What can Andrew McFadden do if Shaun Johnson won’t carry out his plans? What can John Cartwright do if Nate Myles jacks up? What can Mick Potter do if Robbie Farah wants him gone?
Players get away with strings of indiscretions simply because their clubs want them on the field. I bet that there are a lot of Sharks fans and players who couldn’t care less what Todd Carney wants to drink, they just want him to play.
The cruelest thing for Mick Potter is that the turnaround in the results at the Wests Tigers has been marked. They are still in contention for a spot in the finals and – if things go their way – they could even finish in the top four. To do that you’d think what they’d want is unity, focus and stability, but all of that was thrown to the wind when whoever it was leaked to Dean Ritchie that the board was going to sack Potter directly following last Sunday’s match, regardless of the result.
Whatever the leaker’s agenda, there was very little concern for the Wests Tigers success this season.
The very worst thing I’ve heard in this whole matter was this line from Dean Ritchie’s story:
“Privately, the board want the matter resolved before the possibility of Potter embarrassing the club by making the semi-finals.”
When a board is allegedly concerned that making the semi-finals would be an embarrassment, there is something putrid about rugby league.
That the Wests Tigers fans could have their club vandalised in such a cynical manner for the self interest of a few is shocking. The devoted punters who front up each week to support their beloved club deserve so much better.
mick h
Guest
payten won a comp ?
Jay C
Guest
Anyone being upset at Tallis is ridiculous and just goes to show the blame culture and fluffy times we live in. If farrah said it. Man up and take responsibility. The only person who has any reason to be upset is Farrah. As the general public we should want to know what is going on. Not be happy enough to dig our heads into the sand. It's funny but the world is a bit backwards now. Journalists or (quasi sportscasters in this instance) are there to serve the needs of the public not vice versa. Life is so twisted nowadays with Assange and Snowden both exiled because they reported facts. This is in the sameish veinish.
NQ Cowboy
Guest
I agree with you on all those points Barry except that Tallis is not a journalist. He's a former footballer who is paid by the media to provide his opinion on the game. So if Tallis believes that Farrah is responsible for Potter losing his job, then he is entitled and paid to say so.
Jay C
Guest
Players who say, "I won't play for any other coach", whilst negotiating million dollar contract extensions being a prime example.
fiver
Guest
"Ivan Cleary had to deal with dissent from one of his only real star players just minutes into his tenure at Penrith. “This drill is dog shit,” was said straight to his face" The Panthers must have been in some state before Clearly and Gould got there. It was quite unbelievable at the time when they let Jennings, Lewis and some other big names walk. While I don't want to name names I do see some players at certain clubs who I feel do more harm than good, and these are respected senior players.
Albo
Guest
"Kidwell and payten have been assistant coaches for 5 minutes. " Just like their playing careers, they promised plenty but delivered little ! Seems the same is being proved again !
fiver
Guest
Things could be worse, you could be a Raiders, Sharks or Knights fan
JB
Guest
I can imagine farah and Tallis sitting on their respective couches trying to get a plan to get out of this somehow 'all I need is a delorean , some plutonium and a flux compasitor'
JB
Guest
Agrees it's developing country stuff, I am amazed any player takes the field any other group of employees would walk off the job and have union reps force a plan into action ASAP.
Dom U
Roar Rookie
I think that the tigers need to stop fighting. The tigers hooker Jamie soward will leave the club and then what? They will not make the January finals! They will be lucky to finish in the top 12 to have a chance for the September finals at least! They won't finish first because that's already taken by the south sydney sea eagles and last place the sydney swans have secured so I'm not sure anymore!
Rexo
Guest
Getting rid of Potter or Farrah will not solve the problem. The club needs them both. Potter seems to get results although the team has to maintain consistency. The team seems to lose momentum & direction when Farrah does not play. The players are silent rightfully so, they are paid to play under the coach that the club employs. As the team leader Farrah may bring player issues up to the coach. I hope the club learns something from this mess and comes out stronger & better. That's what we true Wests Tigers fans are hoping for. All the negativity is coming from non Wests Tigers fans. GO WESTS TIGERS.
Pat
Roar Rookie
Just stop for a minute all you Farahh bashers. The bloke has busted a gut for this club. He has been regularly the best player on the field. Potter acknowledges that. Against dragons last week he did everything to get them back on track. Meanwhile the wunder kids were getting hurt and playing inconsistently. You can't win a comp with children. Really the Farah hate media is a pretty scary thing to behold. Imagine what it would be like if he wasn't playing well. Tallis is a coward for raising a comment said in confidence 15 months ago to protect his "integrity" the same integrity that had him running to super league and deserting the dragons years ago.
Media beat up
Guest
We'll to all of you experts. You would much rather have a drunk or a drug addict in your team than a bloke who bleeds for his club every week. You cowards who want to accuse Robbie of everything except the Kennedy assassination might just want to think that he a quality footballer who takes the game seriously. Thinks about what is best for the club , plays his heart put every week. Instead let's all thank Tallis and those wonderful icons of virtue in the media that want to undermine quality footballers.
Jay C
Guest
A billion dollar company organising a fundraiser to pay for an employee injured on the job is ridiculous.
Champ
Guest
Good to see they are helping Simon Dwyer but the lack of insurance for NRL was/is a crime. You get the feeling they have coaleseced the drop in crowds problem (hence the $1 contribution 2 weeks ago) with the serious accident problem and have they the NRL contributed themselves rather than the working families...
The Barry
Guest
JB - he hasn't come out looking good. While I don't think he's lying, he definitely wasn't backed into a corner by ayoub as he has stated (and I initially agreed with). Ayoub pushed a bit but it was like big gordie was bursting at the seams to let his secret out.
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Please don't give up on the Tigers. Any club is bigger than the people currently there, or the situation they are in at the moment. Souths have not won a Premiership for over 40 years. For a number of years we were League's whipping boys. Copped regular thrashings. Several times we have nearly gone under financially. We were kicked out for 2 years -- told we were not good enough. We went through periods of administrators bickering. A number of media supporters had public slanging matches. Coaches were sacked with monotonous regularity. Yet we weathered the storm and are now on the verge of Premiership number 21 ! (I had to throw in some good news.) Seriously, stick with your team, they will get through this.
Meesta Cool
Guest
Sorry all you Tiger and Farah supporters, but I have to add that I am not surprised in the least at Meesta Farah's behaviour, you only need to watch his antics towards the refs to realise that his leadership skills leave a lot to be desired!. quite often his 'sooking' shows through. The problems that are facing Eels and Raiders can be put down to players being allowed to 'backstab' their coaches!, Sorry again to say that The Tiges are going down that same path and strength at Committee level needs to be shown!. Some Superstars just seem to think they are bigger than the club and can't stand being told by a coach about any aspect of their game!.
JB
Guest
Pi$$ed off as a tigers fan, I don't care who's to blame just get on with it, and put all the effort in to developing this talented young squad it will reward them if they look after this bunch.
Tim Gore
Expert
Perhaps he'll go to the Raiders!