Stunning claims Trent Robinson has moved past Jack Gibson as Roosters’ best-ever coach
Former Channel 9 boss and club director David Gyngell has made a big claim about about Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson, with his team one loss away from crashing out of the NRL finals.
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FORMER Sydney Roosters director and ex-Channel 9 chief executive David Gyngell rates Trent Robinson as the greatest coachin the club’s 112-year history — even better than the legendary Jack Gibson.
Robinson will attempt to push deeper into this year’s finals on Friday night with victory over another former club coach in Canberra’s Ricky Stuart, at the SCG — the iconic venue where Gibson won his first two grand finals with the Roosters.
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Robinson has claimed three grand finals in the past seven years, surpassing the two Gibson secured two in his second stint at Bondi in 1974-75.
Gyngell’s stunning praise of Robinson is certain to prompt enormous debate throughout Sydney’s eastern suburbs around who is the club’s finest coach, not forgetting Stuart, Bob Fulton, Arthur Beetson, Arthur ‘Pony’ Halloway, Phil Gould and the great Dave Brown.
Gibson – the original super coach – went on to win another three premierships at Parramatta.
Robinson has won 134 games at the Roosters over 206 games for a winning success rate of 65 per cent. Gibson triumphed in 83 of 119 games for Easts at a superior strike rate of 69.7 per cent.
Halloway won four premierships as Easts coach in the 1930s and ‘40s with a 68.2 per cent success percentage.
“Robbo is the finest coach, to date, the Roosters have ever had — and he’s not finished yet,” Gyngell said.
“He has won three premierships at the Roosters, Gibbo won two.
“Is he a better coach than Jack Gibson? Well, history will tell but I think he will be.
“Great coaches in 25 years’ time will be compared to Trent Robinson.
“I loved and respected Gibbo. He had an aura and a swagger but it’s a whole different kettle of fish in modern day football. This is a highly professional, elite outfit.
“What Robbo does in a modern, professional, fast-moving environment, he has become the finest coach, record-wise.
“(It’s also) his man-management, along with a deep understanding of players and how you get the best out of them and also the corporate approach you have to take in this day and age with sponsors, fans and marketing.
“I’m saying he is the finest Roosters coach but is he better overall than Jack Gibson?
“Statistically, not yet, because Jack won five premierships, but Robinson is a young man who has started the journey.”
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Asked to repeat whether he would place Robinson ahead of Gibson at the Roosters, Gyngell said: “Yeah, I would.”
Gyngell, a Roosters’ tragic, stressed he was ranking the Roosters greatest coaches – not the best in rugby league history.
“To be associated with a club with a coach who is the leader of the club like Robbo, it just doesn’t happen,” Gyngell said.
“It happens with Craig Bellamy at Melbourne and I’m sure it happened with Wayne Bennett at Brisbane and I feel we’re in a similar situation.
“There’s Bellamy, there’s Bennett and there’s Trent Robinson.
“The era changed through Bennett, Bellamy and Robinson … it makes it a more stunning effect on modern football, compared to what others had to deal with.”
Known as being humble, Robinson, 43, will baulk at the high praise, according to Gyngell.
“Robbo won’t like it,” he said.
Gibson’s 1975 Easts’ side – regarded as one of the greatest club teams of all time – won 22 or 25 matches that season with Beetson as skipper.
Originally published as Stunning claims Trent Robinson has moved past Jack Gibson as Roosters’ best-ever coach