Assistant Coach and other info

[Rich102]

Four years after his retirement, club legend Ruben Wiki is returning fulltime to the Vodafone Warriors after being confirmed today in the club’s new-look strength and conditioning department for the 2013 season.
Since ending his stellar playing career with 312 NRL appearances and a then-world record 55 Tests, Wiki (39) has had part-time roles with the Vodafone Warriors as well as working as the New Zealand Rugby League’s high performance manager and on the Kiwis’ coaching staff.
Now he becomes a fixture at his old club again after being appointed as strength and conditioning coach in the Vodafone Warriors’ bolstered training staff announced today by head strength and conditioning coach Carl Jennings.
Otara-raised Wiki said he couldn’t wait to embrace his job when the Vodafone Warriors reconvene on Monday to start their pre-Christmas off-season training programme.
"I’m so excited about being back here. I love this place and being involved with the players like this is my passion," he said.
"I can’t thank the NZRL enough for the opportunity I had with them. I’ve learnt so much from my time with them but now I’m ready to get into working with my club again and doing all I can to help us be as good as we can possibly be.
"I’m really looking to working with Matt (Elliott) again and also Carl. We go back to the Canberra days."
Wiki’s 225-game Canberra career ran from 1993-2004 before he joined the Vodafone Warriors. Elliott was on the Raiders’ coaching staff from 2001-2006 while Jennings was head strength and conditioning coach.
"I’m delighted to be working with Ruben again," said Elliott.
"As a person, he models the culture we want to develop at the Vodafone Warriors. "What he offers as a person sits alongside the skill set he brings with him for this job. First and foremost there’s his obvious wealth of experience as player at the highest level and since retiring he has also become a skilled practitioner in the strength and conditioning field. He has the whole package."
Apart from his strength and conditioning role, Elliott said Wiki would also contribute in a coaching capacity by mentoring NRL players.
As well as announcing Wiki’s appointment, Jennings confirmed three other staff - sports science manager Brad Morris, rehab and speed coach Dayne Norton and performance analyst Adam Sadler.
"Our training staff will be involved across the club from our NRL team through to the NYC team and the development squad as well as the Vulcans (in the New South Wales Cup)," said Jennings.
"We will be taking an integrated approach to all we do, adopting a whole of club mentality."
As well as being sports science manager, Australian-born Morris - who has a master of exercise science degree - will add value as a wrestling coach, drawing on his experience as an amateur and professional fighter. Morris (34) is an MMA (mixed martial arts) specialist and has also fought in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in North America.
He has been involved in the NRL the last three seasons, working with Elliott and Jennings as Penrith’s wrestling coach in 2010 and 2011 before moving to the Sydney Roosters this year as their performance coach (strength and power).
"Brad will specialise in the research and application of the latest, best-practice training and recovery methods," said Elliott. "He’ll also ensure we’re abreast of all the latest international trends in the sports science field."
Aucklander Norton brings vast experience as a long-serving trainer with the Vodafone Warriors and also with the Kiwis, being involved in each of New Zealand’s major title triumphs in the last seven years (the 2005 Tri Nations, the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and the 2010 Four Nations).
"The rehab and speed role will allow Dayne to develop our players in speed and agility as well as getting injured players game-ready," said Elliott.
"He’ll liaise with the medical staff and trainers in a role that was identified as a gap in our system following the in-season and post-season review completed recently. Dayne’s expertise in speed and agility training has been largely untapped but it’s an important resource for the whole club."
The training department is completed by Christchurch-born and raised Sadler who, like Jennings, joins the Vodafone Warriors after experience with the Crusaders and Canterbury rugby union organisations over the last two years. He has an undergraduate degree in sports and exercise science.
"Adam will collate training footage as well as GPS, heart rate and other data as a training and game-day resource for coaches, trainers and players," said Elliott.
Vodafone Warriors general manager football operations Dean Bell said confirmation of the expanded training department marked a vital step forward for the club.
"This is a key outcome of the plans announced in July when (owners) Owen Glenn and Eric Watson committed to a substantial investment in personnel, sports science and other resources for our football department," he said.
"This is a critical start and it points us in the right direction as we strive for best-practice in our football operation."
Bell said the Vodafone Warriors would be able to confirm their full coaching team in the next few days.

http://www.voxy.co.nz/sport/warriors-confirm-new-look-training-staff/5/139549

 

[Aragorn]

Otara-raised Wiki said he couldn?t wait to embrace his job when the Vodafone Warriors reconvene on Monday to start their pre-Christmas off-season training programme.
"I?m so excited about being back here. I love this place and being involved with the players like this is my passion," he said.

