NEIL Henry is in line for an unexpected return to Canberra after Raiders chairman John McIntyre revealed on Tuesday night the axed Cowboys coach had been forgiven for his dramatic walkout on the club.
Canberra have formed a sub-committee to assess candidates to replace David Furner and it is understood Henry will be short-listed despite his messy split with the Raiders five years ago.
That sets-up the prospect of a coaching swap, with current Canberra caretaker Andrew Dunemann a leading contender to replace Henry after being interviewed by Cowboys officials.
In his second year in charge in 2008, Henry dropped a bombshell on the club, activating a get-out clause Canberra hierarchy forgot about to rescind his contract for the following year.
Within weeks, Henry had inked a five-year deal with the Cowboys, leaving the Raiders in disarray as club powerbrokers scrambled to find a viable successor.
They ultimately promoted assistant coach Furner, but in an intriguing twist his sacking last week has now opened the door for Henry to finish the job he started in Canberra.
Eels coach Ricky Stuart has been linked with the Raiders post, but The Daily Telegraph can reveal Henry enjoys high-level support at the club.
Raiders legend Mal Meninga is part of the sub-committee and will offer his backing for Henry, who was Meninga’s valued Queensland Origin assistant between 2006-09.
Henry has a 31-year link with Canberra, playing for the club in its 1982 foundation season before coaching in the lower grades, and McIntyre insists there is no bad blood.
“My feeling is that in this wonderful industry that is rugby league, you never burn a bridge,” McIntyre said.
“In my opinion, there has certainly been no bridges burned with Neil, but let's see what other people think about that.
“Neil has had quite a bit of experience here but there are other people in the mix without naming names. Our sub-committee will be ordered to leave no stone unturned.
“They will be given a brief on our charter and we will go from there.”
Such was Henry's impact at Canberra, he was named Dally M coach of the year in 2008, edging out other nominees Craig Bellamy, Des Hasler and Stuart.
Henry said he has yet to hold talks with the Raiders, but is on the lookout for NRL employment and was contacted by the Titans about an assistant's role a fortnight ago.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone in Canberra, so if it’s news coming out of there it’s news I’m not aware about,” he said.
“We had a couple of good years there and I’m from Canberra, but whether or not they’re interested in having an ex-coach back there, time will tell.
“Obviously there’s a vacancy there and paper talk has been saying Andrew Dunemann is the favourite for the job. He’s been working there for a couple of years, so good on him.
“But I’m looking for an NRL job and I’ve been down there (Canberra) before, which is well-documented."
McIntyre said he hoped Furner's successor would be appointed by early October.
“Hopefully it won't be too long, we would like to have a decision within the next month to six weeks,” he said.
“In terms of quality people, there are six or seven candidates ... and the Cowboys are on the lookout so we can't afford to let it run too long.”
Source: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/ex-canberra-raiders-coach-neil-henry-in-line-for-return-after-being-forgiven-by-club-heirarchy/story-fniabofi-1226705204909
Topic: Henry could make unexpected return to Raiders
