KEVIN Moore in trouble? Proven correct.
Moore about to be sacked? Came true.
NSW coach Ricky Stuart in the frame to take over the Bulldogs? No doubt.
Now the Blues will need to go looking for a new coach?
God, no.
The greatest misconception of NSW's performance this year, when they pulled back five years of lost ground on Queensland, was that it was Stuart's appointment as a fulltime coach that was responsible.
For some months the grapevine has been spitting out rugby league rumours, and with each one slowly being proven correct it seems only a matter of time that, if it continues without reasonable examination, then NSW will lose just about the best asset this football-poor state has at the moment.
Stuart looks to be in first line to take the job at Canterbury. That means, according to popular thinking, that he will have to stand down as NSW coach so the post can be filled by someone who can do the job fulltime.
This just a week after the series, when many are only just beginning to quieten from hailing Stuart's efforts as one of the greatest coaching performances in Origin.
Outmanned and overmatched, the Blues came within a poor start of one game of pulling it off - against a side that needs no introduction this side of the equator.
Such has been the interest that if you announced Origin IV for next week it would be a sellout wherever you played it.
The intensity continues to bubble over at a rate that most believe Stuart and Queensland coach Mal Meninga are still blueing over what happened this year when, in fact, all they're really doing is getting an early start on next year.
Ricky Stuart should coach the Bulldogs.
But he should also remain as coach of the Blues.
The need for a fulltime coach at Origin is a myth, partly driven by Meninga's unprecedented success with his Queenslanders.
Now, I'm not going to get into the whole "does he or doesn't he" coach argument. As far as I see it, Meninga does what's required to win, and nobody can argue with that. But here is a truth; Meninga never coached Queensland fulltime.
While it was his only coaching job, until this year his fulltime job was at Brisbane's fruit markets, which was fulltime work and among the toughest jobs you can do. But Meninga understands Origin, and that is the true value of what he brought to Queensland's preparation.
And Stuart understands Origin, too.
That's the quality NSW needs in its coach and what had been missing. Having found it this year, and nearly got there, the biggest mistake the Blues could make is take the job from Stuart if he finds an NRL club.
Sure, there is extra work required for the growing demands of Origin, but he could simply hire an assistant to have it all in place by day one of camp to fix that.
But keep him as coach.
To a man, the NSW players came out of Origin this year praising Stuart's performance.
The ones that had been there before emerged revitalised as Origin players. The ones that hadn't finally understood what this Origin hype was about.
As one, they built towards something, something that hasn't been there for some time.
Stuart understands the difference between Origin football and club football.
There is no guarantee another coach, even if he was fulltime, would understand that difference, which is all the difference.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...to-wear-two-hats/story-e6frexnr-1226094974137
Moore about to be sacked? Came true.
NSW coach Ricky Stuart in the frame to take over the Bulldogs? No doubt.
Now the Blues will need to go looking for a new coach?
God, no.
The greatest misconception of NSW's performance this year, when they pulled back five years of lost ground on Queensland, was that it was Stuart's appointment as a fulltime coach that was responsible.
For some months the grapevine has been spitting out rugby league rumours, and with each one slowly being proven correct it seems only a matter of time that, if it continues without reasonable examination, then NSW will lose just about the best asset this football-poor state has at the moment.
Stuart looks to be in first line to take the job at Canterbury. That means, according to popular thinking, that he will have to stand down as NSW coach so the post can be filled by someone who can do the job fulltime.
This just a week after the series, when many are only just beginning to quieten from hailing Stuart's efforts as one of the greatest coaching performances in Origin.
Outmanned and overmatched, the Blues came within a poor start of one game of pulling it off - against a side that needs no introduction this side of the equator.
Such has been the interest that if you announced Origin IV for next week it would be a sellout wherever you played it.
The intensity continues to bubble over at a rate that most believe Stuart and Queensland coach Mal Meninga are still blueing over what happened this year when, in fact, all they're really doing is getting an early start on next year.
Ricky Stuart should coach the Bulldogs.
But he should also remain as coach of the Blues.
The need for a fulltime coach at Origin is a myth, partly driven by Meninga's unprecedented success with his Queenslanders.
Now, I'm not going to get into the whole "does he or doesn't he" coach argument. As far as I see it, Meninga does what's required to win, and nobody can argue with that. But here is a truth; Meninga never coached Queensland fulltime.
While it was his only coaching job, until this year his fulltime job was at Brisbane's fruit markets, which was fulltime work and among the toughest jobs you can do. But Meninga understands Origin, and that is the true value of what he brought to Queensland's preparation.
And Stuart understands Origin, too.
That's the quality NSW needs in its coach and what had been missing. Having found it this year, and nearly got there, the biggest mistake the Blues could make is take the job from Stuart if he finds an NRL club.
Sure, there is extra work required for the growing demands of Origin, but he could simply hire an assistant to have it all in place by day one of camp to fix that.
But keep him as coach.
To a man, the NSW players came out of Origin this year praising Stuart's performance.
The ones that had been there before emerged revitalised as Origin players. The ones that hadn't finally understood what this Origin hype was about.
As one, they built towards something, something that hasn't been there for some time.
Stuart understands the difference between Origin football and club football.
There is no guarantee another coach, even if he was fulltime, would understand that difference, which is all the difference.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...to-wear-two-hats/story-e6frexnr-1226094974137
