Some NRL players have great playing careers, while others have incredible coaching resumes.
It's difficult to determine which is more rewarding, but very few men cross the threshold of a successful NRL and head coaching career.
While many footballers excel due to their freakish athleticism and natural abilities, others simply have a knack for the game, with a blueprint to success that could hand them a handy coaching gig post-retirement.
2. Jake Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles)
Another Manly man and current skipper of the New South Wales Blues, Jake Trbojevic, has showcased all the signs of a classic player's coach.
Known as one of the NRL's nicest and most well-respected players, 'Jurbo' would make an excellent head coach, as he is a guy just about anyone would run through a brick wall for.
Jake Trbojevic is the epitome of passion, a wrecking ball who is willing to swing through any defence in the hopes of lifting his side.
While many of the players on this list are cool, calm, and collected, Trbojevic is none of those things.
However, what he lacks in composure he more than doubles in grit and determination, qualities that earned him the Blues captaincy and helped lead them to a State of Origin win just last year.
In the Blues' series win, 'Jurbo' showed doubters that it isn't his on-field play that makes him a good leader, but his locker room presence and ability to bring the best out of the stars around him.
His hunger is what will make him an excellent coach one day, displaying a similar coaching presence to former Blues coaches, Michael Maguire and Craig Bellamy.
โHarry Grant is a guy who lets his actions do most of his talking.
This is a skill not many players in the league possess, but Grantโs ability to lead a side by example is a unique characteristic that would surely make him a stellar coach post-retirement.โ
Leading by example is not a useful skill for a coach on the sideline, away from the action.
Iโd recommend identifying what it is that a coach actually does, and what skill-sets he needs, before trying to identify players who look like they may be decent at that job.
Assistant coaches are focused on the technical side of the game.
They may also be responsible for running pathways programmes and developing young kids โ thatโs a different skill than working with the young professionals in Jersey Flegg and above.
NRL Head Coaches are about the day to day grind of motivation, promotion / dropping from the team, dealing with injuries, setting strategies for particular opponents, working with recruitment & retention, cap management etc.
SOO coaches donโt have to worry about most of that. They get a bunch of players who are fit, and who already have the requisite skill set. SOO coaches have to be able to deal with huge egos and to meld the bunch of alpha-males into a team.
Kevin Walters and Michael McGuire were good SOO coaches, but neither has been successful as an NRL coach. Craig Bellamy and Rickly Stuart have not been successful as SOO coaches. Different jobs and different skills.
At its most basic, being a player is about being good at YOUR job. Being a coach is about MAN-MANAGEMENT, and making individuals into a team.
Not easy to pick man-management skills from players who donโt need to have such skills, but to start by trumpeting _playing_ skills is not offering any insight on which players _might_ become decent coaches.