AussieDominance
Trevor Allan (34)
Putting his stamp on the Tahs
By Jon Geddes
July 04, 2008 NEW South Wales coach Chris Hickey will spend a lot of his weekends over the next few months on a treasure hunt around Sydney.
He will fossick around suburban rugby grounds looking to unearth some gems in the club ranks to fill vacancies in the Waratahs' Super 14 squad for next season.
"At this stage of the game there are definitely three spots available -- two forwards and a back," Hickey said.
Interviewed in his first week in the job, Hickey spoke about the demands of taking on one of the toughest jobs in Australian sport and how he intends to put his own stamp on the Waratahs, with change being inevitable.
Playing roster
The major challenge is replacing Wallabies duo Dan Vickerman and Rocky Elsom - two of the top forwards in international rugby - who are heading to Europe.
"When someone like Dan or Rocky goes it leaves a big hole to fill but it provides opportunities for other people," Hickey said.
There is also a spot open for an inside back in 2009.
It may appear a daunting task, with most of the local talent seemingly already under contract. But Hickey is confident there is still gold waiting to be discovered.
"I think there are a number of good players around, particularly in those younger ranks," Hickey said.
"At this point in time what I want to do is watch some of them play. It is really important that you don't just pick players on their resume, you actually want to see the performances."
Rising back-rower Ben Coridas, who is already in the Waratahs program and played in the Australian under-20s World Cup team, has shown a lot of potential and could step up in 2009.
If Uni's Dave Dennis can fight his way back from a shocking run with injuries he could fill the breach, while Manly's warhorse back-rower Will Brame has been outstanding for the Marlins.
Don't forget Uni back-rower Ben McCalman and Parramatta forward Steve Mafi, who have shown they are worthy of consideration.
West Harbour utility back Ben Martin has also been impressive and is a good goalkicker to boot.
And jot down the name of back Tim Bennetts. He played schoolboy football with young Waratahs centre Robert Horne and is highly rated by keen judges.
Timana Tahu
One of the most exciting aspects of Hickey's new role will be the chance to work with NRL recruit Timana Tahu, who has started to demonstrate what a dynamic player he will be for the Waratahs in 2009.
"He is obviously a quality footballer and changing from league to union, that first 12 months was always going to be a steep learning curve," Hickey said.
"He has shown by his performances, particularly for Australia A, that he has handled that really well and hopefully it will give him the chance next year to put his full ability on the park."
Hickey was open-minded about where Tahu will play.
"One of the things I look for from a coaching point of view is that versatility. Just because you wear 12 doesn't mean you have to be in a particular position," he said.
Coaching philosophy
Hickey is ready to put his own stamp on the Waratahs.
He said looking at the team and their results this year, 90 per cent of their game was really sound and very strong.
"I think the trick with coaching is to retain the stuff that is really strong but to try and develop the game a little - and attack is probably the area we can look at ways of developing the game," he said.
Hickey said the experimental law variations were put in place to encourage more attacking football.
"You can't afford to do what you did last year because the game is in a state of evolution," he said.
"And if you can't stay a step ahead of the evolution you fall behind pretty quickly. And evolution means change, so there will have to be change."
The coaching team
In a major development former Wallabies assistant coach Scott Wisemantel held talks with NSW CEO Jim L'Estrange, in what L'Estrange described as a "very positive" meeting. Further discussions will take place on Friday.
Wallaby legend Matt Burke could also be involved as kicking coach, which would be a coup.
Hickey will have a new-look coaching team, with attack coach Todd Louden going to Japan and highly rated defensive guru Les Kiss moving to the Irish national side.
"Les has obviously made a significant contribution here at the Waratahs and we would have been very happy for him to continue, but we are in a global game now and just as players have opportunities overseas so do the coaching staff," Hickey said.
Hickey said assembling the coaching team was not as easy as it seemed.
"You've got to make sure you haven't got everyone who thinks the same. You've got to make sure you have diversity in thinking," he said. And that makes a strong coaching team.
"Within that you've also got to have people who can work together and be prepared at times to compromise."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23964424-23217,00.html
Interesting that Timmy Bennetts get's a mention.
