By: Jon Tuxworth''We're pretty comfortable with the fact David will be there, and he'll be there for the long haul. We've been happy [with Furner]. He's highly thought of outside of the Canberra Raiders.''
Just six weeks after Canberra chairman John McIntyre uttered these words to The Canberra Times, David Furner's Raiders tenure was over.
For years the Raiders have suffered from a ''family farm'' stigma. Fans have grumbled about a perceived ''jobs for the boys'' mentality in the front office.
Whether that's the case is up for debate, but Furner's dismissal with a year to run on his contract gives the club a golden chance to prove it isn't the case.
The Raiders' chief executive, Dave's older brother Don, and McIntyre could do worse than seek a coach with no previous ties to the club. I'm not suggesting former coaches Neil Henry, Tim Sheens and Mal Meninga, or club legends Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart, couldn't do the job.
But an outsider with no previous Raiders allegiances or grudges could be best placed to rebuild the club with a clean slate.
And should the proverbial hit the fan, there's less potential for emotion or sentiment to cloud the decision-making process.
Read more:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/no-more-mister-nice-guy-20130823-2shh1.html#ixzz2ctOzfpoQ
Topic: No more Mister Nice Guy
