Bring it on baby!
Brent Kites GF team
- Thread starter manlyfan76
- Start date
Class of 96
Bencher
Great stuff @Class of 96 . Loved your updates. Know how hard it is to text when you've had a dozen!
We need to meet.
Yeah let’s do it mate
Nay ... he apparently played for St. Merge ..... and for some reason that offends the sore bums .....
Class of 96
Bencher
Pretty impressed that he seemed to understand Swahili, or perhaps he was just being polite.
manlyfan76
There is no A.I. Just better computers
https://m.tweeddailynews.com.au/news/raiders-conquer-ballina-in-historic-nrrrl-grand-fi/3516443/
THE Tweed Coast Raiders, against the odds but with an incredible travelling contingent of fans, have won their first NRRRL grand final, defeating league heavyweights Ballina Seagulls 24-4 in Ballina today.
SEE: The Raiders' Road to glory in pictures.
Raiders fans, players and first-year head-coach Brent Kite are now celebrating an historic premiership victory that few thought would eventuate as it did, with the Raiders comprehensively outplaying Ballina, a team with a dynastic dominance over the league, on their home ground.
THE Tweed Coast Raiders, against the odds but with an incredible travelling contingent of fans, have won their first NRRRL grand final, defeating league heavyweights Ballina Seagulls 24-4 in Ballina today.
SEE: The Raiders' Road to glory in pictures.
Raiders fans, players and first-year head-coach Brent Kite are now celebrating an historic premiership victory that few thought would eventuate as it did, with the Raiders comprehensively outplaying Ballina, a team with a dynastic dominance over the league, on their home ground.
Brissie Kid
Bencher
Long Q&A interview with Brent Kite,on Manly, playing in Grand Finals and now coaching. Good stuff.
https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/nrl/news-story/ddd94a59bfabf7bf3289f23623f55f34
https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/nrl/news-story/ddd94a59bfabf7bf3289f23623f55f34
Terry Zarsoff
First Grader
That’s great, if you can bypass the firewall or have a News a/c.
Q: Brent, you played in four NRL deciders so you’re pretty well qualified to tell us what grand final week is like as a player ...
A: It was great. Our first one (at Manly in 2007), we were a little overawed with all the extra things that go on in grand final week. We didn’t put our best foot forward on the day. It’s a massive week, it’s a great build up. We obviously did it better in ’08. We just really embraced it and had as much fun as we could.
The texts are coming in thick and fast, it is just a really nice week. There’s a lot of people wishing you well and consequently a lot of people that you feel you are representing in the upcoming game. It’s really great. Special.
Q: In 2008, you won the Clive Churchill Medal as Manly beat Melbourne 40-0. How does that day rate in your career?
A: Just the fashion with which we won the game against a long-time rival that had sort of had the wood on us, to beat them in that emphatic style ... it was a pretty cool feeling. It’s a real highlight.
Brent Kite acknowledges fans after Manly’s 2008 grand final win in which he won the Clive Churchill Medal.
Q: It’s been a tough couple of years for Manly but you were part of a really strong era at Brookvale?
A: Yeah it definitely was. I think we had eight players, maybe more now, that crossed over 200 games in their career. With the salary cap and the way the modern game is, I don’t know if that will happen again. We all supported each other and probably helped each other reach those heights.
Q: You played 19 or more games for 13 years in a row. What was the secret to your longevity?
A: There was an element of luck to it. It’s funny, as it turns out before my career got underway I broke my leg in a first grade trial. I thought it might be over before it started. But I was always pretty flexible, I always worked on my body and then it was just the management of it. I think I still had 10 operations over my career but I just put some of them off until the off-season. As fate would have it, the last game I did play I re-broke that leg just above where I had a plate in there since that first grade trial and that was it. My last game was up here.
Q: You coached the Tweed Coast Raiders to their maiden Northern Rivers title this year. How special was that?
A: Yeah, as I understand it was a year of firsts. We started off in November last year and we had guys that really wanted to push for higher honours this year and achieve a bit more than they had. We had a really good mix of the right things come together as you need to contend for and win premierships.
The Tweed Coast Raiders celebrate after winning the NRRRL grand final.