I'm sure he's over the moon they didnt make him an escape goat for the last years defensive record. On ya Bluey.... baaar

 

[Rebel]

I'm sure he's over the moon they didnt make him an escape goat for the last years defensive record. On ya Bluey.... baaar

Why on earth do we need hodkinson? Leuluai and Johnson as 1st choice halves with Tuimavavae, Godinet Meads and even Mateo as back ups.

 

[SilentOne]

hodkinson will probably be used to put a bit of a rocket up Johnson's backside and I think it's needed.

 

[playdaball]

Godinet should go to another club - he has nener let the Warriors down. Try the Titans!

 

[SilentOne]

Just on Wiki's appointment, if he couldn't commit full time this season due to personal reasons (starting his business and what not) why all of a sudden the change of heart?

 

[Penrose Warrior]

What happened to Hodgkinson this year? I'd be ripped if I was overlooked for Kris effing Keating. If he's going to play five-eighth and Leuluai be a bench utility I don't think we're going about it the right way. Much more flexibility with Ropati or Tuimavave.

Ayshford I am happy with. Really rate him, although I'd have to wonder why he's gone backwards as well. Maybe the Tigers environment is to with it. Very powerful centre/2nd rower who will only get better under the right coach.

Folau is going to be an Eel so there's no point discussing that.

 

[Scott]

Hodkinson spent the majority of the season injured. Kris Keating only came into the Bulldogs once Hodkinson broke down. He attempted a comeback via NSW Cup and reinjured himself.

Hodkinson is a first grader. If he signs, he plays 6, simple as that. He is also a quality goal-kicker.

Having said all this, i'm not sure he is required.

 

[maddest_kiwi]

Hodgkinson went well for manly in 2010 didn't he? He seems like a good organizer. What's his tactical kicking like? I'm not sold on Johnson being any good at organising yet either. He Reminds me of Benji and we know how well he plays at 7. I wouldn't mind this with leuluai playing 30-40 min impact like lance used to...

1. Locke
6. Johnson
7. Hodgkinson
9. Friend
14. Leuluai

 

[Rebel]

Our first assistant coach if it hasnt been mentioned yet....

http://www.warriors.co.nz/news-display/Henry confirmed as NRL assistant coach/65629

 

[Rich102]

OPINION: There is a scrap brewing that is likely to dominate the talk throughout a good chunk of the 2013 National Rugby League season.
It will have little to do with what is happening on the field but will be about meetings held behind the scenes as to why this headline-creating side story is about to take off.
When you talk marquee players in rugby league at the moment - who can change an NRL club almost on their own - there are probably five names that stand out: Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Jonathan Thurston.
Of those five players, only one does not have his future relatively secure with an NRL club. That is Thurston, whose contract with the North Queensland Cowboys will end after the 2013 season.
Although the 2012 season hasn't yet started, the NRL clubs are preparing to circle, and you can expect one of the hungry clubs smelling blood to be the New Zealand Warriors.
There will be a host of clubs in the queue for the Queensland five-eighth's signature but, when it comes to dollars and cents, it is hard to think of another club matching what the Warriors can, and probably will, offer.
The Warriors said publicly during their recent search that they were willing to pay what it took to get their man in their coaching department. That preferred man was understood to have been Craig Bellamy but, for whatever reason, it never eventuated.
It's not hard to work out that money is likely to be turned to chase Thurston's services for the 2014 season and beyond.
The Warriors have room in the salary cap to play with and also have cashed-up owners who could help in a big way with the third-party deal to get Thurston.
The key question will be whether Thurston would be willing to make a shift to New Zealand.
Former Warriors player and Kiwis international Thomas Leuluai is back at the club and looks set to wear the Warriors No 6 jersey this season. Youngster Carlos Tuimavave is also coming through the club's ranks as a standout in the five-eighth for the Warriors under-20 team in recent seasons.
However, though it is obvious he has talent, the jury still is out as to whether his future lies at five-eighth, centre or fullback.
Thurston would add plenty to the Warriors club, not just as a player but as a leader to the young team, which includes the promising Shaun Johnson in the No 7 jumper.
With most of the superstar players locked in for the next couple of years, the Thurston topic is going to be a hot one.
From left field this week, another stick has been rammed into the NRL spokes and now alongside the soon-to-be-available Thurston is former Queensland and State of Origin centre Israel Folau.
He was always predicted to re-enter the NRL market after his stint at playing AFL, but his decision to quit AFL this week has meant that suddenly his services are up for grabs much earlier.
Folau is without a job and, with Thurston, will provide the two most sought-after signatures.
The Warriors could make themselves a contender for Folau as well but it seems the Parramatta Eels are the frontrunners. They are understood to have made a big play at getting New South Wales centre Michael Jennings from the Penrith Panthers for the 2013 season, which would allow Penrith to free up some money in the salary cap to go after Thurston next year.
Penrith, however, want to keep Jennings and the focus from the Eels appears to have switched to getting Folau

