Blues leave door open for club coach, bringing Ricky Stuart and Craig Bellamy into frame

It’s the potential rule change from the NSW Blues that could completely blow apart the race for Brad Fittler’s State of Origin coaching job.

(L-R) Benji Marshall and Tim Sheens.

The NSW Blues have not shut the door on NRL club coaches for the State of Origin job next season.

While giving full respect to Brad Fittler by not making any decision about his future during the series, the reality is there will be a full review in the weeks to come and all options going forward will be on the table.

In recent times the Blues have gone down the path where they have only considered non NRL coaches like Fittler and Laurie Daley. But that could change if Fittler’s contract is not renewed.

Of course, there will be NRL clubs who will not want their coaches taking on the extra workload or the burden of the pressure.

But it would be ludicrous not to consider the likes of Ricky Stuart and Craig Bellamy if their clubs were willing to let them coach NSW.

Love him or hate him, you can’t dispute Stuart’s us-against-the-world mentality is purpose-built for the three-match Origin build up, while it might be the perfect time for Bellamy to come back and give Origin another crack.

Craig Bellamy is being spoken about as the next NSW coach. Picture: Getty

While the Storm super coach didn’t have any success in the three series he coached between 2008-10, you’d imagine he would have learned plenty since then.

Bellamy might also be tempted by the challenge of going head-to-head with his former champion fullback Billy Slater. Now wouldn’t that be a promoter’s dream?

TIME FOR FELISE TO MAKE AN IMPACT

If the Dolphins are to have any hope of resurrecting their season, it needs to start against the understrength Broncos, who will be without Reece Walsh through suspension and Jordan Riki and Tom Flegler through injury.

And one bloke overdue for a big game is enforcer Felise Kaufusi.

The veteran has gone off the boil big time after starting the season like a one-man wrecking machine.

But as important as it was for Kaufusi to lead the way through the early rounds, it’s just as crucial he finishes strong given this is the first of a three-year deal for the 31-year-old.

Boo Bailey’s Crawley Files cartoon.

Remember back to round 1 when Kaufusi went after the Roosters and almost snapped Brandon Smith in half. It not only inspired a historic victory but put everyone in the comp on notice.

But after four defeats in their past five games, and conceding some big margins in the process, the Dolphins have lost their way.

It’s probably no coincidence Kaufusi has not rated a mention in the highlights reels for some time.

It wouldn’t have helped serving seven weeks on the sidelines through suspension.

But if Kaufusi is ever going to rediscover his mojo, now is the time after missing the first-up loss to the Broncos in round 4 due to his first suspension of the season.

Trouble in Tiger Town: The time bomb waiting to explode

You have to hand it to Wests Tigers. While they struggle to win footy games, they sure know how to win a headline for all the wrong reasons.

And as certain as night follows day, the next crisis only ever seems the next board meeting away.

But how on earth does a club with such a proven track record for failure on the field expect success without trust, given how they have so shabbily treated Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall in recent times?

This of course relates to this week’s revelations that all remains not well in Tiger Town in the aftermath of Luke Brooks’ exit after signing a four-year deal to join Manly.

It’s been almost two months since Scott Fulton was appointed as the new head of recruitment without any consultation with the head coach or coach-in-waiting.

You’d think after that period things would be starting to work themselves out.

Well, they haven‘t.

Are the Wests Tigers a ticking time bomb?

Yes, they all talk, but it is hardly a match made in heaven.

Sheens is trying to maintain a positive attitude for the players, while Marshall is said to remain so pissed off that he has had moments when he was seriously considering his future at the club.

But in the fair dinkum department, how would any coach worth his salt react to their club treating them with such utter contempt?

Here we have a club that has not made the finals for the past 11 seasons – and is now fighting to avoid another wooden spoon with the Tigers sitting equal last on the NRL ladder – and just like clockwork a new drama emerges.

