Worth the Waite for Bay

RUNAWAY Bay will benefit from the knowledge and connections of former NRL coach David Waite as they look to bolster their junior pathways.

Waite, who played for Australia in the ’70s before coaching Newcastle, St George and England, has been appointed as the junior club’s new head of football development.

The 67-year-old revealed another high-profile rugby league figure – Tommy Raudonikis – was in part responsible for him linking up with the

Seagulls.

“I met him at a Men of League function on the Gold Coast because I retired up there in 2006 and he said there’s another bloke up there you know called Billy Noke,” said Waite, who won Dally M coach of the year in 1996.

“Apparently (Noke) coached at Runaway Bay. I think he was one of the original Broncos and he played at St George but I had Billy Noke as a 15-yearold boy from Dubbo in a NSW Combined High School team – I was a school teacher many, many years ago.

“He (Raudonikis) said you can come up here and have a beer on a Friday so ever since then I have been going up there.”

Runaway Bay won the Rugby League Gold Coast Agrade premiership this year and Waite (pictured) hopes to help facilitate a flow from early junior age groups right up to that top team. The starting point? Coaching the coaches.

“We’re going to take a longterm view to at least support the coaches who volunteer to do the work,” he said.

“My philosophy has always been, if you want to help the kids, coach the coaches.

“The kids will be better prepared then to reach the level that they are capable of, plus it will be more fun and they will have … a good understanding of the basics of the game and therefore enjoy the game.

“We’re going to work from the eight-year-olds all the way up.”

Waite added he hopes to draw on his connections such as Andrew Johns and Garth Brennan – both of whom he knew from his Knights days – to help Bay’s progress.