NRL coaching ranks in trouble ?

S

Swiss pete

BRL Player
Feb 17, 2017
32
16
How many NRL coaches are there? Melbourne got the number one. Manly or Canberra the number 2. But after that, it’s getting a bit depressing! Please come up with some alternatives!
 
How many NRL coaches are there? Melbourne got the number one. Manly or Canberra the number 2. But after that, it’s getting a bit depressing! Please come up with some alternatives!
I say get Ricky Ponting in. Think outside the box?
 
Well let's go through them...

Anthony Seibold - A rookie coach who did his apprenticeship at multiple clubs. Made a lot of positive changes at South Sydney and allowed a lot of the young talent that Maguire assembled to flourish. Was brought to Brisbane in less than ideal circumstances and has struggled massively. There's been some signs of life moving forward, but the bloom has certainly come off the rose at this point.

Ricky Stuart - Has finally assembled a roster that can play a similar style of footy as his Sydney Roosters side circa 2002-05. Just a tough mobile side that can really turn the pressure on sides. I think the next month will show whether the side has legs, or if they're just pretenders capitilising on a weak field.

Dean Pay - Seems to have friends in the media making every excuse in the book for him, but he's basically sacrificed two seasons for a better tomorrow. I've seen nothing to suggest the Bulldogs are going to be a premiership side come 2021-22.

John Morris - A stand in coach who inherited a really good side. It's difficult to make heads or tails of the previous coach. Ultimately he did dig Cronulla out of being a bottom four side twice, but also cheated on both occassions.

Garth Brennan - Gorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrne. Tried to make his mark on the Gold Coast by bringing in a bunch of Penrith players and it backfired massively. I'm not sure how much power he had, a couple of players were signed without his approval, but should have focused more on player development. In 2018 the likes of Arrow, Brimson, Fotuaika, Sami really flourished under his tutelege. Probably the strangest signing of all was Shannon Boyd on big money. Every other side is going smaller more mobile and he signs Boyd on huge overs.

Des Hasler - Has returned to prominence with his tough and patient brand of footy. Manly have found their grit and they have the superstars to play off the back of it. Of course, coaching a side that cheated the salary cap certainly has it's benefits, the NRL really taught Manly a harsh lesson.

Craig Bellamy - The key to Melbourne is that it doesn't end at 17 for them, their entire squad of 30 is fantastic and it's reflected in the Falcons dominance in the Queensland Cup. The players trust in him and Melbourne have got roster management down to a fine art.

Nathan Brown - Every now and then he'll get the forwards to up their intensity and allow Pearce and Ponga to do their thing, but it's just so few and far between. They still seem on the right track, but the development of players like Ramien, Ese'ese etc. brings his reputation into question.

Paul Green - Fell in love with 2015 and hasn't let go. It seemed like 2017 was going to provide him with the wake up call he needed and then they went ahead and made a Grand Final. It's probably been the worst thing for them and I'm stunned that players like Granville and O'Neil are still signed on for a couple more years.

Brad Arthur - One of the best attacking coaches in the game and has done a good job of identifying players who can play his style. The challenge for him is to put together a pack that can play consistent football. It's been their achilles heel and even now they still have moments of absolute puss.

Ivan Cleary - Ivan is excellent at getting his teams to believe in the basics and give themselves a chance. That's great for a bottom four roster, but when you've got a side capable of premiership success, you've got to be a trend setter and nothing about Ivan suggests he can give his side an edge.

Paul McGregor - When he was appointed as Dragons coach in 2014, I thought he'd be a stand-in coach and the Dragons would eventually bring in a rookie coach. Yet here we are and Mary despite poor results and DUIs is still under extremely little pressure by the media. Honestly I'm amazed at their coverage of the Dragons fans, treated them like a bunch of spoiled brats instead of the obvious that McGregor is a limited coach who is well past his expiry date.

Wayne Bennett - Has that touch of excellence about him that still lingers after all these years. Bennett coaches attitude and getting players to play to their strengths. The players that buy in typically put in and he's the master of coaching wins while on the back-foot. However, he seems behind on modern trends and in the big games, usually the weaknesses of his sides are pulled apart. His roster management can leave something to be desired at times, and sometimes he's too loyal for his own good.

