NRL coaches’ survey results: Coaches exploiting concussion rules, say rivals
The return of Eddie Jones to the Wallabies has barely caused a ripple amongst NRL coaches, who don’t see Rugby Union as a threat. See the results in the exclusive survey.
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The NRL has a major issue ahead of the 2023 season with the damning claim from coaches that their rivals are guilty of exploiting concussion rules.
In a worrying response as part of News Corp’s pre-season poll of 24 coaches and assistant coaches across the NRL, the overwhelming majority said they believed that the game’s concussion guidelines were being used to their advantage by their opponents.
An alarming 63 per cent of coaches polled said teams were taking advantage of the concussion rules.
In addition, 58 per cent of the coaches polled said concussion was the biggest issue in the game, ahead of officiating (21 per cent) and broadcast uncertainty (four per cent).
Votes for player managers, junior participation, third-party payments and interestingly NSW premier Dominic Perrottet — seemingly due to his failure to provide funding for suburban stadiums — made up the other 17 per cent of lead concerns from the game’s sharpest minds.
The NRL, like all sports across the world, have invested heavily in research, development and rule changes to protect players from the impacts of concussion.
A number of players have retired prematurely in recent years due to repeated head knocks, including Sydney Roosters duo Jake Friend and Boyd Cordner.
In what has proven an annual event for the NRL, as it attempts to refine rules and fairness for teams affected by a player with concussion, the 18th-player policy has been tweaked ahead of the upcoming 2023 season.
The NRL announced earlier this month that it would reduce the number of failed head injury assessments required, from three to two, to trigger the activation of the 18th-player protocol.
The NRL said it would allow greater flexibility for teams who lose multiple players to head injuries in a match.
It will also reduce the pressure on players to return to the field if they are feeling the effects of head knocks.
NRL coaches’ survey: mentors divided over Pride Round
The pride jersey saga drove a wedge through the Manly Sea Eagles and now it has divided the NRL’s coaching ranks.
In an exclusive survey conducted by News Corp with coaches and assistant coaches across the NRL, responses were split down the middle over whether they would encourage their players to wear a pride jersey.
Forty-two per cent of coaches said they would encourage their players to wear a pride jersey, while the same amount said they would be unwilling to do so. Of the remaining, 16 per cent chose not to answer.
The coaches were more definitive when it came to whether the NRL should introduce a Pride Round — half the coaches involved in the poll said no, while 17 per cent or respondents declined to answer.
Only 33 per cent were in favour of a Pride Round coming to fruition following the well-documented saga that ripped Manly apart last season.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys on Tuesday said the game was still investigating the introduction of a Respect Round, but distanced head office from the idea of a Pride Round.
“We were always going to look at a Respect Round,” V’landys said.
“What a Respect Round is, is that it respects everyone’s views. We might not agree with them, but we respect them.
“So if we were going to do anything we were going to do a Respect Round. It wasn’t going to be a Pride Round because then you alienate other people.
“We pride ourselves on being an inclusive game. To be an inclusive game you have to respect everyone’s view.”
The pride jersey saga tore Manly asunder last year and ultimately contributed to the demise of coach Des Hasler, who was shown the door after the Sea Eagles fell in a heap over the closing two months of the season.
Following the pride jersey fiasco, the club lost their final six games as part of a seven-match slump, tumbling out of finals contention. Hasler is now in the midst of an ugly legal row with the Sea Eagles over his axing.
Josh Aloiai was one of seven Manly players who refused to wear the jersey in Round 20 of the 2022 season, citing his religious beliefs.
“You should never be put in a situation where your religious views or cultural views and beliefs conflict with your job,” he said at the time.
Little wonder coaches are treading warily when it comes to supporting a jersey that was designed by Manly with the best of intentions, only to badly backfire on the club when seven of their biggest names sat out their 20-10 home loss to the Sydney Roosters.
The players stood their ground under immense pressure but it quickly became clear that the call had fractured the Sea Eagles, costing them their season and eventually Hasler his job.
Former South Sydney and Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold has been charged with picking up the pieces and insists the players are back on the same page as they prepare for their opening trial in under a fortnight.
“Until you get into a group, it really is hard to know what is going on,” Seibold said.
“I only saw the commentary from a distance. One of the things I have been really pleased about is we have worked really hard on building connections and being together as a group.
“The guys have invested a lot of time in that. I see a group that wants to get better, I see a group that enjoys each other’s company.
“As I said, the next challenge for us as a group is to show the potential we have. The only way we do that is by winning games and putting in good performances in games.”
NRL Coaches’ survey: Rugby fears dismissed
Rugby union’s chest-beating over plans to chase Joseph Suaalii and the much-heralded return of Eddie Jones to the Wallabies has barely caused a ripple among NRL coaches.
News Corp can reveal that more than 20 head and assistant coaches who took part in a pre-season survey on the biggest issues in the game have dismissed rugby union as a threat to rugby league.
The landslide verdict came as rugby union types hailed Jones’ return and spruiked their plans to target a handful of schoolboy stars in a big-money poaching raid.