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/7900515/Warriors-amongst-likely-suitors-for-Thurston

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Fairly underwhelming. Although I will say, it seems Elliott sees the best in everyone. Wee conversation with Henry about the Vulcans, such a nice guy he's the new assistant. Kevin Locke, naughty driver a few times over, no dramas. Ruben Wiki, dire defensive coach..sign him up Wayne.

 

[Rich102]

Long-serving Warriors assistant coach Tony Iro turned down an improved offer to stay at the club, instead opting to effectively become unemployed rather than join the Matt Elliott-led revolution.
The Herald understands Iro is still in negotiations with the Sydney Roosters, however the Sydney club is no longer confident of luring the Kiwis assistant after failing to reach terms.
Iro is believed to be eyeing an opportunity at the New Zealand Rugby League. Chief executive Jim Doyle is to retire at the end of the year. Doyle protégé Tony Kemp is understood to have applied for the top job. If he gets it, that would free up Kemp's general manager high performance role - a job for which Iro would be a natural fit.
The Herald understands the Warriors made a big play to keep Iro, who would have been a key figure in helping Elliott get the players on board as he begins his tenure.
Having brought many of the current NRL squad through the ranks during his time as the club's NYC coach, Iro was immensely popular figure with the players.
And having served all through Ivan Cleary's largely successful six-year tenure, Iro's wealth of knowledge about the club's intricacies were viewed as a valuable resource for Elliott. The Herald understands the club initially offered to improve Iro's terms in a bid to convince him to stay, however negotiations soured when Iro would not quickly commit.
Former Raiders assistant coach Andrew McFadden is being tipped to replace Iro. The club is expected to confirm the identity of Elliott's two assistants tomorrow.
The club yesterday confirmed the make-up of its backroom staff. Club legend Ruben Wiki has moved from part-time to a fulltime strength and conditioning role.
As well as Wiki the club has appointed three more fulltime staff to assist head trainer Carl Jennings.
Australian Brad Morris is the sports science manager, long-time servant Dayne Norton becomes rehab and speed coach, while former Crusaders staffer Adam Sadler joins as a performance analyst.
"I love this place and being involved with the players like this is my passion," Wiki said. "I'm really looking to working with [coach] Matt [Elliott] again and also Carl. We go back to the Canberra days."
Wiki's 225-game Canberra career ran from 1993-2004. Elliott was happy to be reunited with Wiki.
Apart from his strength and conditioning role, Elliott said Wiki would also contribute in a coaching capacity by mentoring NRL players.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10844793

 

[One Warrior]

Sounds like we will be getting Andrew McFadden as our other assistant and that the Raiders really rate him.

Raiders to lose McFadden

November 4, 2012

CANBERRA RAIDERS coach David Furner insists he won't stand in assistant coach Andrew McFadden's way should he wish to quit his post to join the Warriors.

The Raiders this week initially denied McFadden's request for a release, as he still has a year to run on his contract.

But Furner insisted he won't play hard ball when he holds talks with his deputy on Monday should he still wish to accept a role under Matt Elliott in New Zealand.

If McFadden leaves as expected, Furner said he had a ready-made replacement who would fill the void in time for the start of pre-season training on Friday.


Furner confirmed Toyota Cup coach Andrew Dunemann would fill a role with the NRL squad, after guiding the under-20s to a grand final in his first year in charge.

Dunemann will replace Justin Morgan, who will leave the club or be demoted from his role despite having a year to run on his two-year deal.

McFadden is highly regarded by Furner and the playing group, and the club is keen for him to stay.

But Furner said the former halfback would leave with his blessing if he did not have a change of heart.

''I only found out last week he got approached by the Warriors, and I think it's an extra year and a bit more money,'' Furner said.

