The question is "How do you measure improvement/success?"

Except, you can't dance, and I can. So I have to lead.

The Bulls takeover of world rugby continues; interesting that the Roosters have now snapped up the budding coaching genius of McNamara to add to their coaching team. This would be the NRL champions, and despite that, they judge that adding McNamara improves their coaching setup.

Odd, that, eh ME? Yet another set of mugs who can't see he's a dud?

You have actually helped the argument of the detractors.

I see he's not been appointed head coach, you could maybe say that the Roosters don't value him enough to make him head coach. Nor did any other club in SL or the NRL.

This appointment makes me think that SM is not yet ready to become a head coach of a RL team. He knows this and he's taking a year or two to learn from some good coaches before continuing his coaching career.

This is exactly what some posters have been saying.

Good luck Steve - I hope to see you come back from the NRL a better coach!

It was an excellent performance from a good set of players and yes a coach has to take a share of the credit for that. McNamara also deserves credit for a brave decision in dropping Chase, especially as in a way it highlighted his previous mistake in sticking with him. Takes some character to do that and it was a good call.

What he deserves to get bagged for though is something he had shown plenty of times while with us - poor use of the interchanges and an inability to adapt to what was going on. Given you could look at it as you losing an attritional game, not to use one of the bench players at all and (according to an earlier post anyway) one player only on for 10 mins beggers belief. Impossible to say if it cost you the game but surely it can't have helped in those final minutes?

For that reason, and his embarassing showing at the press conferences, I wouldn't want him as my club or national coach. From what people closer to the club have told me it sounds like he is excellent on the development side, suggests this Roosters move is a good one, but I never understood people who defended his performances as head coach.



Does this mean you see going from the England Head Coach to one of the Roosters coaching staff as equivalent or even a step up?

Yes, but this wasn't the usual Italy side made up of actual Italians that usually plays in what ever it is they call that Nations Cup thing that happened during the 3 and 4 Nation events. This was side bolstered by a number of NRL players and was all in all what could be considered an Aussie B team.

True, England didn't want to lose the warm up, but it seems clear that the England team that turned up that day regarding their Italian opponents with the same disregard that you're showing them and were shown the error of that.

Laughable. They wouldn't appoint him as coach of Underbank Under-11s


You sound like the Black Knight. It's a fookin brilliant coaching post to land, and everyone knows it, however much you try to devalue it.


This appointment shows that as well as this country, he is highly rated by the TOP NRL club, and he would have been a fool not to take such a post.


Who? The ones I'm thinking of just say he's a total dud, and can't coach for toffee.

Of course, especially given that they are the NRL champions. The NRL is the coaching pinnacle, and no fools are admitted. The Roosters are currently at the very apex of that pinnacle. If a coach with ambition wants to reach for the top, then at some point he has to make a go of it coaching top level NRL. What else would you call a gig with the pre-eminent club side in the world?

This only confirms that SM must have some compromising photos of some very senior people at The Roosters !

This appointment only confirms what everyone already knew, and that is that SM makes a pretty decent assistant. Just like he did when he assisted Noble.

"everyone already knew"?

Careful, you'll have a number of posters putting their boot through their screens !

Maybe only 1 or 2!

I don't think you are fooling anyone FA.

International Coach to club backroom staff a step up?

Don't be silly.

Sorry to disappoint, but what's this "from"? Supermac will be doing BOTH jobs

And yes, indeed he [url=http://www.sportinglife.com/rugby-league/news/article/480/9072234/dual-role-for-steve-mcnamarawill.[/url

Eddie? You must've come round by now?

Anyone in the Scotland area with a supply of smelling salts?

Interesting - might be worth having a punt on an England RL side taking the field containing no English based players?

I think the odds would be too short.
ATM I'm reasonably happy with the bet I've already laid
Bulls to be in the top 8 - 8/1 with skybet.
Its just a punt but the odds are decent

needs to keep an eye on the 'Aussie' contingent since, as things are, anyone making a living in the NRL is going to be pretty much a cert for the squad anyway and then the possibles and probables can be sorted when they hit the UK for the tests.

I'm not sure that is the case. All the armchair experts know what the correct make up of the squad should be from watching a few home matches & Sky TV on a weekend. Personally I'm not that bothered, as long as McN is released for squad sessions when required. I think the benefit to his coaching from being immersed over there will outweigh the negatives. It will certainly make him more employable when his assistant spell finishes, whereas he might struggle to e
get a SL gig ATM.

And of course, any Australian coach would love to employ the England national coach in a junior position, just so he can be ordered around and the Aussies can reinforce their feelings of rugby superiority over England.

Having had a shed load of abuse from my friends in Oz today I am pretty certain any Pom heading over there for the next few years will be strapped down and forced to watch highlights of the current ashes tests!

Just do what the Aussies do when their national team gets a whupping, state that no-one in the country gives a toss about that minority sport.

To be fair, it's pretty difficult to know how McNamara is actually rated by the people who matter in the game, so I couldn't say how likely, or not, he would be to get a Super League job right now - I guess it would depend on what was available anyway. One thing I'd be totally certain of though, is that the opinion of the know nothings on some of the boards won't figure very highly in any club's plans.

I certainly go along with the idea that experience in the NRL can only be for the good, particularly in his personal development, but in an England situation, well we've had an Aussie coach and several others working within the SL environment without any great success so I'm not convinced it's essential. The players though, now that is a different story...

The players?
I thought he drove them to drink