Eels Blogs

Well i know some here will roll their eyes and say "Another sack BA blog" but more so if it is the case and for a bit of fun let's actually see the options and consider ourselves if their resume's are better than what we currently have. With Ciraldo, who was my first choice for years, off the market it has made me think of who i would now go for if BA moved on. I will preface this by saying if BA stays in 2023, i think there is a strong chance he will, i will support him as all fans should. But before anyone starts this campaign of "Get over it" or "No more BA sacking blogs" this is purely fun and giving others insight into who is actually there and allow everyone to see who is better and not better than what is here. If you do not like it do not read as simple as that.

I'll start with my now top choice from the research i have done myself and go from there. Now what i say is not gospel of course but hope it can give some insight into what is out there.

Kristian Woolf: He is now my first choice, but the first thing that is brought up with Woolf is "Holbrook had same trajectory and look at him in GC". But that is the GC? The place has hardly any footy DNA in it's area, it is difficult to create a culture there. But i will say Holbrook has not done a wonderful job either he has done OK. But to me, on the other hand, you have Robinson comparison. Coming from ESL with Catalan Dragons, comes to Sydney City and wins a title in year 1. Now GC and Sydney City are two entirely different coaching environments to walk into, Roosters leads to success a lot quicker compared to GC. Holbrook though had a better record with St. Helens than Robinson at Catalan yet 3 titles later begs to differ, Michael Maguire also did the same coaching Wigan, comes to Souths and wins in 3 years. So how can Woolf be different? He has same sort of record as Holbrook at St. Helens, winning 2 premierships and a challenge cup, but like going to GC or Roosters on different ends of the scale of environments, Parramatta is sort of in the middle. Not as much of a basket case as GC, but not as well attractive to players as Roosters. Woolf can succeed at Parramatta with a team ready to win now. Woolf also has more experience coaching men compared to say Holbrook. He coached Townsville Blackhawks to a minor premiership and a GF in their first year in the Q cup. He was an assistant at Brisbane, but before that was in NQ junior system, coaching NYC to a GF appearances losing to the Warriors in 2011. He stayed with Blackhawks until 2019 where he went to Newcastle where he was named interim at the end of 2019 after Nathan Brown was sacked. He then jetted off to St. Helens and rest is self explanatory of his time there. 

If there are concerns, well he was with Townsville for four years and only made one GF and never won a title. It is harder in NSW and QLD cup due to not having the same 17 week in week out due to FG taking players, but still want to see more considering he also got NYC to a GF and lost, is he another BA chokes in big games? Plus the St. Helens comparisons is fair to bring up, lets be fair they can practically coach themselves at this point, does their wonderful purple patch mask how good their coaches actually are? Would Stephen Kearney win with them? haha. Plus ESL is lower than NRL, blind freddy can recognise that. So Woolf can be a risk, but any coach is a risk. Plus the job he has done with Tonga is great too. To conclude Woolf has experience, has been around the traps and takes chances as seen in his job selections, even considering sitting behind Bennett to get the Dolphins job he is patient, good man manager and will know coaches that can be assistants. If Parramatta are at all thinking of moving on BA they should contact Woolf to see his interest as he is coming back to Australia anyway. Dolphins deal is not official yet so hopefully he is considering other options first.

Plus a side note, 17 of the last 22 coaches to win their first title have started their NRL coaching career at the club they won at, not many have won a comp at their second club. Retreads seldom work, Woolf is not a retread but has experience which is bloody hard to find.

Shane Flanagan: Most controversal name on the list and for good reason. What he did was idiotic and arrogant to the highest degree and he is paying for it. Not only being suspended from coaching for 2 years but adding in more years from teams simply blackmarking him from being a head coach. Is he a good choice? Well put it this way, i would welcome him to the club. As mentioned above, retreads do not work that much, but how many retreads have a premiership ring? Plus most retreads were sacked from their post for becoming stale, Flanagan was still at the height of his coaching when moved on. He has a point to prove and has been a proven winner, not only at Cronulla but at Sydney and Parramatta in lower grades. Did he win 2016 Premiership in suss circumstances? Well i do not think so as all teams dodgy the cap at times, but it is a fair argument. But i tell you what if you ask Eels fans that the club will move the cap in a way to get an advantage and win a title and will never caught nor punished for it, 95% would say that is fine.

