Throughout the majority of its existence, the Dally M Coach of the Year award has been unfairly awarded to high achieving coaches.
Just look back through the honour roll. Craig Bellamy’s three gongs for minor premiership seasons in 2006, 2007 and 2011, Wayne Bennett’s for his top-two finish last year, and the 2009 title given to Kevin Moore to ensure we had something by which we could recall Kevin Moore.
Yes, traditionally the award is a slave to the game’s meat-and-potatoes criterion of wins and losses; its gallery of winners an unimaginative collection of those who have consummated lofty goals and finished on table high.
The whole exercise is not only predictable, it’s fundamentally wrong.
With plenty of trophies for winners getting around these days, the last thing the Coach of the Year award should be is meritocratic.
It shouldn’t exist to honour the topmost results. It should always be a sympathetic salute to the best story, no matter how covered in warts it may be.
Instead of those who have belted everyone all year, it should pat those on the back who’ve beaten the odds; those who have punched through adversity, polished a nard, or punched through adversity while polishing a nard.
If you agree, then look no further than Cbus Stadium this Saturday night for the prime candidates for this year’s award.
The Titans vs the Eels may appear like one of those commonplace battles for middle earth occurring in the thankless belly of mid-season, and it is.
But not only is it desperately thrilling stodge, it’s also a title fight between the two most outstanding, resilient, sanity-sacrificing coaches of 2016.
Brad Arthur and Neil Henry currently sit in remote ladder positions with ho-hum records. Both are not figuring in premiership calculations, mainly because neither will come close to winning the competition.
How could you go past them as the award’s obvious choices?
Sure, they won’t be going ocean-deep into post-season football this year. But I challenge you to find something more appealing than their arduous narratives.
Both men and their clubs are enjoying seasons of contrast. One team has a chance to make the eight, while the other has a chance to make bail.
At Parramatta – a rather large organisation in turmoil – Arthur is one of few who have avoided legislative censure. Despite this, he has amazingly moulded a winning unit from a playing group beset by the infirm, absconding, or those with more dick on tape than a Kevin Bacon box set.
Forget his team was dishonestly assembled for a moment and remember this: Chilean miners have refused the head coach role at the Eels because of its high likelihood of peril. Arthur knew this from the start, yet still agreed to the toxic chalice.
Such courage adds further weight to his claims for the award- the fact he described the place as a “shambles” yet still remains in the job by his own free will. It’s testament to the man’s love of a challenge, and/or downright stupidity.
As for Henry, with a history of governance failure and police intervention at the Titans, his tenure has been relatively similar.
The Gold Coast franchise was just like an impoverished crack house last year, only more broke.
But much like Arthur, the Titans coach ignored the safety briefings and forged on fearlessly through the powder storm, believing wholeheartedly there were better days on the horizon, or at the very least, a contract payout from a voluntary administrator.
The charming feature of Henry’s body of work this season has been his ability to consistently produce square meals using Home Brand ingredients.
Not only has he shaped a terrifically able unit of footballers from modest resources, he has taught the squad to grasp the benefits of early nights while still managing to retain the services of Greg Bird.
Henry and Arthur won’t win a cracker this year, but who cares?
Their success-to-siege ratio is supreme, and best of all, they’ve future-proofed these clubs against themselves. It deserves some kind of recognition award that will be forgotten by the end of the ceremony in which it is bestowed.
To whoever determines this honour, please shun merit and forget your Bellamys and Flanagans this year.
Bestow the insulting sympathy of this award on one of these two battlers. They’ve earned it.
Fish
Guest
I have always believed that Coach of the year should be determined after the Grand Final. A Grand final is incredibly hard to make let alone win, so therefore in my opinion the coach of the year should come from the final game of the year. There is no doubting the incredible talents of Henry, who has turned around an unloved club and is once more making it fashionable to the fickle Gold Coast crowd. Then again what Brad Arthur has had to endure at Parra, one can only sit back and admire his class and tenacity. Many would run from such a mess, but not Brad, he has stood tall and led from the front, and undoubtedly has set the Eels up for a promising future in years to come. Then we have Flannigan, the tough as teak leader of the besieged. He has a hardened, success hungry side at his disposal, finally free of controversy and innuendo. He has taken them to the top through sheer hard work and persistence, playing a brand of football made for finals. This may just be their year, and if so it is Flanno that will be hailed King of the Shire, and deservedly so. Let us not forget Paul Green. He is at the precipice of what most see as the unachievable, winning back to back premierships. It would be hard to argue that this Cowboys outfit can't do the seemingly impossible. They look the most likely since the secretly over payed Storm sides that dominated not so long ago. It would be hard to deny Green the moniker of best coach if he did happen to deliver such a treat. This however may be impossible as the only way to determine this would be to wait until after the grand final to announce Coach of The Year. This certainly will not happen, and therefore the result will always be opened to argument. The emotional me would love to see Arthur or Henry take the title, the underdog, the embattled. This is not a Hollywood flick however and for me Flannigan must be the front runner. Fifteen straight wins and counting, controversy free, and finally the Shire can dare to dream. Only one problem, if Green and the Cowboys win back to back, there would always be an argument as to who really deserved coach of the year.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
RMC Please dont make the mistake of comparing Origin coaching with NRL coaching; they are both vastly different competitions. Origin has the best of the best and most players could be coaches in their own right. They dont need coaching, they need unity and to remain happy, but THE most important aspect of winning Origin is clearly getting the selections correct and Meninga never really had to make a hard call as it was virtually automatic for a decade. NSW have gotten it wrong, largely because they have too many to choose from and they do not have the intel and systems in place to come up with the best 17. For the record I think the Titans have over achieved, but lets leave it at that.
