A Genuine Questions ?

When i first started watching RL most of the coaches were English, and it was rare to see an Aussie or New Zealander, there were some (Greame West at Wigan springs to mind), but it was rare.

Now we only seem to get either south Antipodean coaches, or the same British coaches mentioned with every new position that comes along. Even the lower leagues now have a sprinkling of Aussies and New Zealander coaches. Every super league job that has come up this season, if not Noble, Kear or Morgan, then it's an Aussie generally, and not a top coach, but mostly no 2, my club looking for a new coach, have been linked already with one Aussie, and there short list contains 5 others.

So the questions are these, why are the aussie/new zealander coaches far and away better than the english coaches? Why are we not trying to promote English coaches? What methods make the Aussie coaches so good?
And why are they a far more attractive proposition? Espically now when there is no promtion/relegation, and coaches have 3 years to build squads etc. What are the major diffrences between the southen antirodean and british coaches?

Any help on answering these questions would be gratefully accepted, as i am generally intrested in what people think, and how to change the situation.

I really dont know the answer , it has been said for years that Aussie/New Zealand coaches are better with regard to training techniques and thats probably down to the success they have had at both international and club level . I have always wondered how a succesful team say St helens under McRea and Millward would have fared any different with a English coach in charge .

With regard to Kear and Noble always being touted for jobs , i think that is down to the same thing ....success .. they are the 2 standout British coaches (if you dont count Smith which i dont ) and they are available.

Hopefully Wigan will appoint Shane Wane ,and theres Betts at Widnes, McDermott at Leeds and Powell at Quinns the trend of overseas coaches may start to slow down .
But then again maybe not as both Hull clubs and Wakefield look for new coaches and all are looking at Australia .

With regard to the Rovers job , i was speaking to a friend who is in the coaching set up and he said one of the reasons we are looking at an Aussie coach is that a they have bigger pull in recruiting overseas players .
How true that is i dont know .

Grass is greener on the other side?

the main reason I see for this is that there are so few opportunities to coach in the NRL,Australia turns out brilliant coaches periodically, and they in turn hold head coaching positions for years,hasnt Wayne bennett coached over 600 Nrl games? and thats not to mention the likes of Sheens and Brian Smith.
There is only one new zealander who is a head coach in the NRL,and he so happens to be the Kiwi coach.
As long as this remains the situation, the younger crop of coaches will have look for jobs in the Northern hemisphere.
What i would really like to see is a coach who has success in the UK come down to the NRL and see if he can repeat the performance, we will see if Bluey McClennon is as good down here as he was in Britain.I dont think he will be.

But does coaching in the northen hemisphere make a coach more attractive in the nrl?
While not disagreeing Laurie, there are only 14 jobs in super league, which i would think make the options harder to get a job up here. But why do you think the southen hemesphere coaches seem more attractive? It is the style they play? there methods? Will it ever reverse. I am geniuenly intrested in why the southern hemisphere coaches seem so far ahead.
King, we seem to being doing well in our oversea's recruiting, and i can see why, but it's not that we're going for an aussie i'm worried about, but the fact i can't think of a credable british option that is.

tiger
true , there are less number of positions but the quality of coaches is higher in the NRL.I might be sticking my neck out here but I cant see nathan Brown or Justin Morgan picking up head coaching positions down under.
It isnt always just the coach but also the complete package of trainers and conditioners as well. when one looks at say the fitness/conditioning levels of teams like Melbourne and North queensland they must do incredible pre season work, then the coach plays the type of game that best exploits that advantage,.

I think you hit the nail on the head Tiger , there aren't any other British candidates around at the moment which is sad for our game . I think the RFL needs to do something to encourage players to go into coaching more , i know a lot do either coach or help coach amatuer teams but the then dont go forward into the professional ranks .

It's all about success isn't it every team wants it but there are only 2 trophies to play for each year so not many succeed .

It's intresting what you say about Brown espically laurie, as he has regularly been saying he wants to go back to the Nrl, so how is super league viewed down south laurie? espically as quite a few british players are heading that way.
i fully understand, what you mean about the staff, and we really do have to thank the aussie/new zealand coaches for bring in the proffesionalism etc to super league.
But when watching super league and comparing it to the Nrl, it's like watching 2 different sports, and my worry is that we are now relying on southern hemesphire coaches to try and get close, which could damage our game later on, with players etc not wanting to be coaches in Rl, because there is no oportunity for them, or no advancment.

