Raiders downplay problems with coach
Daniel MacDonald
Canberra Raiders general manager Don Furner has thrown his support behind Neil Henry after reports a rift had developed between the NRL coach and some of his players.
The Canberra Times understands a handful of first graders have complained to Raiders management about some of Henry's techniques during his debut season as head coach.
But Furner believes the players are frustrated and trying to find excuses for the their disappointing season.
Henry yesterday dismissed the reports as gossip.
"I'm not even going to give the satisfaction of responding to it," Henry said.
Furner confirmed that several players had not taken well to disciplinary changes and Henry's tough approach to training.
"When you're losing a few games and the going gets tough some players complain," Furner said. "Some players have found the changes in training a little bit difficult because it's been harder."
Coaching staff will review each player's performance next week and will also address individual complaints.
"I think you'll find the discipline a lot harder and we have to," Furner said. "We're not a side that can take shortcuts."
Henry's disciplined training style included the introduction of compulsory rehabilitation after matches - an initiative some players have not accepted well.
"There's changes and there's been some discipline instilled in them ... certain people, not all of them, look to complain because they're losing the games," Furner said. "It's easy to blame it on somebody else."
Discipline was something Furner said the Raiders needed because they were a young side.
"We perhaps need to train a little bit harder than teams which have got superstars in their team," he said.
"It happened at the Roosters last year. They weren't winning and all of a sudden the training was too hard and the coach was too hard on them. It happened at the Cowboys [where Henry was assistant coach] two years ago."
Raiders skipper Alan Tongue backed Henry and denied there was a lack of harmony in the squad.
"There's no doubt Neil has brought a level of discipline and honesty that has really been great for the players," Tongue said. "He's black and white and you just know where you stand with him."
Henry expected a lot from the Raiders and Tongue said the coach was "just honest about where he thinks people should be and what he wanted from his side".
"He'll learn plenty of things from this year and no doubt he'll chop and change things or he'll keep going with his philosophy on how he wants his side to be coached," Tongue said.
"The bad stories fill more pages than the good stories. None of the players and I don't think Neil will be too concerned about [the reports]. He knows that's the way he coaches, that's the way he is. He tells it how it is and some people can deal with it and some people can't but that's just the way it goes."
Meanwhile, the Raiders' Premier League and Jersey Flegg sides trained last night in preparation for this weekend's finals against the Balmain Tigers.
The reserves line-up against the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday at 3pm, while Canberra hosts the Tigers side at Kippax Oval at 2pm on the same day.
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