NRL 2020: Canterbury board meets with Okunbor and Harawira-Naera
Canterbury interim coach Steve Georgallis wants to retain disgraced duo Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera, with the club to decide on their careers in the coming days.
Bulldogs
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bulldogs. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Canterbury interim coach Steve Georgallis has confirmed he has met with the board about his desire to retain disgraced duo Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera, with the club to decide on their careers in the coming days.
Okunbor and Harawira-Naera face uncertain futures following a pre-season schoolgirl sex scandal in Port Macquarie.
The pair were initially deregistered indefinitely before the termination of their contracts was overturned at the NRL’s appeals committee this week.
This has opened the door for Canterbury to keep Okunbor and Harawira-Naera despite rival clubs expressing interest in their services.
It’s understood Okunbor wants to stay at the Bulldogs, but Harawira-Naera, who recently indicated he didn’t want to wear the Bulldogs jumper again, remains undecided and will meet with the club’s board on Friday before making his next move.
Georgallis remains hopeful the pair will recommit to Canterbury.
“The playing group and myself want the players back and I’ve referred that to the board and someone at the club is meeting with the players today,” Georgallis said.
“But the club needs to talk to the players to get their thoughts and if they have any issues.
“We are very happy to get them back, especially after suffering a few injuries like Adam Elliott for the rest of the year and Will Hopoate for a couple of weeks.”
Georgallis hasn’t ruled out playing both players as early as next weekend if they can finalise an agreement.
“They would have to go through all the protocols with COVID-19 and I don’t know what their fitness levels are like, but we could possible put them on the bench to get his minutes and time up,” he said.
Georgallis may be an interim coach but he has put his hand up to take on the club’s head coaching role in a full-time capacity, declaring his desire to coach at the NRL level burns bright.
Penrith assistant coach Trent Barrett is favoured to replace Dean Pay, but Georgallis wants to be considered as a candidate.
“It is very assistant coach’s dream to have an opportunity to coach in the NRL,” he said.
“There are only 16 positions, so if they offered it to me, I’d be very interested.
“Lynn Andersen from the board called me on Tuesday and thanked me for taking the team forward, and she said they weren’t sure on who was going to be the head coach next year.
“If it is someone else, it is someone else, but these 11 weeks for me are a way I can show this club or another club what I can do.”
Georgallis last coached at NRL level in 2011 when he replaced Matt Elliott at Penrith.
Nine years on, he returns to the top grade as a caretaker coach.
“I suppose it is a bit of deja vu,” he said.
“Matty Elliott at the time resigned and they asked me to take over.
“After one win they announced another coach, but I really enjoyed those games and that feeling of being at the top of your game.
“I miss coaching. The circumstances of taking the interim coaching job here is not ideal with Dean going, but I’ve got that excitement about coaching at the highest level again and I’m looking forward to it.”
Georgallis concedes the uncertainty around Canterbury’s coach moving forward could subconsciously impact the team’s performance.
It’s why he has simplified the training program this week in a bid to rediscover the desire to succeed heading into Saturday’s clash against St George Illawarra.
“We are coming last on the table, so I want us to get back to enjoying our football,” he said.
“The key words have been look up in attack and defence and see what is coming at you.
“If there is numbers and you can play football, then let’s play because we need to bring that little bit of fun back into the game.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Canterbury board meets with Okunbor and Harawira-Naera