Trent Barrett promises Penrith he won’t leave until after 2020 grand final, amid Canterbury courtship
He might be Canterbury’s No.1 target to replace departed coach Dean Pay, but Trent Barrett says if he was to take up the Bulldogs job, he has unfinished business with the Panthers first.
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Trent Barrett has made a pact to Penrith that he’s staying to win this year’s premiership.
The Bulldogs number one candidate to replace Dean Pay informed Penrith chairman Dave O‘Neill on Wednesday that if he is to join Canterbury, it wouldn’t be until after this year’s grand final.
Barrett, 42, has been interviewed for the head coaching position at Canterbury, but is yet to be informed if he‘s got the job.
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Souths coach Wayne Bennett has also been linked with the Bulldogs post.
It‘s believed Canterbury will wait until after Saturday’s clash with St George-Illawarra before announcing their decision.
Interim coach Steve Georgallis will guide the Bulldogs this weekend.
What‘s clear is that Barrett is in the Bulldogs’ direct line of sight with Canterbury management also seeking the opinion of former player and coach Phil Gould.
Gould has offered his support for the appointment of the current Penrith assistant.
Those close to Barrett are adamant he has learned immensely from his experience – both good and bad – at Manly where he was the head coach from 2016-2018.
Barrett‘s success as Penrith’s attack coach is also a major lure for the Bulldogs, who have scored an average of 10.4 points this season.
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Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary admitted he didn‘t want Barrett to leave the foot of the mountains, but conceded his mentor was perfectly suited to a return to an NRL hot seat.
“I wish he wouldn’t go,” Cleary said.
“I have a good relationship with Baz (Barrett). He has a great footy mind. He would make a great coach. We will just have to see what happens.
“I would love him to stay. He has given us a foundation. We love having Baz around. He has helped me so much. To lose someone like him would be a big loss to our team. He is easy to get along with.
“He has a super smart footy brain and good to work with.”
Barrett arrived for a second stint at the Panthers during the last off-season. The last time he was at the Panthers, Cleary was just a teenager rising through the ranks.
“When I first worked with him, it was a long time ago,” Cleary said. “It was more a halfback academy. I was never coached by him. We were doing fundamental and tempo stuff. Now he has come back in a coaching aspect. He has been massive for me. He has given me a great deal of confidence.”
Barrett has not been alone in helping ignite Penrith’s attack. The return of Api Koroisau plus the emergence of Stephen Crichton and Jarome Luai have also sparked a Penrith side who are averaging seven points more per game than last year.
“It was always there,” Cleary said.
“We had the players to do it. We had a few different players come in. We’re finding the right mix. (Barrett) has given us some foundations to build off. It has suited our team. We still have a long way to go. Baz has been a massive asset.”
PANTHERS ISSUE WARNING TO BARRETT OVER DOGS DEAL
You can coach – but don’t poach.
Penrith would grant Trent Barrett an early release to coach Canterbury but he would leave with a stern warning: Don’t try to take our young guns with you.
The second-placed Panthers have a stunning young side, including four gun halves, Barrett may be tempted to entice to Belmore, should he accepts the Bulldogs top job.
Canterbury confirmed on Tuesday morning that coach Dean Pay had stood down immediately with Bulldogs chief executive Andrew Hill insisting the club “did not rush into this decision.”
Bulldogs management is understood to be well advanced in discussions with Barrett on a likely three-year deal, although there are still senior figures at Penrith who believe Barrett will reject the Bulldogs.
Canterbury is yet to lodge a formal offer to Barrett with the club insisting there is still interest in other coaches.
Should Barrett decline, which is unlikely, the Bulldogs would then consider Anthony Griffin, Brett Kimmorley, Laurie Daley, Brad Fittler, Kevin Walters and England coach Shaun Wane. The left-field choice would be English rugby union coach, Eddie Jones.
Penrith would allow assistant coach Barrett out of his 2021 deal but don’t want him trying to pinch key players if he joins Canterbury.
Penrith is stacked with halves talent in Nathan Cleary, 22, Jarome Luai, 23, Matt Burton, 20, and Tyrone May, 24.
The Bulldogs have had the NRL’s worst attack over the past two seasons.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to several well-placed sources at Penrith who want it known Barrett shouldn’t use his relationship with the young halves to lure any of them away from the Panthers.
Cleary is signed long-term, although Luai and Burton are off contract after next season while May’s deal ends after this year. Penrith does hope to lock him down shortly.
While aware Barrett would want to immediately involve himself in retention and recruitment at Canterbury when he signs, The Daily Telegraph has been told Penrith has no plans to stand him down from his assistant coaching role for the rest of this season.
