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Nobody goes grey quicker than an NRL coach – and the stress that comes with the rigours of the job no doubt takes years off their lives
The sleepless nights, gut-wrenching losses, selection headaches, tough contract conversations which have ended the NRL dreams of countless players.
Who’d be a coach?
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But ask any of them and they’ll tell you it’s all worth it for that one glorious victory in the final game of the season.
They say winning a drug and at the NRL level, the coaches are well and truly addicted to that insatiable thirst for victory.
It’s why they fight tooth and nail to get their jobs and then keep their jobs.
Here are the coaches under the most pressure in 2022.
GET MOVING, OR GET MOVED ON
Michael Maguire (Wests Tigers)
The embattled Wests Tigers coach was granted a stay of execution last month following a third straight campaign which ended outside the top eight.
Maguire’s Tigers have finished 9th, 11th and 13th in his three years at the helm and he won’t be given long to turn things around in 2022.
It’s believed it wasn’t faith that saved the 47-year-old but the club’s reluctance to pay him out and Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo’s unwillingness to take the job.
The knock on Maguire is his old school approach – which ended South Sydney’s premiership drought in 2014 – doesn’t work on this generation of players.
Fox Sports documentary Tales from Tiger Town provided a glaring insight into the uphill battle Maguire faces each week to motivate his players.
Anything short of a top eight finish will see Maguire’s tumultuous tenure at Leichhardt come to an end.
Anthony Griffin (St George Illawarra Dragons)
St George Illawarra fans are another group we need to put our arms around, with some staggering decisions made by the club in recent years.
Griffin controversially replaced Paul McGregor for the 2021 season and things started promisingly before the Dragons lost their way dramatically in the back half of the season.
The infamous lockdown BBQ saw Paul Vaughan sacked and 13 players suspended for a combined 20 games.
The season was already heading in the wrong direction but the incident completely derailed it and they slumped to an 11th-place finish.
The Jack de Belin case is no longer a distraction but Griffin will want to avoid making head-scratching calls like considering him for captain.
If St George misses the top eight, don’t expect the club to trigger the third-year option in their favour on Griffin’s deal.
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CLOCK IS TICKING
Brad Arthur (Parramatta Eels)
The Parramatta coach was under enormous pressure heading into the 2021 finals but two strong performances in September saw him earn a contract extension until 2024.
But gutsy efforts in the finals is not going to cut it for the Eels faithful who haven’t tasted premiership glory since 1986.
Arthur coached six games at Parramatta on an interim basis in 2012 before taking the reins full-time in 2014.
He’s made the finals in four of the past five seasons but the Eels have won just two of eight postseason games in that time, which included straight set exits in 2017 and 2020.
Parramatta finished fifth this year despite spending most of the season in the top four and while they were solid in the semi-finals against eventual premiers Penrith, they still lost.
Arthur has a host of players coming off contract next year so he’ll be under the pump to deliver the elusive title while the premiership window is open.
Kevin Walters (Brisbane Broncos)
The Broncos great was finally given his crack at the top job in 2021 but most of the season was spent cleaning out the squad.
Walters did well to win seven games in his rookie season considering 2020 delivered Brisbane its first wooden spoon in club history.
But now his fingerprints all over the roster, and big-name signings Adam Reynolds and Kurt Capewell joining the club, there are no more excuses.
Brisbane won six titles in their first 19 seasons, winning is ingrained at the club and the 2015 feels like a lifetime ago to expectant fans.
Wayne Bennett signing with expansion outfit Dolphins will slightly ease the pressure on Walters, but anything short of a top 10 finish and he’ll be in the firing line.
TIME TO PRODUCE
Todd Payten (North Queensland Cowboys)
The man who turned down the Warriors head coaching role after being their interim in 2020 has his work cut out for him in Townsville next year.
Instead of taking the Warriors position, Payten landed at the Cowboys for the 2021 season and endured a turbulent year, finishing second last.
The Cowboys have almost become an afterthought to neutral NRL fans and the signing of halfback Chad Townsend has done little to change that attitude.
Payten needs to get his men firing so they cannot just recapture the imagination of the NRL, but start chalking up some wins.
North Queensland can spring an upset on their day but Payten must instil some consistency in 2022 or his job will be on the line.
Trent Barrett (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Penrith’s 2020 attack coach watched with delight that season as Nathan Cleary and co piled on 606 points in 23 games.
Head coaching at Canterbury in 2021 proved a very different experience in the coaches box for Barrett.
The Bulldogs produced the worst attack in the competition, scoring just 340 points in 24 matches, and finished the season dead last.
They’ve made some big signings for 2022 with Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Burton, Tevita Pangai Jr and Paul Vaughan the headline acts.
Barrett will need that quartet to produce the goods because with that much talent on board there he won’t have any excuses.
Watch ‘Wild Wests: Tales from Tiger Town’ an exclusive Fox League behind-the-scenes production on demand on Kayo > Click here to watch
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