Positives for Flanagan is players in the past loved him, Gal and Ennis adore him. Negatives is what he got suspended for and has he learnt his lesson or is he arrogant still? Flanagan was my second option behind Ciraldo, is now my second option as Woolf has jumped him. Flanagan is a good man manager and his ring will garner immediate respect and he is perfect to take a team that is ready to win and work some magic. Reason he is not no.1 is he has been out for a while and seen coaches win a title elsewhere and fail at second club (Madge). Side note, Flanagan's finals record is 6-6, compared to BA's which is 2-6. So not much better though a premiership solves all.

Jason Ryles: First rookie, not many are attractive options though on the rookie front after Ciraldo. Would the club want a out and out rookie? Doubt it, but if we are to look at one Ryles seems to be a decent candidate. A champion player in his own right, Ryles has come through as an assistant under Bellamy at Melbourne and Robinson at Sydney while also considering a stint with England Rugby as their skills coach. Only thing that scares me with Ryles is he has not actually coached a team by himself at a high level. He coached Western Suburbs Red Devils in Wollongong comp, but hasn't had either grades linked with NRL. So it is a massive jump to coaching them week in week. The factor of doing his apprenticeship under some of the games best is not as impressive as it once was, look at Adam O'Brien. Had same path with being at Melbourne and Sydney then landing in Newcastle and well not done great to be fair. What makes Ryles different? Who knows and he has always been a bit of an odd name for a rookie as he has no proven record other than being an assistant at top teams, elsewhere for NSW under 20's and Schoolboys he has always been an assistant.

Ryles is similar to Fitzgibbon i guess, but Fitzgibbon had at least been an assistant for NSW and coached Country Origin also on the side, he had teams on his own. Ryles is waiting for a top job and good luck to him for that and might get one from a team looking for youth but Parramatta i doubt will bite and nor should they. This is a cautionary candidate until he takes a team in lower grades and proves his worth.

Dean Young: Another flavour of the month, being courted by Bennett for Dolphins job, he has done a wonderful job being under Todd Payten at NQ. He was also the interim in 2020 when McGregor was sacked by St. George Illawarra so has had a team to himself unlike Ryles. Young also coached the Dragons SG Ball team and NYC also, so has put himself in there for having his own teams. Young is, no pun intended, young in his coaching career. Is he ready to take a job full-time? He is better suited to going to ESL, or waiting for Dragons job when Griffin is sacked in 2023. I think Parramatta wouldn't be a bad fit for Young but his resume so far is too slim. If BA sees out his deal in 2024, then maybe in 2025 Young will be a much better candidate seeing how NQ go in the next few seasons.

Geoff Toovey: How a coach, with 58% winning record and a GF appearance, cannot get another job baffles me. Toovey's name has died down to the point where he will never get a Head Coaching spot again, i am comfortable with that. Not sure what happened but that alone shows he may be better as an assistant.

Anthony Seiblod: Now this is a prime assistant candidate. Considered a tactical genius, yet has been known to undermine his coaches also. Seibold is brilliant and intelligent, but issue is he knows it too, those type of people can rub people the wrong way. No denying but that Seibold can coach, it is his man management that is his issue. I would not like him as a head coach at Parramatta, but as an assistant i would campaign for heavily. The brisbane job he did scares me too much how he royally screwed that team.

Ryan Carr: Do you keep it in house? Ryan Carr has had his own teams, has experience and found success in England though in second division still did wonders with a team with bad winning culture in one year. Carr should stay in the system regardless of who is in charge due to his familiarity with the players currently there. I want to see him as an attacking coach assistant for a full year, so far he has not had the opportunity to really get his message across and have an imput. Head coach? Maybe a little early, if BA stays for 2023 and 2024 then Carr could be a hot candidate to take over in 2024 or 2025 having a year or so as an assistant. Right now a bit too soon.

