NRL Grand Final: Brad Arthur‘s journey from Cairns to Eels coach
As Brad Arthur prepares to coach the Eels in the NRL Grand Final, a Brothers stalwart has opened up about one of the most successful coaches in Cairns Brothers’ history.
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BOB Mulley saw it as soon as a young Brad Arthur stepped on to the Stan Williams Park training ground.
As Arthur prepares to coach Parramatta in the NRL Grand Final as they vie to break a 36-year premiership hoodoo, Mulley has opened up about one of the most successful coaches in Cairns Brothers’ history and a man among the club’s favourite sons.
The man better known as “Nugget” had just appointed this talented footballer as the new captain-coach for Cairns Brothers, and he could tell right away he had landed a good one.
Arthur arrived in Cairns after a few years at Batemans Bay, a gig which came after Penrith’s Royce Simmons told him that while he might not make it as a player, he just might find his calling as a coach.
The first step might have been with Batemans Bay, but it was in the tropics he truly began to make his mark as a coach on the rise.
“He was 23 when he signed on with us, but the moment he stepped on the field you could see he was in his element,” Mulley said.
“You could tell he was at another level.
“I advertised for a coach in Rugby League Week and he was one of the applicants.
“We were in a tough competition for him, he had a massive offer from Mackay Brothers to coach their 18s and play.
“But he picked us because he wanted to coach A-grade.”
Arthur’s stubbornness to land the gig he wanted turned out to be one of the greatest coaching coups of Cairns District Rugby League history.
He was signed for one season with the option of a second, but Arthur ultimately made his home in the Far North for eight years.
The master coach-in-the-making took Brothers to six grand finals, claiming the premiership in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
He also won the CDRL Gold Medal for the competition’s best player in 2000 and 2002.
Brothers hadn’t won a premiership since 1988 when Arthur arrived.
But the way he went to work, putting in plenty of hours not just in his coaching, which included the development of player statistics after every game and extensive reviews, but to secure sponsorship and pull together off-field events gave him a well-rounded education about the operation of successful footy clubs.
“We’d been doing it tough, there was not much money coming from the leagues club - but that opened up an opportunity,” Mulley said.
“He started working there, took on a lot of work.
“But he loved it up here.
“He met Michelle here, had all three of his children here, and made a life.”
One of those children, Jacob, who was pictured as a two-year-old in Arthur’s arms as he celebrated the 2004 premiership, will make history when he lines up in the Eels’ grand final team.
It will be the first time two father-son combinations have faced off in the NRL Grand Final, as the Arthurs try to stop Panthers’ coach and player duo Ivan and Nathan Cleary.
Former teammate Bobby Benioni, who was part of four grand final teams at Brothers - including three premierships, described Arthur as a coach who brought professionalism to the club.
“It was everything. He’d be doing stats from every game, so for our review session on Tuesdays he’d come in with stats for everyone in the game, and something to aim for in the next game,” Benioni said.
“He was a tough player, a really good worker.
“He was dedicated to his job, professional, and had the respect of all of his players.”
Last week was near-perfect for the Brothers club.
Both senior teams won their respective CDRL premierships, while two of the club’s three junior teams who made grand finals came home with a trophy.
Arthur orchestrated the Eels’ win against hometown favourites North Queensland to break Cowboys’ hearts just 24 hours before Brothers’ success at Barlow Park.
The Eels will have the backing of the Far North’s rugby league fraternity in the club’s first grand final since 2009.
But you know Arthur will remain humble if they can end the Eels’ 36-year drought, especially if a quick message between he and Mulley offers some insight into the master coach.
“I sent him a text the other day to congratulate him - I never call during the season - and he replied saying he’d ‘never forget what (Mulley and Brothers) did for him’,” Mulley said.
“He was rough around the edges when he first got to Cairns but working at the club was the making of him. He took everything on board.
“There will be some tears shed if they can do it.”
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
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Originally published as NRL Grand Final: Brad Arthur‘s journey from Cairns to Eels coach
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