I have no issue with former players being involved. We’ve lost that winning mentality, and at least they have it.

I don't mind former players coming in as assistants. I would, however, be against appointing one of them to be groomed as Arthur's longer-term replacement as first team coach.

This is because coaches inevitably have limited shelf-lives at a given club (Bellamy aside). At Leeds right now the knives will be out among certain sections of our support within 10 games if we are not winning on a weekly basis. We don't want to see this happen to players that were once favourites, all the more so if it is their first gig as first team coach.

Sinfield did the right thing in quickly moving upstairs and exiting the club after Agar had steadied the ship. Contrast Cunningham and Wellens, two giants of recent history at Saints who look set to be remembered as coaches who just weren't up to it.

Others have been more lucky - for example, McNamara was heading the same way at the Bulls but he managed to resurrect his career by hanging around the NRL for a few years as assistant and doing the national coaching job when we had a handful of decent players who could hold their own on the international stage (e.g. Burgess, Tomkins, Hall etc). Now even he is surely coming to the end of his tether in Perpignan.

A sensible former player stays on as assistant permanently (O'Loughlin?), or moves on to another club if they want to be a head coach (IMO).

Its an interesting point.

Has an ex player especially a successful one ever gone onto be a success at their club? I can't think of one in the SL era?

Shaun Wane maybe but he was retired for a long time before taking the reigns at Wigan

Dean Bell was okay aside from our financial collapse year but he didn't play that much for us (one season). The game when he came out of retirement was good though!

Brian Noble won three grand finals with the balls and lost in a couple as well in a 5 to 6 year period so I think that has to be considered a success.

Bulls

Yeah Nobby is the only one in the modern game I think other than Wane. Three GF wins, one CC win and three WCC wins.

Pre SL there must be a few successful coaches who were successful players at the same clubs, let me have a think.

Yeah Jim Sullivan at Wigan - 5 championships and 2 CCs at Wigan.

Bit of a dry spell between Jim Sullivan and Nobby there Bullseye...

You're forgetting the obvious one. Mal Reilly, Cas coach in 1986 CC victory.