The coaching merry-go-round has been in full swing with the Dragons, Raiders and Cowboys announcing new coaching appointments for the 2009 - after just three rounds of the 2008 premiership.
Yesterday the Dragons confirmed that current Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett will coach them in 2009 and Canberra didn't mess about with their coaching situation by appointing Assistant Coach David Furner to the top job for next year. Today the Cowboys announced that Neil Henry will be in charge for the next five years.
This season was going to be a big year for coaching arrivals and departures the minuteBennett announced he wouldn't be at the Broncos in 2009, which in turn spoiled what plans Brisbane would have for the future as they positioned Bennett's contract nicely with those of Craig Bellamy and Henry.
Three clubs immediately in the sights of Bennett all had interesting and intriguing situations - St George Illawarra, Canterbury and North Queensland.
Bennett knew that his future was safe and it was a matter of finding the right Club for himself. The Dragons, Bulldogs and Cowboys were the three Clubs that immediately sprang to mind.
The Red Vee is one of the most famous symbols in Australian Rugby League and the Dragons have a proud and rich history. They haven't won a competition since 1979 and have been perennial under-achievers in the last five years. Current Dragons coach Nathan Brown has done his absolute best, but his young age and being one of the boys has gone against him when the crunch has come. The Dragons management made a mistake from day one appointing Brown at such a young age and he has done well to survive six years in the job.
What made the Dragons situation so intriguing is the very close relationship that Brown enjoys with Chief Executive Peter Doust and that has been a big assistance in him keeping his job for six years. In recent weeks Doust was challenged by a group of disgruntled Dragons supporters known as R2K at the St George Leagues Club elections and Doust pulled out the Bennett card at the right time. Doust has been the subject of much criticism from Dragons supporters and the 'Oust Doust' banner has become a part of the furniture at Dragons matches. Doust has put his friendship with Brown on the line in order to protect his own job by sparking up the Bennett interest at the right time.
Bennett and the Dragons were always the right mix for each other. It was a matter of timing before it happened.
North Queensland were immediately linked to Bennett as the Cowboys sacked Graham Murray immediately after Bennett announced he wouldn't be the Broncos coach in 2009 and it was naturally assumed Bennett would prefer to stay in Queensland. What people fail to realise is that it's closer to Canberra from Brisbane than it is to Townsville and that Bennett's grandkids are based in Sydney nowadays. Another thing going against Bennett joining North Queensland was his fallout with current Cowboys Director and former Broncos captain Gorden Tallis. The Cowboys were never in the picture for Bennett.
The next Club in the picture was the Bulldogs. Former Chief Executive Malcolm Noad stated from day one that he would never approach Bennett while he was in charge of the Bulldogs. It's no secret that Bennett never saw eye-to-eye with News Limited (majority owners of the Broncos) and Noad was a proud News Limited man for 30 years. Noad's comments made sure he would be unpopular with the Bulldogs membership base on the eve of a crucial election and Noad's re-signings of Andrew Ryan and Luke Patten on inflated deals prior to the election didn't save his job.
Doust learned from Noad's comments and just when the R2K group had some momentum at the St George Leagues Club elections along comes the news that Bennett is virtually a done deal and the three Doust people up for election regain their positions with a clear majority.
Bennett was always the main man from the St George side of the Dragons joint venture and they had Doust's support in recent times. The Illawarra side originally were going to favour Ian Millaward - former St Helens coach and now assistant at the Cowboys, who is the son of Steelers director Bob Millward. Steve Folkes was also another name mentioned from the Illawarra side of the equation. In the end Bennett had the unbackable support and was duly appointed Dragons Coach.
Brown's best bet now is to get into the media for a brief period or head across to England to further his career and rebuild his coaching career out of the Australian spotlight.