Trent Robinson - Is obsessed with the speed of the ruck. To the point where he pioneered that deliberate penalties which has been a sore spot for the code in recent seasons. On the flip side, he loves his metre eating backs to start his sets off, letting his mobile forwards put the ball into specific positions and allowing his playmakers to make the most of it. I still feel uncomfortable calling him the best coach in the game, given how inconsistent the Roosters are and how much they rely on their recruitment. He's certainly up there, but he's got a lot of support that other coaches could only dream of.

Stephen Kearney - I don't think he's improved since his awful stint at the Eels. Did well last year to get the Warriors to perform to their potential, but after the fall-out from Johnson, I'm not seeing a lot of direction. For a rugged forward, his pack is awfully soft.

Michael Maguire - A really solid coach. Loves kicking into corners, playing the percentages and relying on individual brilliance. Also has a thing for ball-playing edge backrows which hasn't gone away with Ryan Matterson at the Wests Tigers. I do think at times his approach does wear thin and he can get caught resting on his laurels. I can't recall him having too many positive experiences with senior signings either. Tuqiri may have been the best of all, and Lote made a point to avoid him until later in 2014.

TL;DR there's a few coaches out there who are genuinely good solid coaches who deserve more credit. There's a couple going through lean troughs who have had their moments in the past who deserve more time. There's others who shouldn't even be coaching ISC.
 
How many NRL coaches are there? Melbourne got the number one. Manly or Canberra the number 2. But after that, it’s getting a bit depressing! Please come up with some alternatives!
Are you conveniently ignoring Bennett??? That's a pretty good coach too.

Maguire?
Cleary?

There's a few above average coaches, a few really average (aka Macca) and a few who should have been sacked in the pre-season (aka Boyd).

It's the same as anything in the world, there's always a curve, some are the best, some aren't, some are very bad. You can't have 16 great coaches and if you did, you'd be comparing them against one another, so there's always going to be a few who stand out as clearly the worst.
 
Best of the best currently:

Bellamy
Robinson

Next rung down:
Bennett
Hasler

Two rungs further down:
Stuart
Maguire

Five Rungs Down:
Most other coaches

Slightly Below Abysmal:
Kearney
Pay
Brown

Laughing Stock:
Brennan
MacGregor
 
Last edited:
How many NRL coaches are there? Melbourne got the number one. Manly or Canberra the number 2. But after that, it’s getting a bit depressing! Please come up with some alternatives!

Stopped reading at Ricky Stuart being the number 2 coach.
 
Well let's go through them...

Anthony Seibold - A rookie coach who did his apprenticeship at multiple clubs. Made a lot of positive changes at South Sydney and allowed a lot of the young talent that Maguire assembled to flourish. Was brought to Brisbane in less than ideal circumstances and has struggled massively. There's been some signs of life moving forward, but the bloom has certainly come off the rose at this point.

Ricky Stuart - Has finally assembled a roster that can play a similar style of footy as his Sydney Roosters side circa 2002-05. Just a tough mobile side that can really turn the pressure on sides. I think the next month will show whether the side has legs, or if they're just pretenders capitilising on a weak field.

Dean Pay - Seems to have friends in the media making every excuse in the book for him, but he's basically sacrificed two seasons for a better tomorrow. I've seen nothing to suggest the Bulldogs are going to be a premiership side come 2021-22.

John Morris - A stand in coach who inherited a really good side. It's difficult to make heads or tails of the previous coach. Ultimately he did dig Cronulla out of being a bottom four side twice, but also cheated on both occassions.

Garth Brennan - Gorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrne. Tried to make his mark on the Gold Coast by bringing in a bunch of Penrith players and it backfired massively. I'm not sure how much power he had, a couple of players were signed without his approval, but should have focused more on player development. In 2018 the likes of Arrow, Brimson, Fotuaika, Sami really flourished under his tutelege. Probably the strangest signing of all was Shannon Boyd on big money. Every other side is going smaller more mobile and he signs Boyd on huge overs.

