Richard Agar always keen for NRL as Warriors look for edge
THE Warriors’ last couple of English imports failed to deliver much, but there’s hope that the latest could make a big impact at the club.
Richard Agar has joined the Warriors as an assistant coach on a two-year contract and he could become a crucial asset under Andrew Webster’s new coaching regime.
The former France, Hull FC, Wakefield and Leeds coach was shoulder tapped by Webster when he got the job to take over the Warriors from next season and after turning down a previous opportunity to work in the NRL, the 50-year-old Agar jumped at this opportunity.
‘‘I worked for St George four or five years ago, but some family circumstances had to take us home,’’ Agar said.
‘‘But we loved our time in Australia and with the size of the game in the NRL, it’s probably the pinnacle of our sport today.
‘‘I nearly ended up back here a couple of times . . . then last year I had an opportunity to join a Sydney club, but because of lockdowns and quarantines, that made it difficult for it to happen logistically.
‘‘It was a difficult decision to say I couldn’t come, but it was something I regretted,’’ he added.
‘‘I had a long career in England and I was lucky enough to experience all the big games the sport can offer over there. So it had always been a long-held ambition to come and work down here.
‘‘A couple of opportunities came around, I’d left my job at Leeds and was due to start another job, but didn’t want to go back. I’d been head coach longer than anticipated, I was a temporary head coach that ended up doing three seasons.
‘‘Then when I got the opportunity this time, I was keen to take it.’’ Steve McNamara was an assistant coach with the Warriors in 2017, but quit midway through that season to take up a job with Catalans.
The last English player at the club was Sam Tomkins, who was over-hyped and under-performed during his two-year stint.
So Warriors’ fans could be forgiven for not getting overexcited about the next Pom to get involved, but in
Agar, they’ve appointed someone who not only knows how to build a club and develop a roster, but also take the next step and have success.
However, despite his pedigree Agar doesn’t have any intentions of becoming a head coach in the NRL.
But it will be an unusual position at the Warriors next season with the three assistants, Agar, Justin Morgan and Stacey Jones all having been head coaches, but the incoming head coach is doing it for the first time.
Getting that balance of how much input Webster takes from the other coaches and what decisions he makes himself will be crucial. I’ve absolutely no desire to be a head coach again,’’ Agar said.
‘‘I’ve had around 10 seasons as a head coach and I love working in the game.
‘‘I hope I can support Andrew via those experiences. As a firsttime head coach you can be a great technical coach, but walking in the shoes of a head coach is very different.
‘‘I’d like to think I’ve accumulated plenty of experience and I can support him not only in the day to day assistant role, but in whatever other areas myself Justin and Stacey can support him.
‘‘Ultimately as a head coach, you live and die by your decisions and they’re his decisions to make, but we’ll support him in any way we can.’’
Having been Leeds head coach up until earlier this year, Agar clearly knows the English game inside out, but while he’s happy to pass on his knowledge, it won’t be him making the call on any players to sign from the Super League.
‘‘That’s up to the two Andrews,’’ he said of Webster and the club’s new recruitment manager Andrew McFadden.
‘‘As we saw in the England game last week, there are some very talented players in the Super League.
‘‘Having a genuine desire to come is really important, because it is a big change. You’re a long way from home, the game and lifestyle is different. It’s an unbelievable challenge, but it’s not for everyone.
‘‘I’m sure we’ll have conversations, we already have about some of the younger players who are worth keeping tabs on. But just
because there’s an English coach at the Warriors now doesn’t mean we’re going to be signing player after player from the Super
League.’’