Canterbury great Graeme Hughes was the main supporter of Bennett coming to the Bulldogs, but Hughes narrowly missed out on gaining a spot on the seven-man Bulldogs board, which made it harder for the Bulldogs to gain access to Bennett. Hughes was one of two prominent Bulldogs people pushing for Bennett, with the other person a former Club official.
The Bulldogs have traditionally been a Club that doesn't appoint new coaches until after Mad Monday. Phil Gould, Chris Anderson and Steve Folkes were appointed immediately after the 1987, 1989 and 1997 seasons respectively whereas Warren Ryan wasn't appointed until late into the 1983 season. Canterbury doesn't rush into axing their coaches and Bennett was keen to sort out his future sooner rather than later.
Leaked media reports suggested the Bulldogs had already promised current Assistant Coach Kevin Moore the job for the 2009 season. The Bulldogs held a board meeting last week where the coaching situation wasn't even discussed, which made a mockery of the reports. The rumours were believed to be leaked by someone with an axe to grind against the current board. Speaking to board members last week, the only issues that have been discussed have been ushering new Chief Executive Todd Greenberg into the job and cleaning up the mess created by the previous Bulldogs administration.
Canterbury have enjoyed success by allowing their coaches to have smooth mandates into each season and their tradition has been to look within following Ryan's arrival at the Bulldogs in 1984. That plays into Moore's hands and the board will have to decide when is the right time to make the required adjustments and allow for Folkes to depart with dignity and honour - whether it be in 2009 or even later. It does shape up that Folkes will step aside on his own accord this year and allow Moore to take the reigns. Folkes' future is assured at Canterbury and he's the greatest Club person they'll ever have and they've had some absolute stalwarts in their Club including Barry Nelson, Peter Moore, Terry Lamb, Eddie Burns and Hazem El Masri and the Gartner, Charlton, Hughes and Mortimer families to name a few.
As a Bulldogs supporter, I'm very comfortable with the direction they are heading in following the appointment of Greenberg as Chief Executive. He'll do a fine job for the Bulldogs and he has a workable and united board supporting him, which includes Chairman Dr. George Peponis. Greenberg is a Bulldogs man and he understands the unique Canterbury culture.
With North Queensland firmly out of the picture and Canterbury sticking to their tradition by allowing Folkes have a smooth coaching mandate for this season - Bennett to the Dragons became the perfect match and Doust made the hardest phone call in his life.
Canberra's coaching situation has created a coaching circus in the Nations Capital, but one the Raiders generally handle well. Canberra haven't yet 'sacked' a coach in their 27 season existence. Don Furner was the foundation Raiders coach in 1982 and he handed the job over to Wayne Bennett for the 1987 season. Furner stayed on as co-coach, but only handled the publicity side of things allowing Bennett to coach the side without any hassles. Bennett was signed for four years, but it was announced that the Broncos would enter the NSWRL Premiership for the 1988 season. Brisbane made Bennett break his contract and the Raiders reluctantly agreed to release him. Bennett remained as Raiders coach until the end of 1987 where he steered them into their first Grand Final.
Tim Sheens joined the Raiders from Penrith and he enjoyed nine very successful seasons in the ACT where the Green Machine won three titles and unlucky not to win more. Sheens moved on after the 1996 where club legend Mal Meninga was groomed into the role. Meninga enjoyed moderate success in the coaching position where the Raiders lost their bite, but made the Finals in 1997, 1998 and 2000 during his five years as coach. Meninga decided prior to the 2001 season that club coaching wasn't for him and Matthew Elliott was signed on as Assistant Coach with the plan for him to takeover full-time in 2002. Elliott enjoyed five successful seasons at Canberra and announced that 2006 would be his last year very early on the piece. Elliott still managed to guide Canberra to the Finals that year.
