Question: You’re the CEO of an NRL club and your brother is the coach. You’ve had a terrible season, the clubs going in the wrong direction and you need a change. How do you sack your own brother?
Thats the question that could face Canberra Raiders CEO Don Furner in the future after he named his brother David as the Raiders new coach starting 2009.
With current Raiders coach Neil Henry taking up the North Queensland Cowboys job from 2009, the Raiders moved quickly to install David Furner as coach.
There is a bit of angst in Canberra over Henry’s deccision to leave early. Aapparently he was preaching loyalty to the players, especially youngster Todd Carney, as offers from others clubs came there way. The players signed with the club and a week later Henry asked to have his contract torn up so he could head off and do his own thing.
Not a great way to go about things.
As for Furners appointment, I have no idea how he’ll go as a coach. He has never really been on the radar as a future NRL coach. He has a lot of experience to call on as a player, but even then, he was a second rower and never really known for his technical background in the game.
He is a loyal Raider though and that is a plus.
I have never liked it when clubs sign former champions of their own club. At the end of the day every single coach in the game will end up being sacked or moved on, and it always ends up being very messy and emotional when a club has to do it with a former great.
I always look back to the likes of Mal Meninga, Royce Symmons who are the type of people that should be welcomes back to their former clubs with open arms, but who will not be afforded that opportunity after being sacked previously as head coach.
One thing is for sure, Raiders fans will just be happy that they are moving even further away from the catastrophic Matthew Elliott era.