It was a few years in the making. Guys like Josh Sattler and the Lanston boys, guys who have been at the club from the start and since before they were out of the comp, for me it was really nice to see their vision come to fruition.
Q: Did you always intend to transition into coaching? Were you an analytical type of player?
A: I was always hopeful. (As a player) I made the video sessions go a little bit longer than they needed to but I loved that side of the game.
Glenn Stewart always had differing opinions but that was good because as with any team, you can make better choices with more guys involved in the decisions and adding to the think-tank.
Q: Did you have a pretty young Raiders group to work with or were there more older heads?
A: Good mix of both. We had three guys in the country rep side, which is an under-23 side: Kalani Hensby, Luke Campbell and Tahne Robinson. Then you have got Daniel Ross, Cory Blair, Jarred De Thierry that were more experienced.
Q: What did you make of the standard of the NRRRL competition?
A: Oh mate, I’m very impressed. I hadn’t coached at bush level before. Ballina had guys that had played a lot of Intrust Super Cup.
Tweed Coast Raiders coach Brent Kite with players Guy Lanslon, Bridey McNeven, Jamie Donaldson and Kristin Milloy. Picture: Scott Powick
Q: So, how did it actually come about that you took the reins at Tweed Coast?
A: I finished up playing at Penrith and nothing eventuated for coaching out there like I hoped it might. We used to holiday at Casuarina a fair bit. It was initially a bit of a lifestyle thing.
My wife’s cousin actually noticed an open position for the head coach of Tweed Coast so she told the wife, the wife told me and next minute I’m meeting (president) Josh Sattler and a few boys of the boys at Salt Village. We hit it off pretty quickly.
Q: The story is out there that you coached for free. How did that go down initially?
A: I was shocked to hear the boys don’t pay anyone, coaches or players. It put me at a real crossroads with what I wanted to do and what the motivation was. I suppose the idea of doing it for nothing just posed the question if I wanted to do this as a passion or is that motivation just a monetary one?
I realised I just love it. I potentially lost a bit of that towards the end of my career. I was chasing the paying role as a coach. Getting knocked back along the way, it dampened the enthusiasm. As clichéd as it sounds, it was a reminder why I was involved with the game.
Q: Michael Gordon is known to have a pretty strong link with the club. Did you see a fair bit of him throughout the year?
Michael Gordon of the Titans. Picture: AAP Image
A: Yeah, he gets along and helps out with the juniors wherever he can and we saw him at more than a handful of home games. He is very much involved in the fabric of the culture that the guys have got. They’re all quite close mates with Michael. He’s a really good fella.
Q: What’s the plan for 2019? Will we see you back leading the Raiders’ charge for consecutive NRRRL crowns or have you got something else lined up?
A: I’ve been three years out of playing. I have sort of set myself up for a four-year apprenticeship until I can get some kind of paying role. At the moment it’s back doing the Tweed Coast role again unless something else comes up and the guys have been good about that – they understand that I have aspirations to go further.
Q: It’s bush footy but do you feel you learnt plenty this year that you could take into the elite level one day?
A: I definitely have got a lot more out of it than I thought, developmentally as a coach it was great. I didn’t expect to get so much out of it and on the emotional side, I didn’t expect to be so invested and really count that premiership as one of my career highlights. It’s right up there with anything else in the game.
Brent Kite.
Country footy, you can just feel how much it means to the community. At the grand final, (Raiders fans) probably outnumbered the Seagulls on their own home ground, it was pretty special.
Q: So have you actually signed a Tweed Coast contract for 2019 then?
A: Na, I don’t think we needed one for this year. It’s nice, it’s probably a thing of yesteryear, the old handshake. That’s where we’re at.
Q: All right, time to put you on the spot. The Roosters and Storm have both been pretty strong all year but who in your opinion is going to prevail tomorrow night and why?
A: The beauty of the product and the competition of late, there’s so many coin tosses out there and you just see so many close results. I wouldn’t be game to call it.
I’ll just toss the coin and sit back and enjoy it.
Q: Very diplomatic of you. In that case, can you tell us what you rate about each team?
A: Melbourne is a little like the Queenslanders. The intangibles, the belief, theirs is second to none. They expect to be there, they expect to do well. They are obviously the best coached side for the last however many years now.