Henry has announced that 2008 would be his last year and that has already caused dramas amongst the current squad - most notably halfback Todd Carney. It remains to be seen whether Henry will be as professional in his position as Bennett was back in 1987. One of the clauses the Raiders put into Bennett's deal was that he couldn't immediately take anyone back to Brisbane when he left the Raiders. That only lasted one year as Bennett took Peter Jackson and Sam Backo back home for the 1989. The Raiders had nothing to complain about as they won the title that season and backed it up with another Premiership the following year as Kevin Walters also followed Bennett back to Brisbane. Neville Costigan has already said that he'll be on the way out following Henry's departure to North Queensland.
Canberra's appointment of Furner just goes with their tradtion of being quick, professional and decisive when it comes to announcing their coaches. Furner has worked under Elliott and Henry after enjoying a fine playing career with the Raiders playing 200 first grade matches. Furner's credentials as a player and coach are impressive and a wise appointment. The only problem is that the Raiders now have the Furner brothers as Coach and Chief Executive. It's been reported that Don Furner Jnr will move aside from his position to allow his brother a clear mandate as Coach as not to cause any family conflicts.
Does Murray see out his term with the Cowboys or does he stick it out for the season? Will Henry position himself to leave Canberra now or wait for the new season? Do both of them have their hearts in the current jobs they are performing? Time will tell on all of them.
Next Club on the coaching radar as the Brisbane Broncos. Bennett leaving them a year earlier spoiled their each-way bets at getting Neil Henry or Craig Bellamy. Now the Broncos will have to appoint an Interim Coach before Bellamy joins them in 2010 or perhaps encourage Bellamy to break his current Melbourne contract - something they did with Bennett way back in 1987 when he was at Canberra. Bellamy will be coaching the Broncos in 2010 and the deals have been done. What has to be decided is what happens in 2009. Ivan Henjak shapes up as the ideal Interim Coach, but that creates a dangerous precedent for all involved. There's no way Brisbane will want a one-year coach and were hoping for a smooth transition from Bennett to Bellamy. What Bennett has done is smart play by him as it's no secret he doesn't talk to Chief Executive Bruno Cullen and has fallen out with their majority owners News Limited. Cullen now has to make some tough decisions, which would backfire and highlight Bennett's importance and value even more.
Melbourne are in a delicate situation and their future is on the line. The loss of Israel Folau is only the beginning of a mass exodus to the Broncos with Bellamy and captain Cameron Smith set to follow suit in the following years. Both Clubs are owned by News Limited with the Broncos a money making machine and the Storm running at a loss. Chief Executive Brian Waldron has to get this right or the Storm will go belly up and the Rugby League dream in Melbourne is over. Waldron needs to work out with Bellamy where his future lies and if he's on the way out start preparing Stephen Kearney for the job now. Melbourne also need to get their support from News Limited into place and ensure that the money will always be there.
Officially only the Bulldogs and Broncos coaching positions haven't been confirmed for the 2009 season if you look at the contracts, although Bellamy will be the Broncos coach. It's just a matter of whether it will be in 2009 or 2010.
Another coaching position that could be up for grabs is the Penrith position. The victory last weekend against Souths has given Matthew Elliott some breathing space, but the talk of player unrest is gaining momentum with Luke Rooney, Luke Lewis, Frank Pritchard and Tony Puletua all wanting out of the place. If the Panthers fail to improve and player power gains momentum than the Panthers will be on the lookout for a new coach with Graham Murray and perhaps Steve Folkes the leading two contenders.
The recent appointments make the coaching merry-go-round much clearer with Brisbane's situation still very sticky, which in turn is making Melbourne's coaching situation and future as a club very uncertain. Penrith's coaching situation still has many more hurdles to achieve and that could heat up by mid season. The Bulldogs have no coach confirmed for 2009 and won't be assessing the position until midway through the season as has been their tradition.
PREDICTIONS:
* Bellamy will find his way to Brisbane in 2009 with Kearney taking over the Storm post.
* The Bulldogs will start to discuss the coaching position in the next 4-5 weeks and will look at doing a smooth transfer from Folkes to Moore.
* More to come in the Penrith saga unless countless victories puts out the fires that are being lit.
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