Warriors hand management role to Aussie

WELLINGTON: The Warriors have lured one of the most experienced coaches in NRL history to be their general manager football.

Australian Brian Smith will take up the newly created role, bringing with him a background almost unmatched after close to 30 years as a firstgrade coach.

His 601 games as an NRL coach is topped by only Wayne Bennett and Tim Sheens and he boasts close to 700 games in all, including stints in England.

Warriors chief executive Cameron George could not overstate the importance of signing Smith, who will join the struggling club next month.

It is hoped Smith’s appoint ment can go some way towards turning around the Warriors’ fortunes. The side last reached the NRL playoffs in 2011.

They ended this season with nine straight losses.

‘‘The GM will drive all aspects of football operations and leave no stone unturned in ensuring we have our system right and a very strong enforcement of standards and accountability,’’ George said.

‘‘In Brian we’re securing a person who has lived and breathed it for more than 600 NRL games at multiple clubs and obviously knows what is required.’’

George said the new structure would allow head coach Stephen Kearney to focus solely on his core role.

Smith (63) said he relished tackling the opportunity the role offered.

‘‘The concept of a general manager of football is to give Stephen every opportunity to concentrate on his coaching job,’’ he said.

‘‘I’ll be doing all I can to absorb the administrative workload which can be a real burden and distraction for a coach.’’

Smith’s firstgrade coaching career ran from 1984 to 2012.

His last toplevel coaching job was with Wakefield in the English Super League in 201516. — NZN