in other words its a big gamble.

Hopefully Sam will stay longer at Warrington than Ellery did in either of his RL coaching positions.

As the Duck says Burgess a proven winner on the field so I’ll be giving him a chance and let’s be honest he doesn’t have to improve much on what Powell + Price did.

Out of interest, what’s Hanley’s win percentage as a coach in his short career? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was better than Price, Smith and Powell, however ironic that would be



EDIT: Indeed it is better: 76% at Saints and 66% at Doncaster.

Not really what we wanted, we will just have to get behind him and see how it goes. I’m interested now how much change to the rest of the current coaches etc.

He didn't stick around at Doncaster to have that reduced the following season in the Championship.

Any appointment would be a gamble. Some are bigger than others. Many would have considered Powell has quite a small gamble and we know how that unfolded?

I'm actually intrigued by how this works out - I suspect there will be no bland, boring middle ground. It will either be a total car crash or he will be a success. One thing is for sure, if he's serious about a coaching career back in the NRL, then he has to make this work, so he has plenty of incentive to do well, which can only be good for us.

That’s it in a nutshell, we knew all about Powell before he got here with Burgess we are clueless on the coaching front and that’s pretty much why so many are anti him. Can’t deny I was against it but it’s done now so we have to see how it goes.

Burgess is an enormous risk, the lack of experience and the lack of professionalism in his post-retirement struggles must be concerns. He doesn't seem the right man to fix the culture issues at Warrington. He is a leader however and there is no doubt he'll be able to motivate the players. It's a high risk, high reward scenario I guess. The worry I'd have as a Wire fan or Director making this appointment, would be his longevity. How long is he actually willing to stay in the UK? Is he back permanently now? Is this his exit route from his struggles in Australia? Or is this a route to a head coach role in the NRL? If that's the case, he'll be gone at the merest hint of an offer and you're back to square one again. If he brings a Grand Final for that to happen, potentially you won't care too much? But it doesn't seem like an appointment that will last five years, he'll either have left for the NRL or been sacked within two you'd imagine depending on how it goes?

You are rumoured to be bringing Sean Long in as well? A superbly knowledgeable coach with some really good ideas, but the professionalism and stability of his approach is as questionable as Burgess'. I don't think you'll be complaining about effort or entertainment with those two in charge however.

Isn't any new coach a gamble?
To be honest you could criticise any appointment. I have never seen him coaching so don't really know. Exciting idea. Go for it! Mind you I have been on the sherry in the Wheatsheaf.

If it works out Burgess will use this as a springboard to head coach in the NRL.