''I can't begrudge the bloke. I know at first we said it [a release] is not going to happen, but I think that might change on Monday.

''I'll have a talk to him, but if someone's not going to be 100 per cent focused here, then there's no point being here.

''It'd be nice if he stays, but if he doesn't I wish him all the best.''

Furner declined to divulge the identity of McFadden's potential replacement, but confirmed it was someone who did not have an existing role at the club.

A strength and conditioning coach based in Britain will also join the Raiders next year, replacing the departing Matt Ford.

''I've got everything in place. The pre-season's all sorted, strength and conditioning's all sorted,'' Furner said.

''Fordy was looking to have a break and pursue something else, so the only person I looked to change was 'Morgs' [Morgan].

''The assistant coaches are pretty much in place, on Monday we'll see where we're at with 'Cap' [McFadden] and go from there.

''He has been under me for a while and I know one of his reasons is to keep broadening his coaching under another coach in Matty [Elliott].

''I've got no problems there and if that's the case on Monday, that's fine.''

Raiders star David Shillington admitted the playing group was as much in the dark as anyone about the club's coaching roster. ''I don't know anything about it, to be honest,'' he said.

''Picking the coaching staff is up to the head coach, it's up to Furnsey what he wants to do there.

''I've always been really happy with the coaching of Morgs, 'Cappy' [McFadden] and Furnsey but if they were to change, so be it.''

Shillington said he would be shattered should McFadden depart, adamant he was a first-grade coach-in-waiting.

''I've said plenty of times I think he'll make a great first-grade coach one day, if he's crazy enough to take the plunge into first-grade coaching,'' he said.

''He's got an extremely intelligent football brain and he's a fantastic communicator and people manager, too, which is a huge part of coaching dealing with 30 different personalities in a squad.

''It would be a huge shame to see him leave, but if another club did pick him up they'd be very lucky to have him.''

Canberra's coaching upheaval could not have come at a worse time, with pre-season set to begin.

But Shillington remained upbeat, believing a few new faces in charge could help refresh and motivate the squad.

Former Raiders captain Alan Tongue described McFadden's likely departure as ''a huge loss''.

But he insisted the former halfback would still fill his role professionally should the Raiders refuse to let him go. ''It would be a huge loss, all the players really respect him and love the way he coaches,'' Tongue said.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug.../raiders-to-lose-mcfadden-20121103-28rbr.html

 

[Rich102]

It's not over-stating matters to call Tony Iro's decision to leave the Warriors 'The Tragedy Of Tony'.
The fact that Iro has quit without a job to go to speaks volumes - and underlines again the task ahead of the Warriors management and new coach Matt Elliott. It also speaks to the way the club handles such matters.
Much of what happened with Iro is covered by the dense layer of privacy which blankets employer-employee relationships. But Iro is said to be leaving the club not because he has been wooed away by a job elsewhere or the enhanced salary and prospects that go with being a head coach.
It's understood he is leaving because he is unhappy with how the club has treated him in the process of finding a new coach to replace Brian McClennan, sacked with two games to go last season.
It's further understood that Iro, for family reasons, is tending towards staying in New Zealand and may win a role with the New Zealand Rugby League to go along with his position as assistant coach of the Kiwis.
Offers from Australian NRL clubs and UK clubs remain on the table but no deal has been struck.

That rachets matters right back to the Warriors and their handling of the succession of McClennan. Consider the following, gained from sources close to the action:
• The Warriors nailed their colours to the mast early on, proclaiming that they would be bringing a "marquee coach" to the club. Iro, though good judges of horse flesh rate him an outstanding coach in the making, respected and liked by the Warriors players, was not publicly rated as such. So, from the outset, the club made it clear that he was not foremost in their thoughts.
• Iro was interviewed for the head coach job early in the process but then it is believed he existed in an information-free zone for weeks afterwards. Speculation was rife about possible "marquee" coaches but Iro's name was rarely mentioned and he had no contact from the club. It was another signal.
• So was Iro being handed the coaching reins for the Warriors' last two games of the season after McClennan had gone - when a disaffected, underperforming squad in disarray and under highly critical public pressure went down 38-6 to the Dragons and 42-22 to the Raiders. Few coaches could prosper in such circumstances but the club appeared to use that as justification for Iro's non-selection.
• It is understood Iro found out about Elliott's appointment from the media. Attempts were made to get hold of Iro hours before the press conference to announce Eliott's appointment but Iro was then in Queensland with the Kiwis, preparing for the one-off test match against the Kangaroos on October 13.