db
Guest
The question is how long should Flanagan be punished for his role in a systematic doping regime? Forever should do nicely.
RMC
Roar Pro
Scott I think you need to look at the roster and resources available to a coach to determine how good a job they've done, not just look at results. For example Meninga won 9 out 10 Origin series as coach where as Bellamy lost all 3 series he coached. Is this because a) Meninga is a vastly better coach at Origin level or b) Meninga had better players and resources to work with? The Titians were widely tipped to get the wooden spoon this due a roster which, on paper, looked one of the weakest in the comp. Therefore I think if the Titans make the 8 Henry should definitely enter the conversation. Flanagan and Bellamy have no doubt done amazing job this year, but both have much stronger rosters what Henry has to work with. In particular the Storm have covered the injures to the outbacks well and Sharks were outstanding without their Origin players. I expect one of them will get coach of the year, but Henry should defiantly be considered
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Titans are close to even money just to make the 8, how does any coach who finishes that far down even enter the conversation?
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Carbuncles ,,,, mmmm nasty stuff , he deserves it for them alone ...
Richard Maybury
Guest
Bunnings are selling some great wall brackets that should solve that.
Richard Maybury
Guest
I can understand where you are coming from but I struggle with the idea of awarding coach of the year to a man who the NRL had to suspend and then send for remedial training not that long ago. I don't know how much involvement he had in the drug cheating but regardless of where the sharks finish, I would hate to see him picking up that gong just as would hate to see Paul Gallen pick up the premiership trophy. Maybe when those two are gone there can be some healing..
JVGO
Guest
Carbuncles, buboes and open sutures instead.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I wouldn't mind seeing Neil Henry get the gong. He has done wonders with the Titans. Since there's a few more rounds to go plus the finals I think they can do more than just get in the finals and make it impossible not to award him the gong. This was the team tipped to be wooden spooners at the beginning of the year.
Dane Eldridge
Expert
Scott, your logical reasoning and facts are killing my argument. I'm still going to rule out Bellamy purely on the basis of an overloaded mantlepiece.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Henry is doing a good job but the Goldy is a very under rated team. There is enough talent in all positions to push for a premiership in a few years.
AGO74
Guest
Arthur's performance is very very good but his reluctance/refusal to consider standing down Corey Norman in the week following his criminal conviction has taken some of the gloss of him.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Hi Dane, This "award" should always be automatic without intervention from any humans. Depending on the criterion, there can only ever be two contenders: 1. Whoever wins the Minor Premiership 2. Whoever wins the Premiership Certainly no coach should be considered if they do not make the top 4, not to achieve that feat is arguably a failure given that every Premiership winner has come from the top three only under the new system. * a point of note is that Flanagan and Green so far have not been troubled by injuries, while Bellamy lost his champion fullback Billy Slater after 30 mins into the season and then his origin centre Will Chambers for a major chunk and had to bring in two "unloved" centres that no one else wanted and debut an unknown Fijian winger. Not bad!
Dane Eldridge
Expert
Flanagan's story is certainly worthy, just lacks in warts for mine.
Dane Eldridge
Expert
Max, let's run a joint ticket and clean up this precinct.
Scott
Guest
Add Flanagan to the trio and I think it is on the money. I am a Gold Coast fan but the job Brad Arthur has done has been amazing given everything going on around him.
MAX
Guest
Dane, a career in politics is yours for the making and as a CC resident you have my vote. Championing the under dog coach in this season of slaughter will be well received in most electorates. This country needs fresh thinking with a large serve of adventure which you provide with every article. It occurred to me that you are sending a message that Hasler, Bennett, Maguire, Brown and McGregor are yesterday's men if we shine the Arthur/ Henry light on their results.
E-Meter
Guest
I hope this year we can have an award for best on field trainer. Apologies to Tim Gore.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Flanagan has also had to overcome his share of adversity ( coaching Paul Gallen comes to mind ? ) so your probably on the money there.