Henare: Bring on the rival Breakers

Paul Henare says he will have no qualms coaching against the Breakers organisation that has been such a big part of his life and where his retired singlet hangs from the rafters every day as testament to his status as a club legend.

Henare has been snapped up by United as an assistant coach to fill the void created by the departure of Simon Mitchell to take the reins at the expansion South East Melbourne club.

The reshuffle comes just a week into the new Australian NBL season.

The Tall Blacks coach says his close friendship with former Breakers colleague Dean Vickerman was the key factor in his decision to join the Melbourne staff for the remainder of the season and he told Stuff the prospect of plotting the downfall of his old organisation is one he accepts as part of the territory.

‘‘I haven’t thought about it to too much,’’ he said on Thursday before heading to Melbourne.

‘‘The advantage of being in pro sports is as a player you do it to some extent when you switch clubs or play against players who used to play with you, and when I was coaching, even when I moved down to Southland I experienced it going against Hawke’s Bay, which is a similar thing. I don’t think it’s too much of an issue.

‘‘There will be some excitement there but I’ll just be focused on what my role will be for the team.’’

It’s a great get by the NBL’s defending champions, officially confirmed on Thursday, with the Vickerman-Henare coaching tandem a proven and complementary one.

‘‘There will be some excitement there but I’ll just be focused on what my role will be for the team.’’ Paul Henare