There’s a lot to consider with this choice, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s the right one.
I’m not giving any credence to what he did with NSW this year. Origin is a 50:50 proposition every year and any new coach can come in and look like a hero on the back of a good season (like Billy, who looked untouchable until this year tbsit was clear he had a lot of coaching deficiencies). It’s great he had success at that level but I think it means little for his chances of success at NRL level. Personally, I think his success with the kiwi team is more encouraging and positive.
My most recent memories of him as a coach were the burnout at Souths (which coincided with a huge player churn)… we can hope he’s learnt some more balance from when he rode that squad into the ground.. and then the calamity at the Tigers. This period made me think Madge really wasn’t a top notch coach and as his most recent track record it’s pretty damming … BUT… the tigers are a basket case of a club, and another coach named Ivan Cleary similarly struggled to have any success there pretty recently too, so maybe it’s not a great indication of coach quality.
I loathe teams that play to bend the rules and erode the spirit of the game by ‘soft-cheating’ and taking advantage of referees… BUT that’s now the reality of the modern game. Can you succeed without adopting those practices? Maybe.. but it’s 100x harder. If we manage to employ those tactics and start matching it with the top sides then it’s going to be hard to argue, no matter how distasteful it seems right now.
Overall, a hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach with experience and pedigree at many levels including NRL is exactly what this team needs. I think he was far and away the right choice and I’m hopeful for what the future brings.