Just which clubs will Neil Henry and Ricky Stuart coach in 2014?
Josh Massoud
The Daily Telegraph
September 11, 2013 12:00AM
NEIL Henry and Ricky Stuart are locked in a fascinating coaches dance, with both men firmly in the frame to coach either Parramatta or Canberra next season.
While the Raiders have courted Stuart to leave Parramatta, The Daily Telegraph can reveal there’s now been a late push for Henry to return to the Nation’s Capital.
But should Canberra offer Stuart the job, Henry won’t necessarily walk away empty handed because he also enjoys strong support to take over at Parramatta.
The intrigue comes on another bleak day for Stuart’s Eels, which saw prop Mitch Allgood charged for high-range drink driving.
Allgood blew 0.131 following the team’s Mad Monday celebrations at The Royal Oak Hotel in North Parramatta and faces stern punishment from the NRL Integrity Unit, which fined and suspended North Queensland’s James Tamou for a similar offence in June.
Despite the controversy, Allgood on Tuesday appeared in social media photographs of Eels players partying on the street with beers.
Insiders viewed the provocative posts as an illustration of soured relationships between the club and players, a dozen of whom were told to find other clubs midway through 2013.
Only two, Reni Maitua (Canterbury) and Cheyse Blair (Manly), have done so.
The rest are now closely eyeing Stuart’s next move in the hope a new coach might have a change of heart.
So too are some of Parramatta’s 2014 recruits.
The Daily Telegraph has learned that at least three of the buys, as well as some Eels who this year signed extensions, enjoy get-out clauses should Stuart leave the club.
The coach can also leave at any time, thanks to a clause in his three-year contract that was inserted to safeguard him against Parramatta’s volatile board.
In-fighting at the club has now reached an all-time low, with the board split three ways over former CEO Denis Fitzgerald’s bid to influence the club’s direction.
It’s understood Fitzgerald is pushing for Jason Taylor to replace Stuart, but sitting members of the board are known to prefer Henry as their next option.
Henry’s stocks have not stopped rising since his sacking from North Queensland as the Cowboys rode a six-match winning streak to sneak into Saturday night’s elimination final against Cronulla.
Furthermore, the Eels have also discussed plans to poach Cowboys football manager Peter Parr as their new CEO.
Canberra, however, hold the balance of power.
The Raiders have formed a sub-committee that includes Queensland Origin coach Mal Meninga to appoint their next coach.
While Meninga is a good mate of Stuart’s from their playing days at the Raiders, he also has immense respect for Henry after the pair combined to trigger Queensland’s record Origin reign over NSW.
Henry was Meninga’s assistant coach for the first five years of the unbroken eight-year run.
Meninga has spoken to Henry about the Raiders job, but there has been no formal interview.
