Neil Henry, Shane Flanagan and Ricky Stuart are all strong contenders for Coach of the Year, writes Paul Kent

PICKING the Coach of the Year is always a dilemma. Do you go with the man who has the most wins, or the one who can extract the best from all his players?

Titans coach Neil Henry is a leading contender for coach of the year. Picture Glenn Hampson

WHEN it comes to selecting the Dally M Coach of the Year, the dilemma has always been science versus art.

The science argument is mathematically pure.

Pick the coach whose team finished the season with the most wins.

It is impossible to pick the premiership-winning coach as the nominations are in before the trophy is won, but the minor premiership is clear and exact.

The second part, the art of coaching, is extracting more than the individual parts suggest is possible.

Titans coach Neil Henry instructs his players during a training session. Photo: Regi Varghese

Here is the soft prose of sport. The sorcerer’s magic we fall in love with.

Neil Henry leads most conversations for Coach of the Year.

Henry has a lean roster.

He has five representative players in his 25 man squad. No club has less.

They boast 31 Origin games and 37 (tier one) Tests among the five — Greg Bird (18 Origins, 17 Tests), Josh Hoffman (five Tests), Chris McQueen (five Origins), Zeb Taia (one Test) and David Shillington (eight Origins, 14 Tests).

Yet the Titans, tipped by some to be wooden spooners are season start, are seventh.

Henry is a strong appointment for the Titans. He is an ‘every man is equal kind’ type of coach, strong on what he is, what he will tolerate and, equally as important, what he is prepared to accept.

It applies to every player equally and there is no better explanation of the Titans success.

In one season he has changed the club’s reputation as a halfway house for the damaged and desperate into a club where the future is bright and solid.

Above him Cronulla lead the competition with a potent mix of experience and excitement.

Paul Gallen and Shane Flanagan during a Cronulla Sharks training session. pic Mark Evans

Shane Flanagan has assembled a roster that is ripe for a premiership.

It is hard to believe the Sharks will be better placed next season to win their maiden premiership, the same as they are better placed now than last season.

Cronulla has nine rep players in their roster, making up 65 Origin games and 66 Tests.

The Sharks are also on their way to breaking rugby league’s record of 19 straight wins set by Easts in 1975.

It adds a dash of pepper to Flanagan’s Coach of the Year claims.

Craig Bellamy has Melbourne right behind the Sharks, The Storm are unusual in their makeup.

Their eight rep players boast 89 Origins and an incredible 140 Tests. To balance it on the salary

cap Bellamy has to offset the high price of his stars against rookies and those straight from the Second Chance Saloon.

But there is nothing the players will not do for Bellamy. He has their absolute trust.

Paul Green has his Cowboys perfectly placed to repeat. It began with a strong job managing his roster, the Cowboys the first team in memory able to keep their grand final roster. That includes eight rep players, with 93 Origins and 75 Tests among them, including possibly the best player ever.

Cowboys coach Paul Green and Johnathan Thurston during a training session. Picture: Evan Morgan

The Cowboys have not hit the highs of last year but don’t need to.

Last year’s performance, which included a club record 11 straight, was proving ground for North Queensland. They needed to go through a tough season to convince themselves they were good enough to win the premiership.

This season they know, so patiently await the finals to begin.

Despite having 12 rep players (50 Origins, 112 Tests) Canterbury has failed to excite anyone. Brisbane, also with 12 rep players (96 Origins, 126 Tests), are also struggling.

The only other club with just five representative players like the Titans is, surprisingly, Canberra.

This might surprise many, or the fact they are currently fourth, three spots above Gold Coast, might surprise them more.

Coach Ricky Stuart gets pushed down in every conversation about Coach of the Year because he is forthright in a world of political correctness and, truth be told, rarely suffers inane questions from the media.

His worst is often shown as his best.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart watches his side from the sideline against the Bulldogs.

But the Raiders are just a point behind the Cowboys.

Their five rep players are Englishmen Josh Hodgson (six Tests) and Elliott Whitehead (five Tests), Kiwis Jeff Lima (seven Tests) and Iosia Soliola (12 Tests) and Josh Papalii (six Origins, nine Tests).

The Raiders got there on the strength of their coach, make no mistake.

Like Bellamy, his men play for him.