Robinson named Coach of the Year

Dally M Coach of the Year Trent Robinson. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: Gregg Porteous / DailyTelegraph

THE Sydney Roosters' Grand Final fairytale began in a Woollahra coffee shop about 12 months ago.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

At a table inside, the game's longest serving player agent Wayne Beavis and longest serving club official Nick Politis were discussing ways to fix the Roosters.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

"It was just a low-key catch-up," Beavis recalls, "we regularly get together to talk footy and other things."

It was also the occasion Tuesday night's Dally M Coach of the Year Trent Robinson's name came up for the first time as a potential NRL coach.

Although he was still under contract, veteran Brian Smith was on the outer and the pair were throwing around names as potential 2013 first grade coaches.

Most of the big names - Bellamy, Bennett and Hasler - were already locked up on long-term deals.

So Beavis put forward his client's name.

Politis had seen the success of neighbours and arch-rivals South Sydney were having with a new face, Michael Maguire.

It was rare for the car dealer and chairman to even consider a "no name".

He's normally been one for a Jack Gibson, Bob Fulton, Phil Gould, Ricky Stuart, Graham Murray, Brian Smith, Chris Anderson or Brad Fittler.

Unlike the above that were all rugby league household names, Robinson had played only four first grade games - three at the Wests Tigers and one at the Parramatta Eels.

The one thing working in his favour was a previous stint at the Roosters as an assistant coach in 2010.

"The players really liked him," said former Roosters CEO Steve Noyce.

"He was a very popular figure at the club and a really decent bloke who knew what he was doing.

"You could always tell he was going to be a successful NRL coach and then the stint in France at Catalans put the finishing touches on his apprenticeship."

Now he's on the verge of joining Phil Gould and Ricky Stuart, the only two coaches to have won premierships in their first season.

As Noyce says, Robinson is a players' coach.

I remember back in March when Robinson arrived at a Surry Hills Hotel to meet and establish a relationship with News Limited rugby league writers.

You could tell that night that, as Noyce explained, he was a players' coach.

He'd just come from a quick but announced visit to Joey Leilua's home with club captain Anthony Minichiello.

And why?

"We just wanted to check out his fridge," Robinson explained. "He lives on his own and we wanted to make sure he was eating the right food.

"It's just another part of the job."

Robinson would be the first to admit that Tuesday night's award was not what he set out to achieve when he started at Moore Park last October.

Sunday's Grand Final is the main prize.

And besides, four of the past eight winners no longer have a first grade head coaching job.

Tim Sheens (2005), Neil Henry (2008), Kevin Moore (2009) and Brian Smith (2010) are proof that it doesn't guarantee you job security.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Robinson named Coach of the Year

Dengan url

http://sportlivestyle.blogspot.com/2013/10/robinson-named-coach-of-year.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Robinson named Coach of the Year

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Robinson named Coach of the Year

sebagai sumbernya