Do we really want to pay Salford even more fees? It would be cheaper to buy the club!

I’m easy either way: I can see Rowley getting a tune out of Leeds, equally I’d be interested to see how a proven NRL coach would go.

Wonder when we’ll make the call.

Mid table?

You expecting a massive improvement from Smith?

Mid table?

You expecting a massive improvement from Smith?

I was being generous.


amazing how some still make excuses for him though

I'd be happy with either too. On the cost of compensating Salford for Rowley, I imagine that would at least be partially offset by what we'd save by not paying out Mr Arthur's wages. NRL head coaches don't come cheap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WcZ0Kvtbr0 Pod with Rowley, obviously brushes over the question but he speaks well, mentions standing players down and talks about having resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WcZ0Kvtbr0 Pod with Rowley, obviously brushes over the question but he speaks well, mentions standing players down and talks about having resources

I remember Rowley at Leigh and I hated that team, not sure if he has reimaged himself but his Salford team are a good watch and certainly can coach, Arthur obviously has the NRL head coach exp but comes with more risks IE homesickness etc. Its a tough call but I will be happy with either I reckon

Think both tick the "good guy" box as RS himself did.

Arthur might only come for a couple of seasons, I'm not too bothered about it being longer than that as long as we get the squad fixed and start competing towards the top again. We had several coaches involved in our successful era previously.

If it was either coach I'd be pretty happy, I think Rowley's well thought of and players seem to respond to him. Could still be a leftfield third choice, if Arthur was too expensive and Rowley didn't want to come. It does look to me like we have prioritised Arthur first. Suppose we'll have an update over the next couple of weeks once the international weekend is done?

I'd imagine we'd want to get it sorted fairly quickly. I know we're only halfway through this season, but there are a few recruitment decisions to be made for next season, and we've shown in the last year or so that we have been able to move on contracted players to create space. Rowley would have an edge in having strong views about the quality (or otherwise) or our current squad, but Arthur might be an attraction for NRL players.

According to Aussie Media, Arthur has also had conversations about coaching the new NRL expansion team, likely based out of Perth. His partner is originally from Perth too.

What amazes me is that some still have the knives out for him even though he's now gone, move on, start sharpening them for the next mistake....

I don’t think RS would be gone now without fan pressure. The club seemed reluctant to sack him. Been mixed messages about his performance from players but overall he seems to have been popular internally.

I do think we’re ready for another voice and approach personally though.

I reckon the longer we wait for the club to announce a new coach, the less likely it will be Rowley. It's still early days in the process, as I'm sure the club would have been fully focussed on last Friday and not wanted any distraction. If it is to be PR, you'd think it would be a pretty straight forward negotiation, given Salford allowed him to talk to Hull a few weeks back, and we could expect an announcement this week. This is assuming he'd be interested in the job, of course. If it gets to Thursday and we still haven't herd anything, my money is on Arthur/NRL candidate. But who knows?

It may be Rowley, it may be Arthur, it may be someone else. At this stage, whoever it might be, I think the key thing is I trust Blease to make the appointment far more than GH.

Arthur is getting his name out there, but ultimately if it's an NRL expansion team, he'll likely be waiting until 2027 to actually be coaching again.

I wouldn't be terribly bothered if it is an NRL coach and they only stayed for two years.

Holbrook turned Saints round pretty sharpish and Wigan are still benefitting from Michael Maguires influence years on.

The right coach will be able to put in place the step / keys we need to be successful, Weve become to accustomed to giving leeway to "projects" that are never finished and excuses rolled out. With Blease now overseeing the playing side Im confident that he'll be able to handle the nitty gritty and setting the tone both ethos and recruitment to leave the coach to concentrate on just that, coaching.

Yes if Arthur has Perth lined up for 2027, he's the kind of guy who will probably need to keep his hand in meantime.

Leeds is a good opportunity or a poisoned chalice whichever way you look at it - but what we do have is a lot of junior talent coming through, which I think would greatly appeal to Arthur. Rowley also.

Thing with Blease leading this is that he might make the appointment and consider different candidates than GH would, but if it comes down to paying Arthur £400k per year to get him, will GH and the board back that?

I don't know but I reckon Arthur would cost around double whatever they were paying Smith, and we've also taken on Blease's salary. We also need cash to go after a couple of really good overseas players IMO, and use the Marquee allowance. If we're serious about winning again we're going to have to stop trying to do it on a shoestring.

I get the feeling it will not be Rowley, but we will have to wait and see.

Investment has to match the ambition. Did you see SKYs estimation of what clubs are currently spending on players? We're the best part of 500k behind Cats, Wire, and the Pies.

Bit of a leftfield crazy idea but what about Arthur until end of season then Rowley in for next season?
Would that even work? Would he even bother?

If BA wants the job long term why would he move over just for a few months as a stand in.

I don't think that's crazy at all - or even Demetriou on a similar basis. Blease did talk about potentially an interim.

If Rowley is signed up for 2025, they will still be in dialogue about players etc. beforehand so it could be a smooth transition. I don't actually think it's fair to poach a head coach mid season like this, call me old fashioned but Rowley seems a good bloke and I doubt he'd want to leave Salford in the lurch.

Yeah and it shows doesn't it? This is kindof my point though: without anything else changing, where is this extra £1m per year on wages coming from? £500k on improved players in key positions, Blease, and increased spending on the head coach too...

AMT might provide some of the answer but I think Leeds generally is run more like an operating business than a rich man's plaything.

But if hes got that other job lined up next year, he might just want a few months over here, get paid a wedge and complete some scouting for the expansion team to boot.

Im not saying thats happening but it could....

So cynical for one so young...

It seems Brad Arthur is in the running for the Perth NRL club job if they are allowed into the competition. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/former ... 5jogw.html

It seems Brad Arthur is in the running for the Perth NRL club job if they are allowed into the competition. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/former ... 5jogw.html