All of this tends to suggest to the person in question that he might not be as desired as he had hoped. In fact, you'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to see that the club was effectively holding up a large, metaphorical sign saying: "Not valued". The Warriors apparently tried to make a late bid to keep Iro but, allegedly disillusioned by his treatment and the process, he decided to go. One report - could it have been leaked by the Warriors? - made it sound like Iro had rejected an improved offer from the club early in the piece, rather than only after all the above had taken place.
If the Warriors wanted to keep Iro, here's how they could have handled matters so everything and everybody was up front: "Hi Tony, we wanted to talk to you about the coaching job. We've decided to go elsewhere but we want you to know how highly we value your services and how much we want you to stay on as assistant to the new coach - and here's a bonus and/or a renegotiated contract to demonstrate how much we think you can offer and the job we want you to do with the players and in helping to coach ... ".
If Iro had demurred, he could have been managed out at that point. Instead, he got handed a poisoned chalice and then a long period of silence after he drank from it.
If a coaching clean-out was required - not unknown in such circumstances so a new coach can get his own people in - then do it quickly and up front. Keeping Iro in limbo for so long appears to have cemented his feeling he wasn't wanted.
Professional sport is a harsh master. Success can be elusive and the door to the car park can be opened quickly and ruthlessly. Ask Craig Walker, the high performance manager at the club who appears to have been made a partial scapegoat for the players' lack of performance and fitness under McClennan. He's since been picked up by the Roosters - not normally known for their ability to appoint lemons.
But if the players wanted Iro, the club wanted Iro and Elliott wanted Iro, why is he leaving?
It's not known what his relationship with Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah is like, though Scurrah has been saying publicly how much he and the club wanted Iro to stay.
Under his watch, the club has appointed Dean Bell as GM of football operations and Elliott as head coach, neither of whom can be described as "marquee"appointments, no matter how much gloss is applied to what might be called a "Matt" finish.
The contention that Elliott was the man they'd always wanted is interesting when balanced against the Warriors' undoubted pursuit of Melbourne super-coach Craig Bellamy and reports they also romanced Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan. There were suggestions they offered twice his current salary before Flanagan ruled himself out for contractural and other reasons.
In the Ivan Cleary regime, the power base of the club was Cleary, director of football John Hart, Scurrah, Iro, Bell, juniors coach John Ackland and Walker - a tight bunch who worked well together.
With Iro's departure, the survivors are Bell - in an enhanced capacity - and Ackland. Scurrah clearly sits at the head of that new structure.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10844948

 

[Rich102]

There will be no place to hide under the brutal regime of new Warriors strength and conditioning coach Carl Jennings.

Expand
Carl Jennings. Photo / Doug Sherring


He had a big impact on Ruben Wiki's career, almost brought Richie McCaw to his knees and from tomorrow will be dishing out the pain at the Warriors.
New head strength and conditioning coach Carl Jennings clocks in for duty as pre-season training gets under way at the Auckland club this week.
Jennings, who has previously worked at Bradford, Canberra, Penrith and the Crusaders, is the man the players will love to hate.
"I've got lots of psychotic routines," laughs Jennings. "It will be hard work from day one but nothing worth achieving is achieved without hard work. When they run out on day one, they are going to look lean and mean and are going to be fit without question. I'm not bagging what has come before me - I'm drawing a line in the sand with my vision about where these athletes need to be."
Like everybody else in the NRL, Jennings recognises the immense physical potential of the Warriors, particularly the current group that enjoyed such success in 2011.
"They are tremendous natural athletes, tremendous natural ball players and tremendous in terms of speed work," says Jennings. "This is a special group with some really special talent.

