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Opinion
The sight of a recently retired NRL star perched proudly in the coaches box as a newly minted assistant coach is a source of disappointment to me.
It is disappointment on several levels.
Disappointment that the player has nowhere else to go.
Disappointment that another job went to the boys.
Disappointment that the club may have found a loophole in the salary cap.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment is the perpetuation of the belief that great players are likely to make great coaches.
Lightning does not often strike twice, and the skills and experience of a great player are not particularly well suited to becoming a great coach.
Let’s look at the experience of your average NRL great.
Life in a bubble since their late teens, limited education and experience, consistent adulation and achievement.
Now consider the skills required to be a successful NRL coach.
The ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds (media, sponsors, players, administrators, the Balinese police force).
Understanding how big businesses work (structure, accountability, how to set up offshore bank accounts).
Innovation and initiative, and the ability to develop the skills of other people.
The experiences of a great NRL player do not readily translate into the skills needed to be a good – let alone great – NRL coach.
They can be learnt. Driven people can achieve more than the rest of us and rugby league is no different.
The likes of Ricky Stuart and Des Hasler demonstrate that it is possible for a great to become a good NRL coach.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
However, when you consider that only three of the current NRL coaches have a win rate above 60 per cent, perhaps something needs to change.
The best changes in rugby league are rules changes. I have one that will help lift the standard of NRL coaches and has the added advantage of not making the game worse to watch.
The NRL and the clubs should treat assistant coaches’ roles like Immortal status. Ex-players can only be considered for such status five years after retiring from playing.
While we are it, let’s broaden this criterion to address the growing number of ex-players who gain immediate, meaningful employment organising the stationery cupboard at their club’s HQ.
Finally, I urge the clubs to respect their organisations as large, modern and complex institutions. Look past jobs for the boys and consider someone from a different background, even just a different sport.
Get some depth in your footy department and challenge yourselves to be better. Look to the clubs that are successful and recognise that they are not old boys’ clubs.
If you still want ex-players in the ranks, then consider the value of the battlers, the scrappers and the journeymen.
People who know the fear of failure and the insecurity of never being a brilliant player.
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