Fiji coach Mick Potter gets sweet revenge against Brian Smith in World Cup upset

MONDAY BUZZ: Mick Potter has done a sensational coaching job with Fiji and he just showed up the man instrumental in the Wests Tigers sacking him.

Coach Michael Potter enjoyed a sweet World Cup victory with Fiji.

THREE years ago the Wests Tigers hired renowned non winner Brian Smith to conduct a review of the club’s coaching structure under Mick Potter.

A few months later, Potter was sacked.

According to the review findings, he struggled to “educate and communicate” with players.

“The results of this review have highlighted many areas to address,” then CEO Grant Mayer said.

Fast forward to Wellington on Saturday afternoon. It’s Fiji against New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup.

Potter is head coach of Fiji. Smith is assistant to Kiwi coach David Kidwell.

There have been few sweeter World Cup victories.

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Coach Michael Potter enjoyed a sweet World Cup victory with Fiji.

The man who was sacked as a result of Smith’s report engineered one of the biggest upsets in international rugby league against the man who brought him down.

It was an unbelievable victory for the Fijians. We knew they had flair. We knew they could attack. And we knew they would take risks.

But to grind out a try-less international shows toughness previously ­unheard of from the Pacific nation.

Potter has done a sensational job in this area. To show this fast-developing rugby league nation that tenacity and resolve, guts and grind are as important as anything in a team at this level.

And on Saturday they had it in bucketloads.

Proof there was nothing wrong with Potter’s ability to “educate and communicate” with players.

Brian Smith (left) was on the wrong end of a World Cup upset.

You speak to Knights coach Nathan Brown, who hired Potter as his assistant, to understand that the former Dally M champion is a much better footy coach than the Wests Tigers gave him credit for.

“Look at his coaching record,” Brown said.

“He went to Catalans when they were hopeless and took them to a top-three finish and the Challenge Cup final. Not even Robbo (Trent Robinson) got those results when he was there.

“Then he went to St Helens and made two grand finals. After that he coached at Bradford. They were broke and spent only half the salary cap but they still made the playoffs. Then he got stitched up at the Wests Tigers.”

Now back to New Zealand and their coaching staff.

In 2014, I was highly critical of the Wests Tigers for hiring Smith as a consultant in the first place.

Here’s a guy who coached 583 NRL games over 30 years and won nothing but a wooden spoon.

And as Parramatta Eels coach he famously lost the unlosable 2001 grand final to the Newcastle Knights.

Fiji players celebrate their stunning win over New Zealand.

The pressure is now on the Kiwis to sack coach Kidwell, the man who not only appointed Smith as his assistant but cost his side any hope in the tournament by suspending champion Melbourne Storm forward Jesse Bromwich and Titans second-rower Kevin Proctor.

It was a complete over-reaction after they had already been sufficiently punished (fined and suspended) by their clubs over the cocaine scandal midway through the season.

Plus the fact that the world’s best forward, Jason Taumalolo, refused to play under Kidwell’s coaching.

Right now New Zealand football is in a mess with the Test side and the underperforming Warriors.

Big changes need to be made.

Maybe someone like Potter could show them how it’s done. Like he did on Saturday.

Originally published as Fiji coach Mick Potter gets sweet revenge against Brian Smith in World Cup upset