But the world is full of talented underachievers, so we have to create an environment that allows them to thrive and feel inhibited to play the style of football that they want to play - and what Matt [Elliott, oach] is going to facilitate them to play."
Jennings' chief lieutenant will be Ruben Wiki, confirmed as strength and conditioning coach last week as part of a bolstered five-man team that also includes former MMA fighter Brad Morris. It could be seen as something of a reprieve for Wiki - he struggled in a part-time role as defence coach last season - but he is hugely respected and had success in previous training roles.
Jennings has a long association with Wiki, going back to the Raiders at the turn of the last decade. He developed the 'Wiki blitz', a mini-training programme so harsh in its intensity it tends to be talked about in hushed league circles.
"Ruben came to me and wanted something just for him that prepared him for battle," explains Jennings. "We developed something that he could do after the last training session of the week, usually on Thursday afternoon."
'The Wiki' combines rowing, burpees and a clean and press weights drill and tests aerobic, anaerobic and alactic systems. It starts with 1000m on a rowing machine, then 10 burpees and 10 clean and press. Then an 800m row, 12 burpees, 12 clean and press (with 50kg), 600m row, 15 burpees, 15 clean and press, 500m row, 18 burpess, 18 clean and press, 400m row, 20 burpees, 20 clean and press, and ends with a 300m row.
Performed continuously, Wiki's record of 18m 40s has rarely been challenged, though many have tried. Jennings used the exercise on the Great Britain team in the mid-2000s and recalls only "one or two" managed to break 20 minutes.
"We started with Ruben and then everyone else in the team wanted to do it," says Jennings. "We also used it at Penrith and even the Crusaders felt a bit of Wiki-love at certain stages last year. It's not the be-all and end-all but it's a very useful tool."
Working with Richie McCaw, Jennings also developed the 'Richie blitz' as an endurance tool at a time when the Crusaders captain was restricted in the amount of running he could do. It sounds eye-wateringly tough.
"You do maximum effort on the rower for a set time, then come back to maximum effort on weights for a set time, then swap again. Essentially, you are going to the point of total and utter exhaustion and maintaining it for an hour.
"The 'Richie blitz' is pretty insane but very few since have been able to complete it. In terms of toughness, they [Wiki and McCaw] are very similar kinds of characters and they do whatever is needed to win."
Jennings, A former Great Britain shot put champion, met new Warriors coach Matt Elliott "by chance" and was appointed head trainer at Bradford soon afterwards in 1996. The duo have worked together for most of the past 17 years, though their approach has not been without its critics. Particularly at Bradford and Penrith, there was a perception that they had a heavy emphasis on bulk and power, turning their forwards into fearsome (but slightly immobile) monsters. It is an approach that has been tried before at the Warriors, especially in 2004, and the results were disastrous.
"Looking from the outside in, you can have that perception," says Jennings. "We had a lot of success a thousand years ago at Bradford and at that time strength training was all new. My background was a strength and power background and that is what I knew. People say that I have always developed big sides but at the Canberra Raiders, we had a small side that was super-fit. We had a team that loved golden point scenarios, loved to get in a shit-fight because we could win those games, as we were fitter than everybody else."
Jennings wants people to judge him on results but offers assurances that he is not aiming to turn the Warriors into a bunch of monoliths.
"It's a bit unfair to get transfixed on size and bulk with me," says Jennings. "I've always got the best out of the players I've had in front of me. If people think that I am going to put size and strength on players for the sake of it, they are pretty deluded, to be honest. I've got a lot of size and strength [here] and in some respects, I am going to get them a lot more leaner and fitter. The mantra is fit; conditioned; tough. My vision is to enable these players to play 100 miles an hour in every game and they need to be conditioned, fast, mobile and functional athletes."
Alongside Jennings and Wiki will be Morris, Dayne Norton and Adam Sadler. Morris, who worked at Penrith in 2010 and 2011, is the sports science manager but will also add value as wrestling coach - having fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in North America. Norton, a long-time Warriors and Kiwis trainer, will be rehab and speed coach, while Sadler is the team's performance analyst.
"I've got a narrow focus," says Jennings. "I need to understand Matt's vision and then my focus is to develop the world's greatest rugby league athlete and I am going to work towards achieving that. I won't leave a stone unturned until they achieve their potential which is, to be honest, limitless. People have spoken about it for a long period of time but I think we are really going to have a crack at it this time ... I really do."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10844998

 

[Penrose Warrior]

You'd have to think Iro>Henry.

And I read a report somewhere that Kemp is applying for Jim Doyle's soon to be vacated CEO job. Truly scary.

 

[Skinner]

You'd have to think Iro>Henry.

And I read a report somewhere that Kemp is applying for Jim Doyle's soon to be vacated CEO job. Truly scary.

That frightened the living bejayus out of me when I read it....surely not.

 

[playdaball]

That frightened the living bejayus out of me when I read it....surely not.

Saw it too and thought ....

surely not as a lot of good work has been done over past few years with non RL man ... that I believe is a positive.

Is appointment made via SPARC (OR NZ Govt. equivilant)?

 

[ozbash]

Re Jennings, talks cheap....

Its a club in disarray.