Brisbane Broncos assistant Peter Gentle dumped with toughest job in NRL
Peter Gentle has no designs on being head coach of the Broncos - or anyone for that matter. But fate, and a major COVID breach, has handed him the keys to the bumpiest ride in rugby league.
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Peter Gentle is a bit like the man who went to get his boating licence only to be asked to raise the Titanic.
Gentle, 54, has no designs on being head coach of the Broncos - or anyone for that matter.
But fate has intervened. With Broncos head coach Anthony Seibold out of play due to COVID restrictions for two weeks after staying a night in Sydney due to a serious family issue, assistant coach Gentle will step into the hottest seat in the NRL for the next two matches against the Raiders and Dragons.
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“I had my go at head coaching and I didn’t really like it but I love being an assistant,” Gentle told the Broncos website last year.
“That’s what I miss, is coaching the individual, working in small groups and actually coaching.’’
Depending on how you look at it Gentle is either under minimal pressure because he has no act to follow given the club has lost 10 of its past 11 games or he is severely under the pump for better standards are required.
Isolation is the buzz word of the COVID era and Gentle could be excused for feeling that way given that not only is Seibold absent but so is assistant coach Allan Langer and two conditioners who broke COVID protocols.
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By modern standards it truly is a skeleton staff but Broncos chief executive Paul White is adamant Gentle can do the job.
“He is a highly experienced coach,’’ White said.
“He has not only done time under Anthony but he has spent a significant amount of time under Tim Sheens. He knows the group well and has been here for the part 18 months. He spoke to the players after they returned from Sydney and they have had a meal together.
“We are confident in his experience and his knowledge of the group.”
Gentle head coached Hull in England for two years after being around the senior coaching scene since 1984 when his father Ken coached the Western Suburbs Magpies.
Peter used to do the statistics and cut up video on the old VHS machines and he has passed through Cronulla, Souths and Wests as an assistant coach.
PETER GENTLE
Age: 54
Position: Halfback
Playing career: St George Dragons 1987-88 (3 games)
Coaching career: Hull (England) 2012-13
Assistant coaching positions: Wests Tigers, Cronulla, Parramatta, Souths and Broncos
Originally published as Brisbane Broncos assistant Peter Gentle dumped with toughest job in NRL