Des Hasler - Has returned to prominence with his tough and patient brand of footy. Manly have found their grit and they have the superstars to play off the back of it. Of course, coaching a side that cheated the salary cap certainly has it's benefits, the NRL really taught Manly a harsh lesson.

Craig Bellamy - The key to Melbourne is that it doesn't end at 17 for them, their entire squad of 30 is fantastic and it's reflected in the Falcons dominance in the Queensland Cup. The players trust in him and Melbourne have got roster management down to a fine art.

Nathan Brown - Every now and then he'll get the forwards to up their intensity and allow Pearce and Ponga to do their thing, but it's just so few and far between. They still seem on the right track, but the development of players like Ramien, Ese'ese etc. brings his reputation into question.

Paul Green - Fell in love with 2015 and hasn't let go. It seemed like 2017 was going to provide him with the wake up call he needed and then they went ahead and made a Grand Final. It's probably been the worst thing for them and I'm stunned that players like Granville and O'Neil are still signed on for a couple more years.

Brad Arthur - One of the best attacking coaches in the game and has done a good job of identifying players who can play his style. The challenge for him is to put together a pack that can play consistent football. It's been their achilles heel and even now they still have moments of absolute puss.

Ivan Cleary - Ivan is excellent at getting his teams to believe in the basics and give themselves a chance. That's great for a bottom four roster, but when you've got a side capable of premiership success, you've got to be a trend setter and nothing about Ivan suggests he can give his side an edge.

Paul McGregor - When he was appointed as Dragons coach in 2014, I thought he'd be a stand-in coach and the Dragons would eventually bring in a rookie coach. Yet here we are and Mary despite poor results and DUIs is still under extremely little pressure by the media. Honestly I'm amazed at their coverage of the Dragons fans, treated them like a bunch of spoiled brats instead of the obvious that McGregor is a limited coach who is well past his expiry date.

Wayne Bennett - Has that touch of excellence about him that still lingers after all these years. Bennett coaches attitude and getting players to play to their strengths. The players that buy in typically put in and he's the master of coaching wins while on the back-foot. However, he seems behind on modern trends and in the big games, usually the weaknesses of his sides are pulled apart. His roster management can leave something to be desired at times, and sometimes he's too loyal for his own good.

Trent Robinson - Is obsessed with the speed of the ruck. To the point where he pioneered that deliberate penalties which has been a sore spot for the code in recent seasons. On the flip side, he loves his metre eating backs to start his sets off, letting his mobile forwards put the ball into specific positions and allowing his playmakers to make the most of it. I still feel uncomfortable calling him the best coach in the game, given how inconsistent the Roosters are and how much they rely on their recruitment. He's certainly up there, but he's got a lot of support that other coaches could only dream of.

Stephen Kearney - I don't think he's improved since his awful stint at the Eels. Did well last year to get the Warriors to perform to their potential, but after the fall-out from Johnson, I'm not seeing a lot of direction. For a rugged forward, his pack is awfully soft.

Michael Maguire - A really solid coach. Loves kicking into corners, playing the percentages and relying on individual brilliance. Also has a thing for ball-playing edge backrows which hasn't gone away with Ryan Matterson at the Wests Tigers. I do think at times his approach does wear thin and he can get caught resting on his laurels. I can't recall him having too many positive experiences with senior signings either. Tuqiri may have been the best of all, and Lote made a point to avoid him until later in 2014.

TL;DR there's a few coaches out there who are genuinely good solid coaches who deserve more credit. There's a couple going through lean troughs who have had their moments in the past who deserve more time. There's others who shouldn't even be coaching ISC.
Yeah I dont get the Shannon Boyd signing, was he ever really that good?
 
Stopped reading at Ricky Stuart being the number 2 coach.
In Canberra it’s not so much Richy Stuart, but Peter Mulholland the recruitment manager. Plus maybe Andrew McFadden the defensive coach.
 
In Canberra it’s not so much Richy Stuart, but Peter Mulholland the recruitment manager. Plus maybe Andrew McFadden the defensive coach.

So why did you say Ricky was the number 2 coach then?
 

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