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NRL coaches have put their opinions forward on the current state of the game, and the results have raised a few eyebrows.
Last season’s Pride Jersey fiasco seems to still be causing angst among the clipboard holders, with the recent survey showing an even split on future plans for what the NRL is now calling “Respect Round”.
According to the News Corp survey, 42 per cent of coaches and assistant coaches would be happy to encourage their players to wear a pride jersey, with the exact same amount admitting they wouldn’t do the same. The remaining 16 per cent didn’t give a response.
While seemingly not sold on the idea of Pride Round, ARL Commision chair Peter V’landys has said that a more inclusive Respect Round was still on the cards.
“We were always going to look at a Respect Round,” V’landys told NewsCorp. “What a Respect Round is, is that it respects everyone’s views. We might not agree with them, but we respect them.
“So if we were going to do anything we were going to do a Respect Round. It wasn’t going to be a Pride Round because then you alienate other people. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive game. To be an inclusive game you have to respect everyone’s view.”
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Not sure how the Manly Seven would feel about that one.
Another hot topic discussed was the concern coaches had about rugby union’s threat to league, and the fear of losing players to the opposing code. With former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones back in the hot seat, it has been anticipated that some of the NRL’s brightest stars would be targeted and lured across, like Roosters young gun Joseph Suaali’i.
According to the survey, however, it seems that not many are losing sleep over it, with more than 20 head and assistant coaches not at all concerned.
They also weren’t too worried about rugby coaches taking their jobs, with almost 60 per cent of those surveyed believing top union coaches would not be successful in the NRL.
As for the ARL Commission’s overall performance? The coaches blasted head office for the way they have been operating – 29 per cent gave them a four, 38 per cent a three, 29 per cent a two and 4 per cent a one. With the current conflict with eth RLPA, it’s not surprising no one gave top marks.
When asked how Rugby League Central had handled the salary cap negotiations with the RLPA, half the coaches gave the NRL a dismal one out of 10 with the others marking them a four or lower.
Mental health concerns are certainly at the forefront, with 71 per cent of those in the survey revealing it is an issue in the game. 17 per cent didn’t have any issues in that area, while 13 per cent chose not to answer.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
What was even more concerning was that 79 per cent of participants believed they didn’t receive enough support from the NRL when it came to their mental health. Only 8 per cent were satisfied with the support for coaches.
The death of former North Queensland coach Paul Green last year after a battle with mental health showed how important having the discussion around the issue is, as well as having a solid support network. Roosters head coach Trent Robinson has been wanting an association available to offer assistance to current and former coaches, as well as those possibly looking at getting back into the coaching ranks, since 2016.
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Concussion received a surprising response in the survey, with 58 per cent marking it down as their biggest issue in the game. 63 per cent of the coaches also admitted they felt their opponents were taking advantage of the concussion rules and protocols. 21 per cent admitted their biggest concern at the moment was the officiating of the game.
Expansion was also questioned, with an overwhelming 52 per cent voting for the next NRL team to be based in Perth. The next highest ranked was for no team at all, getting 22 per cent. New Zealand received 14 per cent, with the Central Coast, North Sydney and the Pacific all receiving 4 per cent. Not one coach believed another team should be based in Queensland.