Steve Deane: If this is mere luck, let's have more of it

Brian McClennan has been confirmed as the Vodafone Warriors' new head coach. Photo / Natalie Slade

Opinion

Bringing back the biff would be overstating it, but the Warriors will certainly look to intimidate more under Brian McClennan.

The new coach's doubters might think he lacks the nous to succeed in the NRL, and will instead opt for the "bash 'em" approach favoured by a long line of Kiwi coaches.

He was the overwhelming favourite for the job, but those who didn't want him seem to feel a Kiwi from outside the NRL won't survive in the sport's toughest competition.

No bumpkin Kiwi could understand the complex nuances of the NRL, or devise strategies to cope with its pressures.

Presumably only Aussies, or Kiwis who have spent long enough across the Ditch to pick up the accent, could possibly do that.

The idea that McClennan is purely a motivator who will get found out over the long term is curious. I was lucky enough to cover the 2005 Tri-Nations and I've not come across a more harmonious bunch. But the idea that simply being motivated would be enough to keep the mighty Kangaroos to nil in a major tournament final is laughable. The Kiwis played with structure as well as self-belief under McClennan.

Ivan Cleary has been a very good Warriors coach, but as an Aussie - and a fairly restrained one at that - the one thing he could never bring was Kiwiness.

Sadly, that intangible commodity still seems to be considered a negative - somehow inherently inferior - by some.

Well, McClennan is Kiwi league through and through. And Kiwi league has long been based on intimidation and physical domination. Coupled with the remarkable skills and conditioning of the modern NRL athlete, it could be a potent mix.

Another barb lobbed McClennan's way is that his success to date is primarily the by-product of luck. If true, McClennan is consistently lucky. He was particularly lucky that a Kiwis side that was a dispirited rabble under Daniel Anderson somehow turned itself into a champion outfit. He was again lucky that the powerbrokers at Leeds gave him credit for that transformation and offered him a job. He then got so lucky that Leeds won two more titles in his first two seasons.

McClennan's good fortune appears to be holding. At the Warriors he inherits a core of exciting players coming into their prime and a talent production line kicking into full gear. If nothing else, he has the gift of timing.

If Cleary falls short this season, McClennan has more than just the chance to become the Warriors' first title-winning coach, he has the opportunity to rid league in this country of its inferiority complex for good. That's a big job. Time will tell if our Bluey is the right man for it. Who knows, maybe he'll just get lucky again.