McNamara a big loss
OPINION: Fascinating news about Steve McNamara.
The Warriors assistant, who was formerly head coach of England and an assistant at the Sydney Roosters, is off to France to coach the Catalan Dragons.
Steve Who? You might say and fair enough. It’s not like, with a 6-8 record this season, that the Warriors have the the NRL title at their mercy.
It’s just that McNamara is arguably the most important member of the Warriors’ staff.
You’ve got head coach Stephen Kearney, who remains unproven at this level. He might turn out to be one of the great NRL coaches.
For now, though, he’s not. Nor was Andrew McFadden, which is why the Warriors canned him. Keeping him as an assistant was one of the more unusual things you’ll see.
Then there’s Stacey Jones; beloved explayer, but you doubt he’ll be the man Brisbane or Melbourne recruit to replace Wayne Bennett and Craig Bellamy.
To turn to the team, briefly, they have the Bulldogs, Manly (twice), Penrith, the Cowboys, Cronulla, Newcastle, Canberra, South Sydney and the Tigers to play before the end of the season. Talent-wise, the Warriors could win them all. Realistically, six wins would be good. An experienced, successful coach wouldn’t hurt. Des and the Dogs The fortunes of Des Hasler and the Bulldogs continue to generate stories and discussion.
He’s said, mostly on the back of what he achieved at Manly, to be one of the game’s truly elite coaches. No-one’s more thorough, apparently, and the Bulldogs are among the best-prepared teams in the competition.
Only, from this vantage point, some of the players look in poor shape and lacking in basic catching and passing skills. Put it this way; who else can’t wait to see how Sam Kasiano goes at Melbourne next year? You’d bank on Bellamy getting way more out of the former Kiwis prop than Hasler ever has. Better late than never Good of Queensland to get around to picking a competitive State of Origin side. You’d still have to back New South Wales, on home soil at ANZ Stadium, to win the series next Wednesday. But at least the match should be a contest. Compelling stuff Thursday is a while ago now, but it’s hard to shake the memory of Melbourne’s 18-13 win over Cronulla.
Melbourne and Cronulla are good teams who dislike each other and have a huge amount invested in the result. Their clash last week was a great advertisement for the code and it would be no shock if they met again in the grand final.