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Paul CrawleyThe Daily Telegraph
RUGBY league’s worst kept secret is out. Mal Meninga has ditched his beloved Maroons and will be officially announced as Australia’s new Test coach.
But the most successful coach in NSW Origin history, Phil Gould, on Wednesday night declared it was “absolutely ridiculous” and “a waste of money” to make Meninga the Kangaroos’ first ever fulltime coach.
Meninga is reportedly set to pocket the best part of $300,000 a year to coach the Kangaroos for a handful of games annually.
Asked if Meninga’s bumper salary would be money well spent, Gould said: “Mal is the right bloke for the job and I am glad he has got the job.
“But it is not a fulltime job. Absolutely ridiculous.
“It’s the same as having fulltime Origin coaches. You don’t need them.
“The whole thing is a waste of money. I don’t know what the money is worth to coach Australia but I know you don’t have to be fulltime to do it.”
Plenty of others in the game privately agree with the Penrith supremo.
It’s not as if grassroots development couldn’t do with a helping hand, or rugby league in the bush for that matter.
Meninga’s predecessor Tim Sheens was on a deal believed to be $50,000 a year to coach the Kangaroos.
New Zealand and England both survive on having part-time coaches who work as fulltime NRL assistants in Steve Kearney and Steve McNamara.
But ARL Commission chairman John Grant has said he reckons the Kangaroos coach needs to be a fulltime role to get Australia back on top of the rugby league world.
And Grant made it his personal crusade to get his fellow Queenslander into the position, by ruling out every head coach that was aligned to an NRL club.
Meninga’s appointment has also left Queensland privately seething after they believed for months that Meninga would stay on for next year’s Origin series.
Brisbane assistant coach Kevvie Walters is now the hot tip to take over Queensland next year.
But there is no doubt Meninga has left the Maroons well and truly in the lurch in the countdown to Christmas.
Across the game club bosses are privately seething at Grant’s decision to appoint a fulltime national coach, given there are so many areas in the game crying out for better financial support.
As one club boss told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday night: “This is all about John Grant looking after Queensland.
“This is so he can say to his mates; ‘Look what I have done for you’.”
QRL chairman Peter Betros is resigned to losing Meninga.
“If I was a betting man I think he would enjoy the challenge of the Kangaroos,’’ Betros said.
Steve “Blocker” Roach agreed with Gould that Meninga was the right man for the job.
But Roach hopes the newly created fulltime position also means Meninga spends plenty of time helping to develop the game at the non-professional level.
“I reckon it is a great appointment. I think he deserves to be next in the queue to be the Australian coach,” Roach said.
“I think it is fantastic but without knowing what sort of money he is on you’d imagine he would be getting more than he was to coach Queensland.
“So he’d want to do a little bit more than just coach the Kangaroos.
“Hopefully there is a development program where he goes around coaching in the country and with the kids.”
NSW boss David Trodden on Wednesday night said he had no knowledge that Meninga would be announced as the new Kangaroo coach on Thursday but offered: “I would support Mal’s appointment.”
link for article: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...a-waste-of-money/story-fni3fr51-1227631598595
RUGBY league’s worst kept secret is out. Mal Meninga has ditched his beloved Maroons and will be officially announced as Australia’s new Test coach.
But the most successful coach in NSW Origin history, Phil Gould, on Wednesday night declared it was “absolutely ridiculous” and “a waste of money” to make Meninga the Kangaroos’ first ever fulltime coach.
Meninga is reportedly set to pocket the best part of $300,000 a year to coach the Kangaroos for a handful of games annually.
Asked if Meninga’s bumper salary would be money well spent, Gould said: “Mal is the right bloke for the job and I am glad he has got the job.
“But it is not a fulltime job. Absolutely ridiculous.
“It’s the same as having fulltime Origin coaches. You don’t need them.
“The whole thing is a waste of money. I don’t know what the money is worth to coach Australia but I know you don’t have to be fulltime to do it.”
Plenty of others in the game privately agree with the Penrith supremo.
It’s not as if grassroots development couldn’t do with a helping hand, or rugby league in the bush for that matter.
Meninga’s predecessor Tim Sheens was on a deal believed to be $50,000 a year to coach the Kangaroos.
New Zealand and England both survive on having part-time coaches who work as fulltime NRL assistants in Steve Kearney and Steve McNamara.
But ARL Commission chairman John Grant has said he reckons the Kangaroos coach needs to be a fulltime role to get Australia back on top of the rugby league world.
And Grant made it his personal crusade to get his fellow Queenslander into the position, by ruling out every head coach that was aligned to an NRL club.
Meninga’s appointment has also left Queensland privately seething after they believed for months that Meninga would stay on for next year’s Origin series.
Brisbane assistant coach Kevvie Walters is now the hot tip to take over Queensland next year.
But there is no doubt Meninga has left the Maroons well and truly in the lurch in the countdown to Christmas.
Across the game club bosses are privately seething at Grant’s decision to appoint a fulltime national coach, given there are so many areas in the game crying out for better financial support.
As one club boss told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday night: “This is all about John Grant looking after Queensland.
“This is so he can say to his mates; ‘Look what I have done for you’.”
QRL chairman Peter Betros is resigned to losing Meninga.
“If I was a betting man I think he would enjoy the challenge of the Kangaroos,’’ Betros said.
Steve “Blocker” Roach agreed with Gould that Meninga was the right man for the job.
But Roach hopes the newly created fulltime position also means Meninga spends plenty of time helping to develop the game at the non-professional level.
“I reckon it is a great appointment. I think he deserves to be next in the queue to be the Australian coach,” Roach said.
“I think it is fantastic but without knowing what sort of money he is on you’d imagine he would be getting more than he was to coach Queensland.
“So he’d want to do a little bit more than just coach the Kangaroos.
“Hopefully there is a development program where he goes around coaching in the country and with the kids.”
NSW boss David Trodden on Wednesday night said he had no knowledge that Meninga would be announced as the new Kangaroo coach on Thursday but offered: “I would support Mal’s appointment.”
link for article: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...a-waste-of-money/story-fni3fr51-1227631598595
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