Barrett has promised Penrith he would keep everyone updated on his negotiations with Canterbury.
The former Manly head coach was spotted in deep discussion with manager Wayne Beavis at a Woollahra coffee shop on Monday. No Bulldogs officials were at the meeting.
Bulldogs assistant coach Steve Georgallis was confirmed as Canterbury’s interim head coach on Tuesday although the club’s other assistant, Steve Antonelli, has quit in support of Pay.
Pay’s last game in charge was Saturday’s 26-8 loss to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. He had become drained and frustrated at the results and off-field direction the club had taken.
A Bulldogs statement on Tuesday stated “both parties agreed that it was in the best interests of the individual and the club to part ways. The decision was reached after a meeting between Dean and the club following Saturday‘s loss to the Broncos.”
Pay – a former Canterbury champion forward — attracted enormous support over the past 24 hours from fans with many criticising Barrett’s 39 per cent winning success rate at Manly.
“These decisions are always tough, particularly when they involve someone who has been part of the Bulldogs family for a long time,” Hill said.
“The fact is though that the club and Dean have decided that we needed to move in a different direction to take the team forward and Dean was in agreement that now was the right time for both parties to part ways.
“We did not rush into this decision and have taken our time to look at what was best for the club in regard to success moving forward. I‘d like to thank Dean for his contribution over the past three years and all the hard work and passion he has given to the club.”
Pay arrived at Belmore Sports Ground around 8am on Monday to address the players but had left by 9am. In the statement, he said: “I‘d like to thank the Bulldogs for the opportunity to be the head coach at a club that has always meant so much to me.”
Speaking on The Big Sports Breakfast morning radio program, former NSW captain and coach Laurie Daley urged Barrett to think long and hard before joining the Bulldogs.
“If it‘s Trent, he’s got one more opportunity. If he fails at his next job, well he’s no longer going to be a first-grade coach. I think if he sits back and waits, he will get an opportunity somewhere down the path,” Daley said.
“Penrith will have success for the next five years, the way they‘re going with all these young players coming through So I don’t think he needs to rush into making a decision, just because it’s the first available job. If I was him, if I was guiding him, I’d be saying, ’Mate, be very, very careful’.”
NUMBERS GAME
DEAN PAY’S RECORD
57 games, 19 wins, 38 losses (33.3%W/L)
2018: 12th (13th in attack)
2019: 12th (16th in attack)
2020: Last after R9 (16th in attack)
BARRETT’S RECORD
73 games, 29 wins, 44 losses (39.7% W/L)
2016: 13th
2017: 6th (lost Elimination Final)
2018: 15th
IS BARRETT THE MAN TO BOOST DOGS’ BITE?
—Nick Campton
Trent Barrett has helped Penrith’s attack become one of the league’s best in 2020, but could he do the same with the struggling Bulldogs?
With Penrith fresh off a 10-try demolition of Cronulla, Barrett’s intimate knowledge of star recruit Api Koroisau and his tutelage of the rest of the Penrith roster has helped turn the Panthers into premiership contenders.
“Baz knows how Api (Koroisau) plays and caters to him, but he caters to the whole team and I think that’s what he’s good at, working to the team’s strengths,” Panthers skipper James Tamou said.
“I’m sure one day Baz will want to put on his head coach hat and do his thing again.
“But I think the way we’re going and the way the team is going — he’s still here today, still doing his job as always. Hopefully we can finish strong with him.
“I’d like to see him stay.
“What we’ve been through this year I don’t think it’ll be a distraction.”
Barrett was previously head coach at Manly from 2016-18 and steered the Sea Eagles to the finals in 2017. As part of Ivan Cleary’s staff this year he’s helped Penrith go from 13th in points scored last year to second in 2020.
The Panthers have said they will not stand in Barrett’s way should the Bulldogs offer him the top job, but the Canterbury roster is still in need of massive retooling.
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Barrett’s magic touch in attack could be just what the misfiring Bulldogs need — they’ve scored just 94 points in nine matches this season — but the prospect of being part of a premiership charge could make it difficult for the 42-year old to leave Penrith behind.
“He’s a great coach, I’ve got massive wraps on him, everyone does. It would be quite a loss,” young backrower Billy Burns said.
“He’s quite a smart man, everyone knows that from the way he played footy.
“Everyone loves Baz, so we’ve got to support what he wants to do. Nobody is going to hold a grudge against Baz.
“He wouldn’t be the type of bloke to bail out too early. If he did he’d be clear with us and nothing’s been spoken about.”