Knights defend Smith against 'unfair' player poll
BY ROBERT DILLON
16/07/2008
KNIGHTS officials have dismissed as irrelevant and unfair a magazine poll of 100 NRL players that voted Newcastle's Brian Smith the coach they would "least like to be coached by" for an eighth consecutive year.
And Knights enforcer Ben Cross said yesterday that such polls, conducted on the basis of anonymity, were "a joke" and players should be brave enough to put their names alongside their opinions.
Rugby League Week's annual poll was published yesterday and, of the 100 players quizzed, 39 nominated Smith as the coach for whom they would prefer not to play.
Smith is no stranger to such an unwanted label.
A RLW employee said yesterday that the former St George and Parramatta coach had received the most votes in the same category every year since it was introduced in 2001.
This year he received 24 more votes than the nearest coach, Cronulla's Ricky Stuart, and eight more than his own tally from 2007.
He also topped the vote in a Sun-Herald player poll last year for the question "Who is the one coach you'd never play for?", although South Sydney's Jason Taylor headed that category this year.
Smith declined to comment on the poll yesterday, but Knights chief executive Steve Burraston and chairman Rob Tew both felt the poll was not a true reflection of the man at the helm of their team.
Cross, who joined the Knights this season after winning a grand final with Melbourne, said Smith had "different philosophies on things, as all coaches do" but had earned his respect.
"Maybe in the past he might have rubbed a few players the wrong way, and maybe a few of the players who voted went on hearsay and other people's opinions about the bloke," Cross said.
"But most things I've done in life, I've always taken people on face value.
"So far, everything's been fine with me and Smithy."
Cross said last year's player cleanout had probably tarnished Smith's reputation but "someone had to do it he was just made to look like the bad guy".
The forthright prop also suggested the poll would have more credibility if responses were not anonymous.
"I've been part of those polls before, and when you're in that situation it's easy to just toss up any old name," Cross said.
"But I think those sort of polls are a bit of a joke. I think you should have to put your name to it."
Burraston said many of the respondents had probably never met Smith.
"I think the unfortunate thing is that most players who voted probably don't know much about Brian Smith other than who he is, and they would never have played under him," he said.
"That's unfortunate, but I find him a decent person and an exceptional coach . . . he's not perfect, but neither am I and neither is anybody else.
"We all have our weaknesses. But let me tell you that his strengths outweigh his weaknesses."
Asked whether there was any concern that Smith's reputation would hinder the Knights when it came to recruiting players, Burraston replied: "Not at all. In fact, the opposite.
"When we recruit players, we usually have Brian involved. Being the first-grade coach, it's important that he outlines his philosophies and where he feels they will fit.
"I can honestly say there has been no issue. We have not had one player say, 'I'd like to come, but I don't like the coach'."
Burraston felt Smith's public persona had been tarnished by the media.
"I think that the perception is a long way from reality, and that's probably because for a long time some sections of the media attacked Brian Smith," Burraston said.
"People then just read into that that he must be a bad coach or a bad person. He's none of those things."
Tew also gave the coach a ringing endorsement.
"From the board's point of view, we think he's doing an outstanding job and a very professional job," Tew said yesterday.
"My read on such polls is that there is a lot of tongue-in-cheek approach taken to filling in those polls."
Asked if Smith's image made it hard to attract players, Tew replied: "I don't know personally of anyone who has refused us on those grounds."
