The Bradford "legacy" : Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:44 pm
I appreciate i leave myself open to criticism for posting such thoughts but here goes another one.
Rugby League being such a localised sport filled with basically players and coaches who know each other inside out and given the fact we as a sport seem to relish this fact rather than looking to grow our knowledge and embrace new thinking I guess it is inevitable that successfull players from successfull teams seem to at least be given a shot at coaching.
In the John Monie book he lists or at least the forward list the number of players that have gone on to coach at the top level who played under Monie.
I am a huge believer in the theory that you are a product of your environment, and i think that the Bradford Legacy is very visable.
Wigan, Warrington and Bradford themselves all have coaches at all levels that did there apprenticships or were involved in the successfull period at Bradford, and all these team continue to falter to decieve despite signing on paper quality players.
The skill level of the 3 teams highlighted is poor and rather the emphasis is on the physical side of things. Wire look a huge side this year, having taken on the Bradford Reserve conditioner at the end of last year with Jimmy Lowes.
Wigan have Noble and Foreshaw who cut there teeth in the Bradford era of success/laying the foundations of success, and Bradford themselves have McNamarra and another conditioning coach who came through the same system.
The teams on paper are far superior to the performances on the field, they all play a very basic game plan, and rely on an individual spark to fire them.
I think the Brian Smith and Bradford legacy is evident today and harming the 3 teams in question.
I would also add i do not think Brian Smith is a poor coach, he simply identified a way for the Bradford team to succeed and played to it, he is not limited to this coaching style but those who learned the game under the systems and in the environment he created are.
