BLOWS TO ASPIRATIONS

Q That’s where it ended, at Souths Logan, a club that had been struggling and typical of your career? How was your mindset? A When the news came that the Chargers were gone I was filthy on the world. I took it pretty hard because I’d been through three or four of the worst years imaginable. I went through the demise of the Seagulls, then I had to go through the Muller times with the Gladiators. The last year of the Chargers was abysmal because everyone knew we weren’t going to be there. Q Did those series of events have an effect on your health in any way? A Yes, it started to take its toll on me. It was becoming tedious. And, yes, I probably did have a breakdown of sorts. Q Was it a matter of one disappointment followed by another? A I was pretty disillusioned at the time. I had a series of near misses over the years regarding coaching. Q Tell us about them a little bit more. Was one involving South Sydney? A George Piggins flew me to Sydney saying I had the Souths job but over the weekend the club shifted George sideways and put Paul Langmack as coach. Another time I was flown to Sydney by Barry Hetherington for the Leeds (England) job. He told me I had the job, it was just a formality. Then he rang from England to say they’d given the job to Dean Lance, a commercial decision because he was being paid by Super League. Q But there was yet more disappointment for you, wasn’t there? A I just had one series of setbacks after another. (Wayne) Bennett invited me for an interview when Shane Edwards was CEO and he wanted me as an assistant. He said he’d run it past the staff. Then he called and said a few blokes weren’t happy about it. Craig Bellamy was the conditioner and he wanted the promotion. I just couldn’t take a trick.