Shaun Wane: Known for being a wonderful ESL coach with Wigan, that is all he is. Never coached in the NRL at any level. You may say what is the difference between Wane who has done well at Wigan and Maguire at Wigan when that was his first full-time role? Madge had experience playing in NRL and assistant at Melbourne, he knew the speed of the game which would have helped him in ESL. Wane only knows ESL, so it would be a massive tone shift for him, plus he hasn't coached since 2018, so having 4-5 years off then coming straight to the NRL is massive ask. Wane is better suited for a team like Newcastle who are not too bad a roster just need a culture shift as Wane learns the NRL. Not a fit for Parramatta, well not at the moment.

Brad Fittler: Yeah, no would rather keep BA. Most overrated coaching prospect, i reject this notion of doing well in Origin leads to being a top candidate for NRL. It is simply match preparation and motivation along with team selection. Mal Meninga praise was a joke back in the day since an 8 year old could coach a team with Slater, Thurston, Cronk and Smith in the spine to a series win. Fittler had one good year out of 2 and a half. In 2008, year 2, he got the Roosters in the top 4 then lost straight sets in semis. The following year they won 5 games, came last and he was sacked. The following year, Brian Smith came in and got the same roster to a GF. Shows how Fittler is as a top grade coach, criticism was he didn't really take it seriously, now could he second go round? Maybe, but just cause you are top player doesn't mean you will be a top coach. He is not a fit for Parramatta, Fittler suits a Warriors type team, no frills and just free flowing.

The Walker Brothers: Put it this way, they revolutionised the game in Q cup with their attack schemes, teams couldn't stop them. Then the league adapted and their attack was decent but their defence was shown to be an issue. Walker's teams are if the opponents score 40 we will score 41. That wont work in the NRL, which is a defence orientated game. Only 1 team in the last 22 years has won the comp not having a top 3 defence. Nowhere near a fit, Warriors would have been fun to see in a no fuss approach to the franchise, but no way.

John Morris: One of the nicest guys in the league, is he too nice? He did a wonderful job in the circumstance at Cronulla, though couldn't attract top talent. With juniors he was exceptional. That is more so Morris' area, assistant and juniors. I think eventually he will get a top job but it wont be at a glamour team, more like a Titans or Raiders.

Josh Hannay: An intriguing entry, did a good job interim at Cronulla, assistant for Queensland and is known to be loved by players. Hannay not sure if he is worth the crack at the moment, quite young in his coaching career. He coached Souths Logan in Q cup winning only 40% of games, going to NQ after under the late Paul Green. Hannay only recently has come to light from his role at Cronulla and with Queensland. Could be a fit but much later for a proper rebuild. At this stage its a no for Hannay.

Billy Slater: The flavour of the month on this site, i cannot get behind it, as i said about Fittler 'Being a great player does not make you a great coach'. Basing it off one Origin series is stupid as Fittler is shonned for a top job here yet he won his first series as NSW coach like Slater? Slater has only coach Queensland that is it. Never held an assistant role full-time or coached anything else. He is the least experienced coach in this list. Slater would not go to Parramatta, he more likely wont even want to coach in the NRL. If he does it'll be at Melbourne under Bellamy who can assist him. If Parramatta had say a Brian Smith and we were rebuilding then maybe but no i do not want Slater getting the role.

Michael Maguire: I thought the Warriors job would be perfect for him, but didn't get or want it. Madge at this stage needs to be an assistant to regenerate himself. Madge is a tough task master, that approach can wear thin after some time. I liked him for the role in 2019 after our wooden spoon season, now i think is not the right time. Madge might be better suited to be a Brian Smith type at clubs in the future, go to a club to get them relevant again. He will get another job, Wests tenure we are not sure if it was him or both him and the players, but his next stop will show what it was. Not all great coaches succeed at every club, Bennett at Newcastle, Gibson at Cronulla are examples. Atm, Madge is not ideal but i could see us looking at him.

Side note: It is a shame as Paul Green would have been here in this list, he would have been a candidate like Flanagan in that second chances don't always work out but his premiership ring leans into giving him a chance. It is unfortunate.

Let me know what you all think, if you didn't like it i apologise, if you didn't like it due to it being long or the topic well as long as the people running this site are happy with it then i will write it, if they are not then i will act accordingly, until then enjoy hahahha.