Parramatta centre Will Penisini was among those who had been mooted as a potential rugby union target, only to sign a new deal with the Eels on Tuesday that will keep him at the club until the end of 2025.
Parramatta’s fellow NRL clubs have little to fear either, if the coaches are to be believed. Nearly 90 per cent of the coaches who took part in the poll insisted rugby union was no threat to rugby league.
They were also dubious over the chances of a rugby union coach switching codes and making an impact in rugby league. Jones and former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika have raised the prospect of trying their hand in the NRL — Cheika led Lebanon into the quarter-finals of the recent rugby league World Cup.
Nearly 60 per cent of coaches said an elite rugby union coach would not be able to transition to NRL head coaching. Of more immediate concern is the prospect of rugby union swooping in with big-money bids for NRL stars.
Rugby union powerbrokers have made no secret of their plans to chase some of the NRL’s biggest names in the lead-up to the British and Irish Lions tour in 2025 and the 2027 World Cup.
Suaalii is believed to be their priority target — the Roosters teenager has an option in his favour at the end of this season and there has been talk about the Australian Rugby Union weighing in with an offer worth as much as $10 million over the next five years.
While that sort of money is unthinkable for a rugby league club, coaches are none too concerned. Manly coach Anthony Seibold has only recently returned from a stint on Jones’ staff at England and insists rugby league has little to fear.
“The NRL is probably bigger than ever,” Seibold said.
“It has — or is about to have — the biggest salary cap in history, it has a long-term broadcasting deal. From that perspective, it is strong.
“The big thing is those kids who went to GPS schools, the attraction of playing rugby union in Australia would be the British and Irish Lions tour and the World Cup.
“Is that a threat to rugby league? There might be some individuals who have to make a decision and are tempted by it.
“Everywhere else in the world, rugby union is booming. But it is going to be hard to pick players out of the NRL because we are well looked after.
“They might target certain individuals but I don’t think that it is a threat to our game.”
NRL Coaches’ survey: mental health struggles laid bare
The tragic loss of premiership-winning North Queensland coach Paul Green led to an outcry of emotion and calls for a greater level of support for past and present NRL coaches.
And it appears the need for increased support for the game’s best thinkers remains just as prevalent with an overwhelming majority admitting the management of their mental health is a burgeoning issue for rugby league.
An unsettling 71 per cent of the 24 NRL head and assistant coaches who took part in a News Corp poll said mental health was an issue.
While 17 per cent said it wasn’t a concern, a further 13 per cent opted not to answer.
In addition, an even larger number of coaches (79 per cent) said they didn’t get enough support from the NRL.
Only eight per cent were content with the level of support provided for coaches.
Sydney Roosters premiership-winning coach Trent Robinson has been advocating since 2016 for the introduction of an association to provide support for current and former coaches, including those between jobs.
In the wake of Green’s passing last August, it was Robinson who said it was time for an association to be formed, given the pressure coaches faced and the volatility of the industry.
“It’s a wonderful job and we take with it the good and bad, we understand the role and that’s what makes it so wonderful,” said Robinson, who hired Green as an assistant for the Roosters’ 2013 premiership campaign.
“We’ve got to understand sometimes that comes to an end. It doesn’t always continue for 16 (NRL) coaches, there are ones that go in and out.
“We’ve been putting together an association to support coaches and well-being. It hasn’t quite come to fruition yet because of finances and differences of opinion around what the structure of that should be. It needs to be there in some form very quickly.
“It’s hard to support when you’re rivals, there has to be someone independent of the clubs that supports the coaches equally and is there for us. That’s our future.”
Coaches snub Queensland in expansion plans
The Dolphins should be the fourth and final NRL team in Queensland, according to the game’s top coaches.
The Sunshine State has been snubbed in the expansion debate following News Corp’s 2023 NRL Coaches’ Survey.
The Dolphins, based at Redcliffe, will become the NRL’s 17th team this season after securing the first expansion licence since the Gold Coast Titans in 2007.
But they should be the last in Queensland if the NRL decides to expand again in the coming years to create an 18-team competition, as planned.
A resounding 52 per cent of coaches surveyed believe the NRL should launch a Perth team if expansion goes ahead again.
That was the leading response, with 22 per cent believing the game should not expand any time soon.
A second New Zealand team to join the Auckland-based Warriors came in with 14 per cent of the vote while the Central Coast, North Sydney and Pacific each received four per cent.
Interestingly, Queensland was snubbed in the debate despite boasting less than 25 per cent of teams in the NRL and being a rugby league-mad state.
The Dolphins will join the Titans, Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys this year.
A third Brisbane team has been mooted as a potential expansion club to give the Broncos a genuine inner-city rival, given the Dolphins are based on the outskirts of Brisbane.
The Dolphins beat the Jets and Firehawks bids for the 17th licence when it was awarded in late 2021. The Ipswich/western corridor remains a heartland region for rugby league and is a growing area that has the potential to provide rugby league with increased crowds and boost television ratings.
But the NRL’s coaches do not believe that is the best scenario, with some pointing out to a lack of depth in playing ranks following the introduction of the Dolphins.
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Originally published as NRL coaches’ survey results: Coaches exploiting concussion rules, say rivals
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