2020 GOLD COAST FOOTY Stone’s Pizzey reunion

Everyone can play, anyone can win Bears coach finally finds himself back at home

WHEN Rick Stone left Burleigh as a two-time premiership winner at the end of 2005, he never envisaged a return to Pizzey Park 14 years later.

Content with a decade-long coaching stint highlighted by Queensland Cup (now Intrust Super Cup) crowns in 1999 and 2004, Stone parted ways with the Bears to embark on a journey that would lead to roles with Newcastle, Huddersfield, Lebanon, Fiji and the Sydney

Roosters’ NRL Women’s side.

But with Jimmy Lenihan leaving his Burleigh post after steering the Bears to the ISC title in September, the door was ajar for Stone – and he jumped at it.

“I had a few little opportunities to come back (over the years) but didn’t for whatever reason but the planets aligned in the right way this time to come back. It’s a club obviously that gave me my first real opportunity to turn myself into a professional coach,” Stone, now 53, said.

“I had a lot of good years (with Burleigh), I had a lot of good support from the board and the club itself. During the time I was there we were competitive and Jimmy’s had a couple of lean years at different stages but the last three to four years they’ve been up competing for the title and won two premierships. We make no apologies that we want to compete at the highest level in Queensland Cup and the Bears have a bit of history now that that’s the club they are and that’s the club we want to remain,” he said.

Fourth in the ISC record books for most games coached with 209, Stone finds himself in familiar territory in 2020.

Having claimed last year’s ISC title, the Bears will have a major target on their backs when they open their title defence at home to Wynnum Manly in Sunday’s grand final rematch.

While Stone is all too aware of the challenges of going back-to-back, he remains unfazed. “When you look back at the fairly short history of the Queensland Cup, Burleigh has always been pretty competitive,” he said.

“It’s not an easy comp. It’s a competition that looks like a mini-NRL with everyone having the same structure around full-time coaches, development, welfare, CEOs and (strength and conditioning).

“So it is very competitive and it makes it harder and harder to be successful but I think with the base of players we’ve got – touch wood we stay injury free – we’ll be more than competitive again.”