I’m not going to talk about how good of a player Darren Lockyer was. If you have eyes in your head, you could see what he did. You don’t need me to talk about how good he was!
Last season there was a lot of talk that the Brisbane Broncos wanted to groom Lockyer to eventually be their head coach.
I don’t like the moves to manufacture coaches, I think it always ends in tears. I’m of the opinion that, these days, it takes a certain type of person with a certain mentality to be a top class Rugby League coach.
Because of that, I think its nice to think of the player who goes on to coach the side he played for, but for the most part, it’s a manufactured dream.
I’ve got no doubt that Darren Lockyer knows Rugby League inside out. If I’m picking a side tomorrow to play for the fate of the world, Lockyer is my first choice and captain! The thing is, there is so much more to being a coach than being able to win football games.
Its not about what Lockyer knows about the sport, its his ability to break down opposition player on a very in depth level. I always think the difference between a fan and a coach is that, a coach will see tiny issues in a player game that a fan might now.
Things like a player takes a step backwards when confronted with a certain situation while defending, or that an opposition halfback with always kick to a certain area of the field when his side comes off a slow play the ball on the last.
I always enjoy watching Phil Gould break down players when he is on The Footy Show because its a real insight into how coaches think. They see the game differently, they are always breaking down the game, always watching for small things most don’t even notice.
Wally Lewis was an incredible player. A true leader. Not a great coach though. In fact, you find that most of the very best coaches in all sport, they were not actually the best players.
I think Darren Lockyer wants to be a first grade coach one day, and that is half the battle. Truly wanting the job, not just falling into it. I think this is a rare case of a great player who has a goal to be a coach, and you don’t see that very often, if ever.
He’ll have the respect of his player, without a doubt, and I also believe he will have the technical knowledge as well. I tend to think he’ll be more of a Wayne Bennett style of coach rather than a Craig Bellemy. I think he’ll be more on the scale of a great manager of men rather than just that machine like, meticulous obsessive that Craig Bellemy is.
Because of that, I think Lockyer would gain so much out of being an assistant coach to Craig Bellemy for a year. Get down to Melbourne, out of the spot light, see how Bellemy works, pick up a few things and a few different ideas. Get out of the comfort zone and try and find things he doesn’t know about coaching.
The feeling is that Lockyer will take over from Wayne Bennett, who will be heading back to the Brisbane Broncos next season by all accounts. Benny will groom Lockyer as the next Broncos coach, then hand the reigns over while staying on in some type of coaching coordinator role with the club.
Darren Lockyer is probably one of the few people Bennett would be comfortable to hand his legacy over too. That means, Bennett believe Lockyer has what it takes to be nothing short of a great coach.
If its all times right, and Lockyer is allowed to pick up the experience of managing young men and gaining enough life experience to be able to be a coach, then I could see Darren Lockyer being an amazing coach.
