The ‘big’ coaches are hard to come by, Wane would be number 1, but he won’t walk away from a fight and that fight is England.
McDermott is a strange one, even with an excellent team he managed to turn out some mediocre seasons. That group of Sinfield, Burrow, McGuire, Peacock etc doesn’t take much coaching, with the foundations being laid by far better coaches before him.
Watson has done a great job with a small budget and has proved he can make players better. He would be the best choice, especially in times when spending is likely to slow down.
There are also very good coaches with a strong affinity with the club around and potentially looking for a crack at the job. Matt King is highly thought of in Aus and part of the successful Rooster & NSW coaching teams. Michael Monaghan is back at Manly as a part of a project to rebuild the club under Hasler. And Brett Hodgson (if he’s not signed up at Hull already) has served under McGuire at Wests.
But I think Richard Marshall should be a shrewd choice if Wane isn’t available. He was a key part of Smith’s successful era, took Halifax to the brink of the super league with no budget and has been at Saints under Holbrook and this season.
