NRL report card: Coaches under pressure with Wayne Bennett on the job hunt
Round eight losses for Arthur’s Eels and Demetriou’s Rabbitohs have done nothing to alleviate the pressure they’re feeling in the hot seat. See the grade for every coach’s performance so far this season i nour pressure gauge analysis.
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There is no worse time to be an NRL coach than when Wayne Bennett, the game’s most successful mentor, is looking for a new job.
A disastrous start to 2024 at South Sydney, on the back of a late season implosion last year, has Jason Demetriou on borrowed time and looking over his shoulder as Bennett’s name is bandied about as his eventual successor.
Parramatta’s Brad Arthur can’t be blamed for doing the same even though club bosses insist his job is safe at the Eels.
The longest serving Eels coach is under the pump after a humiliating loss against Bennett’s undermanned Dolphins last week has raised questions about whether his tenure has finally run its course at the western Sydney powerhouse.
Arthur has the unwanted record for most games coached at a club without a premiership (261) ahead of Canberra’s Ricky Stuart (254) and Brian Smith who was in charge of 243 games at the Eels without winning a competition.
Others like Shane Flanagan are delivering more than anyone had anticipated at St George Illawarra with the Dragons shaping as one of the most improved outfits despite being in the midst of a roster rebuild as early wooden spoon favourites.
Back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019 have earned Roosters coach Trent Robinson a reprieve from any real scrutiny but that good will is drying up quickly and his team must aim up in the traditional Anzac Day clash against the Dragons.
Robinson’s job is safe but that won’t protect him from mounting pressure if his star-studded outfit continues to struggle for consistency - and to look like a genuine title threat.
With the next month of football shaping as a defining period for a number of coaches, we rate how every head coach in the competition is faring after seven rounds.
DOLPHINS
Wayne Bennett
Rating: A-
Contract situation: End of 2024
Analysis: The master coach has made it clear he wants to go on next season after his time building the Dolphins comes to an end. It means his remarkable skill set is up for grabs for any team ready to go to the next level.
Next four games: Knights (H), Cowboys (A), Manly (H), Tigers (A)
SHARKS
Craig Fitzgibbon
Rating: A+
Contract situation: End of 2027
Analysis: It’s taken a bit for the Sharks to find their groove under Fitzgibbon, but they’re top of the ladder heading into round 8. Their big tests are still yet to come this month. Fitzgibbon is also dealing with his first off-field crisis at the Sharks after five-eighth Braydon Trindall failed a roadside alcohol and illicit drugs test this week. He stood down from the Raiders clash this weekend and could miss more game time over the matter.
Next four games: Raiders (A), Dragons (H), Storm (A), Roosters (H)
STORM
Craig Bellamy
Rating: A
Contract situation: End of 2024
Analysis: The Storm mentor is one of the best and most successful coaches of all time, managing to stay a premiership threat no matter the roster over the past two decades. As part of Bellamy’s deal with the club, it’s up to him to decide each year if it will be his last.
Next four games: Rabbitohs (H), Titans (A), Sharks (H), Eels (H)
PANTHERS
Ivan Cleary
Rating: A
Contract situation: End of 2027
Analysis: Under Cleary Penrith have evolved into one of the best teams in the history of the game. The premiers are sailing again this season despite a stack of injuries and interruptions and remain the team to beat.
Next four games: Cowboys (A), Rabbitohs (A), Bulldogs (H), Warriors (A)
SEA EAGLES
Anthony Seibold
Rating: B
Contract situation: End of 2025
Analysis: In his second season in charge of the Sea Eagles, Seibold finally has Tom Trbojevic on the paddock which is so essential to Manly’s success. Aside from that, some astute recruitment and development has ramped up their attack, with a way to go in defence.
Next four games: Eels (H), Raiders (H), Dolphins (A), Broncos (H)
BRONCOS
Kevin Walters
Rating: A-
Contract situation: End of 2026
Analysis: Last year’s grand finalists have again been one of the top teams to start the season despite missing their three biggest players in Payne Haas, Adam Reynolds and Reece Walsh at various stages. It’s a wonderful feat of coaching to maintain that level of consistency.
