Trent Barrett content to play the waiting game as he searches for a new NRL coaching job

Trent Barrett won’t return to Penrith even if assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo leaves the Panthers to take up a head coach role with former club Cronulla.

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Trent Barrett won’t return to Penrith even if Panthers assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo leaves the club to take up a head coach role with former club Cronulla.

Barrett parted ways with Manly at the back end of last season and he has moved home to Shellharbour, on the NSW South Coast, as he contemplates his next career move.

Barrett was linked to the vacant job at the Sharks following Shane Flanagan’s departure but Ciraldo and current interim coach John Morris are the front-runners for the job.

A reunion with Penrith, where he was a successful under-20s coach and assistant from 2012 to 2016, would make sense.

Barrett has been replaced as Manly coach by Des Hasler. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

However, Barrett’s agent Wayne Beavis ruled out the Panthers as a destination when contacted by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

If Barrett misses out on the Cronulla job as expected, he is happy to be patient to find another opportunity.

He also has time on his side given he is contracted at Manly until July, meaning he can’t join another team until a rival club pays part of his remaining Sea Eagles’ deal.

It’s understood Barrett is monitoring the situation at clubs like Parramatta, who could be forced to make coaching changes depending on their start to 2019.

Barrett is on the hunt for a new job. Picture by Toby Zerna.

Eels coach Brad Arthur is off-contract and under pressure to deliver results following last year’s wooden spoon.

If Arthur fails to guide the Eels off the bottom of the ladder in 2019, this could open the door for Barrett.

Meanwhile, Cronulla are expected to announce their new coach in the coming weeks prior to their first trial against Manly at Brookvale Oval on February 23.

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