Chairman Lee Hagipantelis did the old ‘nothing to see here’ smother over the weekend when he tried to make out the talk of Marshall being ready to walk was all nonsense.

He labelled it “absolutely ridiculous” that either Marshall or Fulton “are going anywhere”.

Hagipantelis also called it nothing more than “healthy and robust” discussion that “is to be encouraged”.

Yet while the chairman would have you blissfully believe it is all blue skies ahead, this goes beyond Marshall and even Sheens who have had their noses put out of joint.

Understandably, no one talks publicly.

But rest assured, this is a ticking time bomb that could still explode at any minute.

And the sad reality is it could have been so easily avoided if anyone had bothered bringing Sheens and Marshall into the conversation when the club first identified Fulton as the man to take over as the recruitment chief.

Balmain Tigers legend Paul Sironen with Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis, at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

SIMMERING BAD BLOOD

No doubt Sheens would not have been happy given his long term ally Warren McDonnell was the former recruitment boss who has since departed.

But surely it would have been better to work with Sheens on this rather than leave him and Marshall completely out of the loop, because all that has done is create more bad blood.

Sheens is a proud man who should be treated with the respect he has earned as the game’s second most capped coach in history, who has won four premierships and was brought back from England as coaching director because the club was in such dire need of an injection of some footy IQ.

But then they go and publicly humiliate him like they have.

Sheens would be within his rights to at least consider if it wasn’t an intentional strike to push him out the door a year before his head coaching contract was up.

Not that you can blame Fulton for how it unfolded, because the club brought him in, not the other way around.

By all reports Fulton is good at his job, and many believe he could really be an asset as the club looks to build a stronger roster given his connections within the game, and especially with his history of identifying talent at Manly.

But how could Fulton expect to win immediate trust when Sheens and Marshall have had theirs broken by the same men who enlisted Fulton’s services without their knowledge?

Luke Brooks quit the Tigers to sign with Manly. Picture: Getty Images

What makes it especially disappointing is that once again the drama comes at a time when some green shoots were starting to spring to life in respect to emerging talents like Jahream Bula and Starford To’a rising at the troubled club.

Yet now they have been left without an experienced playmaker for next season with Brooks gone, while Josh Schuster has re-signed with Manly, and Adam Doueihi is recovering from his third ACL knee injury and likely to miss a large chunk of next season.

Like they say, sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for.

For years Brooks had to wear the wrath for the Tigers’ struggles given his role as the star playmaker.

Yet his exit leaves the cupboard pretty bare when it comes to finding a replacement.

There are simply no experienced halves coming off contract, and who are they going to pick up for the reported cut price $660,000-a-season deal Brooks pocketed to go to Manly?

Marshall and Sheens both wanted to keep Brooks, and have been criticised for previously missing out on the likes of Mitchell Moses and Cameron Munster.

But it will be interesting to see who Fulton lands given Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins as of Tuesday had not given up on their pursuit of Manly young gun Latu Fainu, despite reports this week that the 18-year-old was to be part of a swap deal with Tommy Talau.

WILL BENJI WALK?

You think back over the years to coaches like Michael Potter, Jason Taylor, Ivan Cleary and Michael Maguire who have all come and gone.

Yet the same problems remain.

You can only shake your head.

Let’s not forget it was only this time last year Marshall was handed a five-year deal that will see him take over as head coach for three seasons from beyond 2024.

Some have suggested that because Marshall is a rookie coach he would be better served keeping his focus on coaching and allow Fulton to do his job.

In a perfect world, that would be sound advice.

But that is not how people operate when they have been treated with the disrespect Sheens and Marshall have been shown here.

As previously pointed out, any coach worth his salt would be understandably upset, if not furious.

Those who know Benji think quitting would be his last resort.

But in saying that, they feel certain that there is an obvious power struggle that continues and it should not be underestimated.

Because if Marshall walks it could set the club back years.

After all, what other coach with any hint of credibility or self-respect would be willing to take over this hornet’s nest if this is how club legends are treated?