By Jon Geddes
July 04, 2008 NEW South Wales coach Chris Hickey will spend a lot of his weekends over the next few months on a treasure hunt around Sydney.
He will fossick around suburban rugby grounds looking to unearth some gems in the club ranks to fill vacancies in the Waratahs' Super 14 squad for next season.
"At this stage of the game there are definitely three spots available -- two forwards and a back," Hickey said.
Interviewed in his first week in the job, Hickey spoke about the demands of taking on one of the toughest jobs in Australian sport and how he intends to put his own stamp on the Waratahs, with change being inevitable.
Playing roster
The major challenge is replacing Wallabies duo Dan Vickerman and Rocky Elsom - two of the top forwards in international rugby - who are heading to Europe.
"When someone like Dan or Rocky goes it leaves a big hole to fill but it provides opportunities for other people," Hickey said.
There is also a spot open for an inside back in 2009.
It may appear a daunting task, with most of the local talent seemingly already under contract. But Hickey is confident there is still gold waiting to be discovered.
"I think there are a number of good players around, particularly in those younger ranks," Hickey said.
"At this point in time what I want to do is watch some of them play. It is really important that you don't just pick players on their resume, you actually want to see the performances."
Rising back-rower Ben Coridas, who is already in the Waratahs program and played in the Australian under-20s World Cup team, has shown a lot of potential and could step up in 2009.
If Uni's Dave Dennis can fight his way back from a shocking run with injuries he could fill the breach, while Manly's warhorse back-rower Will Brame has been outstanding for the Marlins.
Don't forget Uni back-rower Ben McCalman and Parramatta forward Steve Mafi, who have shown they are worthy of consideration.
West Harbour utility back Ben Martin has also been impressive and is a good goalkicker to boot.
And jot down the name of back Tim Bennetts. He played schoolboy football with young Waratahs centre Robert Horne and is highly rated by keen judges.
Timana Tahu
One of the most exciting aspects of Hickey's new role will be the chance to work with NRL recruit Timana Tahu, who has started to demonstrate what a dynamic player he will be for the Waratahs in 2009.
"He is obviously a quality footballer and changing from league to union, that first 12 months was always going to be a steep learning curve," Hickey said.
"He has shown by his performances, particularly for Australia A, that he has handled that really well and hopefully it will give him the chance next year to put his full ability on the park."
Hickey was open-minded about where Tahu will play.
"One of the things I look for from a coaching point of view is that versatility. Just because you wear 12 doesn't mean you have to be in a particular position," he said.
Coaching philosophy
Hickey is ready to put his own stamp on the Waratahs.
He said looking at the team and their results this year, 90 per cent of their game was really sound and very strong.
"I think the trick with coaching is to retain the stuff that is really strong but to try and develop the game a little - and attack is probably the area we can look at ways of developing the game," he said.
Hickey said the experimental law variations were put in place to encourage more attacking football.
"You can't afford to do what you did last year because the game is in a state of evolution," he said.
"And if you can't stay a step ahead of the evolution you fall behind pretty quickly. And evolution means change, so there will have to be change."
The coaching team
In a major development former Wallabies assistant coach Scott Wisemantel held talks with NSW CEO Jim L'Estrange, in what L'Estrange described as a "very positive" meeting. Further discussions will take place on Friday.
Wallaby legend Matt Burke could also be involved as kicking coach, which would be a coup.
Hickey will have a new-look coaching team, with attack coach Todd Louden going to Japan and highly rated defensive guru Les Kiss moving to the Irish national side.
"Les has obviously made a significant contribution here at the Waratahs and we would have been very happy for him to continue, but we are in a global game now and just as players have opportunities overseas so do the coaching staff," Hickey said.
Hickey said assembling the coaching team was not as easy as it seemed.
"You've got to make sure you haven't got everyone who thinks the same. You've got to make sure you have diversity in thinking," he said. And that makes a strong coaching team.
"Within that you've also got to have people who can work together and be prepared at times to compromise."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23964424-23217,00.html
Interesting that Timmy Bennetts get's a mention.
