Eric
Staff
Buzz: Trent Barrett at threat of being NRL first coach sacked in 2022
Speculation around Trent Barrett’s future won’t go away. A horrific draw to start the season won’t help, but the concerns go deeper.
Trent Barrett’s teams have run 15th and 16th in his last two years of NRL coaching. That includes 38 losses from his last 48 games for a hopeless 20 per cent win record. At Manly he even had Origin stars Daly Cherry Evans, Tom and Jake Trbojevic, Api Koroisau and internationals Marty Taupau and Addin Fonua-Blake but still finished 15th. This is why speculation around Barrett being first NRL coach sacked won’t go away. Especially after last week’s 36-6 loss to the Sharks, albeit just a trial game. The betting market suggests he is favourite to be first coach sacked ahead of the Wests Tigers’ Michael Maguire.Most are suggesting he has six weeks to survive. Other coaches have been sacked earlier in the season than this. Souths axed Craig Coleman on the eve of the 2003 season after a 58-12 flogging by the Wests Tigers in a trial match. The year before the Cowboys sacked Murray Hurst as coach after just three rounds. Gould did not reply to a text message on Friday to discuss the situation.
It’s a delicate matter because both Gould and Barrett are managed by Wayne Beavis. However there is already talk of restlessness around the playing group at Belmore. This will be denied but new players are surprised the Bulldogs’ off-season has been nothing like what they have been used to at their old clubs. Barrett has a reasonable start with an away game against the Cowboys and then the Broncos at home. Then it’s Manly, Storm, the Panthers and the Rabbitohs.
While Barrett didn’t have the roster last year to be in a position to challenge for the semi-finals, there are no excuses this season with the addition of Josh Addo Carr, Tavita Pangai Jr, Matt Burton, Brent Naden, Matt Dufty and Paul Vaughan. Whether he gets enough time to mould them into a contender is the million-dollar question.
Personally I hope they lose to North Queensland and Broncos and then go 0-4 against the more fancied teams. I used to be a big fan of Barrett but no room for sentimentality. I hope Nathan Brown fails too. It'd be great to get him back in Shane Flanagan's position if Flanagan gets the role of a head coach somewhere. Just as long as both he and Barrett don't find success at other clubs, I wish them all the best.
Ryles, Brown, Young, Barrett, Hornby. A lot of our ex players are doing well at other clubs. Or, doing well financially, not so much with success except for Hornby. What are Gaz and Coops doing these days? Last I heard Coops had his MMA gym and Gaz was employed as a commentator. How about Bull Bailey?