It's funny you talk about advancement for coaches i am intrigued with the Iestyn Harris situation going from Head coach at Crusaders to assistant at Wigan if it comes off . Dont get me wrong im all for it , just think its odd .

Couldn't agree more King, but what is success ? having watched Rovers when for 14 years we were travelling around the lower leagues, being in sl challanging for play off places is success to me. But as you say, the fact that there is only 2 tropheys does make it harder. Espically when there are realistically only 4 sides in with a chance of winning them (with a couple of others with an outside chance), maybe if we still had promtion/relegation, than people would view being in sl more. Now there is only 2/3 things to play for, and one of those you have to be in the top 8 to stand a chance. Perhaps this is putting more pressure on coaches.

Do you think they should bring back in whatever form the Yorkshire / Lancashire cups or maybe a renamed Regal Trophy ? to give teams more to play for ?

I know some people say they play to many games but im sure there could be a way of doing something .

i think you will find that most league people in NZ do to some extent watch the superleague games we get down here, and the Australians always have players that they like to catch up on.
I wasnt trying to be offensive to super league with my comments above,but i cant help but think watching Rangi Chase on the weekend, that he would get nowhere near that sort of time and place in an average NRL game.

Substitute space for place

King -i would definatly bring back the county cups, play them in pre season, the only stipulation being that the sl sides have to play at least 4 first teamers. I would also get rid of the grand final (which is never going to happen), and bring back the old premiership trophey, with all 3 division finals on the same day.
Laurie, you weren't being offensive, its fact. Look at my club, Green and Dobson are stand out players for us, and neither could get much of a look in in the nrl. And probably won't when they return.

tiger
The best thing to happen down this way is the NRLs under 20 competition,I personally didnt think it would ever work thinking these young guys would be too immature,not only in work ethic but also being able to concentrate for 40 minutes,they have proven me wrong on both counts.
Therror rate is quite low and sure the pace is nowhere near the pros,but its pretty quick.much higher than if these players had stayed playing Auckland club Premier level league.

Tiger i completey agree about the Grand final and Premiership trophy , it's like Andy Coley of Wigan said players play hard all season to finish top of the league and all they get is a shield for the club the players get nothing , if you finish top you should be champions .
The Preimership finals day used to be great day out .

Laurie, we're got the same sort of thing with the volvine league, and u18's, both run by the clubs. But the improvments will take time, what's the amature game like over there laurie?
King loved premiership days, apart from div 2 final in1990 (29 -6 up v oldham,20 mins left to add the premiership to the champions, and we promptly lost) As for the grand final, there was no need for it to begin with, and i don't feel it improves the game in anyway, Saints were the best side for years, yet were only champions once, while leeds who basically a cup side were champions 3 times.How's that right

It's not is it , like you say it comes down to one off games when the real effort has been put in during the whole season .

you're right king, plus how annoying is it to hear eddie & stevo say the season starts here, after 28 rounds.

Very , but they are better then Cairney

tiger
you were asking about there the amatuer game in Auckland.

there are 36 clubs in the Auckland area, the top 8 of those clubs play in a comp called the Fox Memorial (its a big shield) the standard of football is cunning and hard ,remember their are a lot of huge Polynesian boys in Auckland, but not that fast.
to gauge it against your amatuer comp is a somewhat hard, But i'll put it this way, the Local club I' m involved with is the Glanora Bears,a west Auckland club, The premier Captain .... A prop I wont mention names,played 2008 &9 for Whitehaven, so i gather our local stuff is comparable to your 2 nd Division,if I've got that right.

intresting, suprised the amature game's as big laurie, as always thought new zealand more of a union country.
Amature in england is getting confusing, espically as everything is now moving to summer. Apart from the local leagues (i e the hull league, pennine league etc), we also have a summer confrence ( new and some famous clubs), and of course the national leagues( the barla run comp), The standards quite high, espically in the Barla comp, which is littered with ex players and youngsters that didn't quite make it.

tiger
yes rugby is huge,especially at the moment, but in New Zealand there are alot of us that love both codes, I personally played and coached both codes,

laurie

Did you every coach anyone who went on to play at a high level ?