Ron Massey Cup: Wayne ‘Snoopy’ Collins to be St Marys Rugby League Club coach

A game of musical chairs involving the NRL coaching departments of the Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers has landed one semi-professional club with the “perfect” replacement.

It was a game of musical chairs involving the NRL coaching departments of the Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers, with a semi-professional club innocently caught in the crossfire.

The successful St Marys Rugby League club’s Ron Massey Cup outfit had retained head coach and former Panthers favourite Shane Elford to guide the squad for 2022 season, with an official announcement made to supporters in August.

Just weeks later, however, Ivan Cleary offered Elford the exciting opportunity to take up a role on the NRL coaching staff which had been vacated following the departure of Hayden Knowles to the Newcastle Knights.

And St Marys were left in the lurch just a few months before pre-season.

Wayne 'Snoopy' Collins.

“It was out of left field,” St Marys general manager Adam Przybyla said. “It was something Spud (Elford) was really interested in doing and it was obviously exciting for him but we needed to come up with a replacement on the back of that.”

Wayne ‘Snoopy’ Collins was working as an assistant coach with the under-fire Wests Tigers when Przybyla first asked about his availability for 2022. The 54-year-old, who had previously held NRL assistant roles with the Canberra Raiders, South Sydney and Penrith Panthers, said he expected to be part of Michael Maguire’s staff next season.

Shane Elford

Following an embarrassing demolition at the hands of the Canterbury Bulldogs and a well-publicised end-of-season review, Collins was the first coach sent packing following a major shake-up of the Wests Tigers football department.

In the days following he called back Przybyla and said: “you haven’t done anything with that job yet”.

Przybyla told NewsLocal the St Marys hadn’t seriously looked at other candidates as Collins was the “perfect replacement” and he had an inkling there may have been movement in the Wests Tigers coaching ranks, but had his fingers crossed there wouldn’t be for Collins sake.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Collins who was involved in Saints’ 2019 Ron Massey Cup campaign.

“Snoop is the perfect replacement,” he said. “He has a very clear understanding of our systems, the support staff and the current roster. A terrific man, who is very well respected and with his extensive knowledge and experience will be a huge asset to our club and playing group.”

Collins will begin in the head coach role on November 1.