Andrew Johns, it is time to put up or shut up

We’ve all seen how angry Andrew Johns has been with the fortunes of the NSW team over the last two seasons. If he really cares about their fate it is time for the eighth immortal to put up or shut up.

And I hope he puts up, because he might just be the best man for the job.

Last Friday Dr George Peponis and the NSWRL Board gave Laurie Daley his marching orders as coach of the NSW Blues. After five years at the helm the news was delivered to most via the media, that included captain Boyd Cordner.

This demonstrated that the NSWRL’s troubles extend off the field as well as on. Laurie Daley is one of NSW’s greatest players. He has bled blue on the pitch and off. Although he leaves with only a 20 per cent winning record, no one can doubt his effort or passion for the job.

Daley certainly had earned a far better send off than the one he got. His close friend Ricky Stuart was rightly angry about it when talking on NRL 360 earlier in the week.

What needs to be established now is exactly who should get the job.

This is a very unusual coaching role as you deal exclusively with star players and you only have three games a year.

However, it is one of the hardest coaching gigs there is. The last eleven years has seen four extremely good coaches and strong men go through the NSW Blues coaching role. The late Graham Murray, Ricky Stuart, Craig Bellamy and now Laurie Daley. That’s star studded. Yet only Daley managed to win a series.

At the end of the day we know why. It isn’t because they were all poor coaches and Mal Meninga was a wizard. It is primarily because NSW have been up against a perfect storm of unbelievable talent who all arrived roughly at the same time as young men and began a winning streak the likes of which I doubt we’ll ever see again.

Cam Smith, Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk have been unbelievable. Add the Likes of Darren Lockyer, Corey Parker, Sam Thaiday, Darius Boyd, Matt Scott, Petero Civoniceva and Justin Hodges to that mix and it is actually amazing that NSW have won as many games as they have during this period.

All is not well in the Blues camp. It is going to take the right person to sort it out and get the ship back on course. So what attributes does the coach need?

• They must have played State of Origin. If you are to coach an Origin side you must know what it is all about by having been there.
• You were a star player. There are some pretty big egos who don the jersey. If you have a chance at controlling them it would help a lot if you’d not just been making up numbers when you played.
• Coaching experience would be a bonus. But not essential. As much as I loved Mal Meninga, his coaching success with Queensland was based around getting great assistants.
• You must be able stand up to the press. It gets hot in the kitchen and a lot is expected of the NSW coach. You’d better be able to deal with that.
• You’ve got the guts to make big selection decisions. It is clear that the NSW roster needs a shake-up. If you want to be coach you are going to have to take some gambles.

So who are the candidates?

Dean Pay
Currently Ricky Stuart’s defensive coach at Canberra, there is no question he is ready for his own senior coaching role. He has coached the NSW under-20s for a number of series, which included coaching Boyd Cordner and David Klemmer. There are rumours he’ll be heading for Belmore sooner rather than later. The bloke was a superb player for the Bulldogs, Australia and NSW. A very worthy contender but unlikely.

John Cartwright
Currently Trent Barrett’s assistant at Manly, and of course previously the Titans coach, Cartwright is also Daley’s assistant coach at the Blues. He ticks all the boxes, except for being a star player. There’s no question he could do the job but I don’t see him getting the nod.

Ricky Stuart
When asked whether he’d consider the role by Ben Ikin, Stuart refused to rule it out, such is his passion for the job. He has been there and done that both as player and coach. He won the 2005 series as coach before the eight-peat began the next year.

While he can get quite shirty with the press at times, he has become quite a good performer too. Further, he’s not afraid of making hard calls on selections. I doubt he’ll put his hand up but if he did he’d be an excellent candidate.

Brad Fittler
Fittler was given the captaincy of NSW that was taken from Laurie Daley during the Packer-Murdoch battle for broadcast rights in 1995-96. Perhaps it follows that he should take over the coaching now from Daley.

There’s no question the bloke was a superstar player for state and country. While his coaching foray with the Roosters wasn’t ideal, he may well do better with a star-studded team. I’d like to think he’d also be able to choose a pretty good side. He’s a very good candidate and there is good mail that he’s top of the list.

Then we come to the bloke I reckon should get the gig.

Andrew Johns
Let me make this clear, while I know he was a superb player, and a great no question, I do not think he was better than Johnathan Thurston is and I don’t think he should have been made an immortal, not yet anyway.

I’ve been in lots of cabs in Newcastle and heard so many horror stories about his behaviour that it is unlikely there is no truth to them. And there was certainly a lot of truth to the story about his behaviour at Toowoomba airport back in 2015.

It’s safe to say I’m not his biggest fan.

So when I say that I reckon he is the right man for the NSW Blues coaching gig it does not come from a position of sycophancy. I say it because I think he ticks most of the boxes perfectly. Not only was he a bonafide star at Origin level, he can speak frankly with the media and I’m in no doubt that if he was in charge that the hard decisions would be made in regards to selection.

Why have I changed my tune on this man? Because I saw in his eyes how much the state of the NSW team is hurting him. When NSW lost Game 2 his post-match words weren’t just the mumbled platitudes and observations of a media commentator, he was in a furious state of disbelief that only someone who feels deep ownership can get into.

(Channel 9 screenshot).

“It’s the dumbest half of football NSW have played. They had all the running, their game plan was perfect,” he said. “Thurston’s shoulder is stuffed – there’s your game plan. You just go at him all night. You go at him and then it puts pressure on the defenders on either side.”

“They didn’t go to him once at all in the second half. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. You’ve got a player out there who cannot pick his arm up off the ground and they didn’t target his side of the field.

“I don’t know what they were doing. They had all the running and they invited Queensland back in and went back to this out the back rubbish block plays.”

Those are the words of someone who wants the reigns so they can take charge and set direction.

However, then when Paul Vautin asked him post the Game 3 decider what was stopping him taking the gig his response cut straight to his paradox.

“Well I don’t know if I want that pressure in my life, if I’ve got to be honest.”

However, his words immediately following said that his sense of duty and obligation is starting to override his wish to lead a pressure free existence.

“I feel sick at the moment. It is just so hard to watch… I still don’t think New South Wales get it.

“There were times there when the ball was thrown back inside and we just switched off. You think the ball has gone past you and ‘my job is done’. It is not.

“You can’t give up on it in Origin footy and that is what we have to get the mentality of. It is not about set plays and fancy plays. Cooper Cronk spoke about will and desire – that is what wins these games.”

Here’s the thing Andrew: We can see you care by the fire in your eyes. We clearly hear that you know what’s missing. We know you understand what needs to be done. The only question now is whether you are prepared to step up and take the lead.

I hope you do because I reckon you’ll make a fist of this, regain pride for NSW and make the interstate games a real competition again.

However, you may well decide that you don’t need the stress. And that is your call.

However, if you choose the stress free path you must stop encumbering us with your frustration and telling us what they should have done.

It is time for you to put up or shut up.

And I certainly hope you choose to step up because your state needs you.