a few names to play with
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4074691a1823.html
Bluey throws hat into NRL's coaching ringBy ADRIAN PROSZENKO - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 27 May 2007
LAWRENCE SMITH/Sunday Star-Times
READY: Kiwis boss Brian "Bluey" McClennan has finally declared himself ready for the challenge of coaching rugby league at NRL level.
Kiwis boss Brian "Bluey" McClennan has finally declared himself ready for the challenge of coaching rugby league at NRL level.
McClennan is at the top of a list of candidates including Ian Millward, Royce Simmons, Shane Flanagan, Brad Fittler, Kevin Moore and Adrian Lam eyeing a start in first grade should an NRL position become available.
Super League trio Daniel Anderson, Tony Smith, former Warriors player and now Hull Kingston Rovers coach Justin Morgan, and former Panthers boss John Lang are also in the mix.
McClennan has been coaching for 16 years but only shot to prominence after guiding the Kiwis to a stunning Tri-Nations victory in 2005, ending 27 years of dominance by the Kangaroos.
In doing so he was one of the few to get the better of then-Australian coach Wayne Bennett, raising questions about whether he was ready for an NRL position. Ever since then he claimed he wasn't yet ready for the challenge - until now.
"In short, I'm ready to move on and if I do I'm very determined to do a good job and be successful (in the NRL)," McClennan said yesterday.
"When we managed to win the Tri-Nations in 2005 I got asked the question then. There was a lot of excitment around and I didn't want to get caught up in that, I still had a lot to learn.
"There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then and I have upskilled a lot. I am ready to take up the challenge now, I'm wiser, more experienced. I feel I've improved a lot as a coach since that time and I feel I'm ready.
"I feel like I've got something to offer and it would be a nice challenge. I'd like to do well in the game."
McClennan's first foray into coaching was under the guidance of John Monie as part of the Warriors' development coaching programme. Since then he has taken Mt Albert from a third division team in the Bartercard Cup to a force which has won the past three titles. His only commitment now is to the New Zealand national side, but he is driven by a desire to test himself in the weekly grind of the NRL.
Asked why he wanted a first grade coaching gig, McClennan said: "To win a premiership. You're in it to win, in the end.
"It's a passion, it's a fix or a drug, you want to win.
"When you get together and set your dream and your missions, it's all about winning competitions. It's all about building your team up and winning that last match at the end of the year."
Fittler is being groomed as Chris Anderson's replacement at the Roosters, Moore at Steve Folkes' Bulldogs, while Simmons is Tim Sheens' understudy at the Tigers.
Cowboys assistant Millward is the tip to replace Nathan Brown should he part ways with the Dragons.
Betting agency Sportingbet Australia has framed a market which suggests at least one coach won't see out the year, quoting Brown and Anderson as the men most likely to get the axe.