Next four games: Tigers (A), Roosters (H), Eels (A), Sea Eagles (A)
RAIDERS
Ricky Stuart
Rating: B
Contract situation: End of 2025
Analysis: The Raiders were not highly rated coming into the season but Stuart’s investment in rookies and rising talent has paid off early with some surprising performances. How he navigates the loss of Jamal Fogarty will be a point of stress over the next few months.
Next four games: Sharks (H), Sea Eagles (A), Bye, Bulldogs (H)
COWBOYS
Todd Payten
Rating: C-
Contract situation: End of 2026
Analysis: The Cowboys have been arguably the least consistent team in the competition over the past two seasons, either playing like competition heavy weights or also rans depending on the day. It’s been a frustrating hot and cold cycle Payten needs to find a way to break.
Next four games: Panthers (H), Dolphins (H), Titans (A), Rabbitohs (A)
DRAGONS
Shane Flanagan
Rating: B+
Contract situation: End of 2026
Analysis: Whatever situation prompted this kind of form out of Zac Lomax, the Dragons need more of it. Flanagan has done as expected and added starch to the defence and confidence in the attack to make them one of the surprises of the NRL right now.
Next four games: Roosters (H), Sharks (A), Rabbitohs (H), Bye
WARRIORS
Andrew Webster
Rating: B
Contract situation: End of 2028
Analysis: After a breakout season last year where he was named the coach of the year at the Dally Ms and delivered a finals appearance to the Warriors for the first time in a stretch, Webster has backed it up with another strong start to the year.
Next four games: Titans (H), Knights (A), Roosters (A), Panthers (H)
BULLDOGS
Cameron Ciraldo
Rating: B+
Contract situation: End of 2027
Analysis: Finally, the Bulldogs look to have turned a corner for the better. It’s been a long road to find joy in the basics of rugby league but even with no star halfback and a few injuries, the Bulldogs are finding ways to entertain. That’s good coaching.
Next four games: Bye, Tigers (H), Panthers (A), Raiders (A)
ROOSTERS
Trent Robinson
Rating: D
Contract situation: End of 2028
Analysis: The Roosters haven’t finished in the top four since 2020 and for a club of this might and power, that means the pressure is on to win. Robinson is one of the best in the game though, and he’s backed by his players and club boss Nick Politis, so is safe.
Next four games: Dragons (A), Broncos (A), Warriors (H), Sharks (A)
TIGERS
Benji Marshall
Rating: C+
Contract situation: End of 2027
Analysis: It’s been a rapid initiation into the world of coaching for the Tigers legend, who has been able to land two good wins but not enough improvement to take the pressure totally off his back.
Next four games: Broncos (H), Bulldogs (A), Knights (H), Dolphins (H)
EELS
Brad Arthur
Rating: E
Contract situation: End of 2025
Analysis: The Eels have a convenient excuse in an injury to Mitch Moses, but a second-half capitulation against the Dolphins hammered home just how little they’re getting from other star players. Arthur has been around for a decade now and while the club back him, eyebrows are raised around the game.
Next four games: Sea Eagles (A), Bye, Broncos (H), Storm (A)
KNIGHTS
Adam O’Brien
Rating: D-
Contract situation: End of 2027
Analysis: A remarkable end of season run to the finals showed what the Knights were capable of, which is why they’ve been so disappointing in 2024. Without Kalyn Ponga now for three months, the hard coaching starts to get off the bottom of the ladder.
Next four games: Dolphins (A), Warriors (H), Tigers (A), Titans (A)
RABBITOHS
Jason Demetriou
Rating: E
Contract situation: End of 2026
Analysis: It’s been a horrible start to the season for Demetriou and the Rabbitohs, who finished last year in much the same manner. An honourable loss before the bye saved his job but the next fortnight in particular could get ugly if players don’t turn up for him.
Next four games: Storm (A), Panthers (H), Dragons (A), Cowboys (H)
TITANS
Des Hasler
Rating: F
Contract situation: End of 2026
Analysis: The Titans are yet to win a game under new coach Hasler, but things are slowly turning around after a narrow loss to the Raiders in round 7. There’s pressure to win, but no pressure on Hasler’s job so early into his tenure given his lengthy experience.
Next four games: Warriors (A), Storm (H), Cowboys (H), Knights (H)
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