The NRL have approached Brad Fittler to gauge his interest in replacing Mal Meninga as Australian coach after a decade at the helm.
With Meninga set to be announced as the inaugural coach of the Perth Bears in the coming days, the NRL has turned its attention to finding his replacement as national coach.
As reported by this masthead last week, the NRL did not want Meninga to continue as Australian coach and want to find a new leader to take the Kangaroos to England at the end of the year for the first Ashes series in more than two decades.
Fittler is the frontrunner for the job and was contacted by the NRL on Wednesday. The other options the NRL are considering include former Australian captain Cameron Smith and ex-Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
Smith has made his interest known both publicly and privately, but it is unclear if the NRL has sounded him about the role.
Fittler is the preferred candidate because of his previous six-year tenure with the NSW Blues and his experience in dealing with camp environments. Fittler also received the backing of Phil Gould to take over from Meninga.
“He’s done his time,” Gould said on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus.
Winners are grinners: Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns celebrate winning the 2001 Ashes at Wigan.Credit: Reuters
“I think with the Australia job it is very, very handy if you have experience in and around the Australian camp situation. I think for those players who make that level of football… to have (a coach that’s) been in and around what the Australian camp looks like, feels like, how it should be run, is hugely advantageous.
“(Fittler) has worked at all levels of representative football from the under 16s, 18s, forming the pathways for NSW. He is the one with the experience of those camps. I don’t know if he wants it. If he wants it, I hope he gets it. I think it is a job that if someone asked you to do it you would probably say yes.”
Fittler has played a huge part in the development of several prospective Australian players. He handed State of Origin debuts to the likes of Nathan Cleary, Angus Crichton, Brian To’o, Latrell Mitchell, Payne Haas, Liam Martin, Cameron Murray and Isaah Yeo.
Brad Fittler speaks to Jake Trbojevic during a State of Origin camp.Credit: Getty
Andrew Johns, who said he was not interested in being part of Fittler’s coaching staff, backed his close friend to get the best out of the players.
“He played such a big part in their development,” Johns said.
“He gave a lot of those NSW guys their chance in Origin. And if you look at the two teams, I don’t know how many Queenslanders actually make it. Cameron Munster would. Harry Grant would. Big Tino would. Patrick Carrigan would. Off the top of my head they would be the only certainties.”
Smith has also expressed an interest to coach the Kangaroos.
“A lot of people have asked me at the back end of my career when I retired, ‘would you ever coach?’,” Smith said on 100% Footy.
“I emphatically said no (but) if there was one team out there that it would gain my interest to coach, it would be the Kangaroos. You’re dealing with the best of the best.
“As far as the calendar’s concerned when those commitments occur, it’s at the end of the year, so that works in with my commitments with commentary.”
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