Elliott to coach NRL club Penrith
Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 7:31 PM
By Adrian Proszenko
Penrith chief executive Glenn Matthews has revealed the stunning coup which lured Canberra coach Matthew Elliott to the Panthers in the space of 24 hours.
Elliott, one of the early favourites to take over the Newcastle coaching job being vacated by Parramatta-bound Michael Hagan next year, has signed a three-year deal with the Panthers.
Having read in newspaper reports that Newcastle had switched their attention from Elliott to Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens, Matthews phoned Elliott to gauge his interest in joining the Panthers - and then signed him to a three-year deal a day later.
"It all happened fairly quickly, I just needed to know if Matthew was available and he was delighted to have a quick chat," Matthews said.
"If you have got an opportunity to get the person you want for your organisation, and you don't take that opportunity then, you might not get that opportunity for another three or four years.
"There are very few people I think could do the job and you can't just put an ad in the paper.
"Everyone in the whole world thought he would sign with Newcastle and then out of the blue they announced they were having discussions with Tim Sheens, so it opened up an opportunity."
Matthews and Elliott didn't even have a chance to meet face-to-face, conducting brief negotiations over the phone.
After a verbal deal was struck, Matthews faxed a contract to Elliott, which he signed and faxed back on Friday, just a day after initial discussions.
In his sixth year with Canberra, Elliott was expected to remain with the Raiders long-term after they were willing to match a three-year deal tabled by the Knights.
However the father of four was keen to return to Sydney for family reasons and the last-minute offer from the Panthers was too good to refuse.
Matthews, who paid tribute to the tremendous work done by Lang at the Panthers, said his only regret was conducting the negotiations behind his back.
"He was disappointed in the decision, but understood why I was doing it," Matthews said.
"He was more disappointed in the fact I had spoken to Matthew before I talked to John and I'm disappointed I did that as well.
"I certainly promised John I would talk to him first, but things just happened so quickly.
"Ideally we would like to make decisions on coaches in the off season but the commercial reality is that's garbage, it won't happen."
Lang informed the Panthers players and coaching staff of the change at a meeting before they left Alice Springs, where they defeated Newcastle 38-30 in the trial.
Panthers hooker Luke Priddis said the shock announcement came "out of the blue".
"We all knew John was off contract at the end of the year but we were understanding the decision would be made mid-year," Priddis said.
"It came as a bit of a shock ... it came out of the blue.
"That's the way the business of rugby league seems to be going these days.
The move is a major blow for Lang, who guided the club to the 2003 premiership and now joins Parramatta's Brian Smith in facing an entire season knowing he's already been replaced for 2007.
Elliott, Hagan, Smith and Lang will all be under immense scrutiny this season amid suggestions their current clubs could suffer due to their pending departures.
Elliott said he would have no problems concentrating on his role this year with the Raiders.
"I feel enormously flattered and very fortunate to be able to continue my coaching career in the NRL with Penrith," Elliott said.
"In the meantime I intend to ensure that my coaching continues to improve."
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