Rugby League icon Phil Gold has poured cold water on the idea of coaching an NRL team with two brothers from Queensland.
For several years now Ben and Shane Walker have been enjoying success in second tier coaching and there has been a lot of talk about taking charge of a team in the Big League.
They led Ipswich to the Queensland Cup title and revived the competition by focusing on attack and entertainment.
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Earlier this month, rugby league immortal Andrew Johns called on Canterbury to be wary of the wind and hire the brothers as head coach, following the resignation of Trent Barrett.
Since then, Nathan Brown has called on the Benji Marshall Warriors to do the same after leaving that seat vacant. The West Tigers are also looking for a head coach.
But Gold – who will be the new Bulldogs coach – has no intention of even entertaining the idea.
“My head doesn’t go there, I don’t consider it,” he told the Wide World of Sports. Six tackles with gas Podcast
“It’s nothing against the Walkers. I wish them all the best in the world. It’s great to see all of this as a fan.”
“But if you run an organization and you try to portray yourself as a professional football club … my head doesn’t go there.”
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The Walker brothers basically changed the game with the way Ipswich was coached.
The Jets have become a thrilling team that throws football at will, whistling the opposition with their free-flowing and chaotic style.
People calling for entry into the NRL rank are hoping they can bring the same flamboyance to elite competition.
But Gold explained that it may not be very well converted.
“It’s different, it’s innovative. I think at that level it was something not seen before at the Queensland Cup level,” Gold said.
“Whether an NRL club would gamble on introducing such a system in their club … I think you have to be brave enough to do that.
“We look at not only the performance of the first-grade team of the day, but also how it affects the development of players coming through a system. There is a tried and tested method for this.
“As a coach I tried to be as innovative as possible. I didn’t want to follow, I didn’t want to copy what other teams were doing. I thought if we copy people we would always be second. We would never be leaders.
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“But at the same time, through the tried and tested philosophy and methods that have stood the test of time, Walker’s situation will be a gamble.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“And whether you can run a development system based on their ideas and beliefs, I think it will be a big change.
“It’s easy for people like Benji Marshall to say that it will be exciting to watch – and exciting to watch – but whether you want to portray your football club and your business this way in the long run, it will be a big gamble for a club to go that way. “
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