Cameron Smith and Boyd Cordner prepare to square off in the NRL grand final. Picture: Phil Hillyard
I love the way that they adapt, that (Craig) Bellamy leads the team with his defence. He’s not set in his ways which again is what makes him a great coach. Them having the experience of (Cameron) Smith and the representative players, they are always hard to beat.
The Roosters, they have got some of those older forwards that can just fire for one game. They might not have the youth and strength in the legs that they once did to have that really, really big season and consistent season but I think that will be the danger. They have been there.
They have a good blend of youth and experience with potentially some X-factor that may be enough to upset such a clinical side.
WHO IS BRENT KITE?
Born: Queanbeyan, NSW
Age: 37
Children: Georgina, 13, Jesaiah, 12, and Poppy, 8
NRL career: 2002-15
Position: Front-row
NRL games: 313 (67 at St George Illawarra, 221 at Manly, 25 at Penrith)
Grand finals: 4 (all for Manly - lost to Melbourne in 2007, defeated Melbourne in 2008, defeated New Zealand in 2011, lost to Sydney in 2013)
REPRESENTATIVE CAREER
Tests for Australia: 14
Tests for Tonga: 6
State of Origins for NSW: 10
COACHING
2016: Windsor Wolves head coach
2017: Wentworthville Magpies assistant coach
2018: Tweed Coast Raiders head coach (helping the club to their maiden Northern Rivers title, beating Ballina 24-4 in the grand final)
A: It was great. Our first one (at Manly in 2007), we were a little overawed with all the extra things that go on in grand final week. We didn’t put our best foot forward on the day. It’s a massive week, it’s a great build up. We obviously did it better in ’08. We just really embraced it and had as much fun as we could.
The texts are coming in thick and fast, it is just a really nice week. There’s a lot of people wishing you well and consequently a lot of people that you feel you are representing in the upcoming game. It’s really great. Special.
Q: In 2008, you won the Clive Churchill Medal as Manly beat Melbourne 40-0. How does that day rate in your career?
A: Just the fashion with which we won the game against a long-time rival that had sort of had the wood on us, to beat them in that emphatic style ... it was a pretty cool feeling. It’s a real highlight.
Brent Kite acknowledges fans after Manly’s 2008 grand final win in which he won the Clive Churchill Medal.
Q: It’s been a tough couple of years for Manly but you were part of a really strong era at Brookvale?
A: Yeah it definitely was. I think we had eight players, maybe more now, that crossed over 200 games in their career. With the salary cap and the way the modern game is, I don’t know if that will happen again. We all supported each other and probably helped each other reach those heights.
Q: You played 19 or more games for 13 years in a row. What was the secret to your longevity?
A: There was an element of luck to it. It’s funny, as it turns out before my career got underway I broke my leg in a first grade trial. I thought it might be over before it started. But I was always pretty flexible, I always worked on my body and then it was just the management of it. I think I still had 10 operations over my career but I just put some of them off until the off-season. As fate would have it, the last game I did play I re-broke that leg just above where I had a plate in there since that first grade trial and that was it. My last game was up here.
Q: You coached the Tweed Coast Raiders to their maiden Northern Rivers title this year. How special was that?
A: Yeah, as I understand it was a year of firsts. We started off in November last year and we had guys that really wanted to push for higher honours this year and achieve a bit more than they had. We had a really good mix of the right things come together as you need to contend for and win premierships.
The Tweed Coast Raiders celebrate after winning the NRRRL grand final.
It was a few years in the making. Guys like Josh Sattler and the Lanston boys, guys who have been at the club from the start and since before they were out of the comp, for me it was really nice to see their vision come to fruition.
Q: Did you always intend to transition into coaching? Were you an analytical type of player?
A: I was always hopeful. (As a player) I made the video sessions go a little bit longer than they needed to but I loved that side of the game.
Glenn Stewart always had differing opinions but that was good because as with any team, you can make better choices with more guys involved in the decisions and adding to the think-tank.
Q: Did you have a pretty young Raiders group to work with or were there more older heads?
A: Good mix of both. We had three guys in the country rep side, which is an under-23 side: Kalani Hensby, Luke Campbell and Tahne Robinson. Then you have got Daniel Ross, Cory Blair, Jarred De Thierry that were more experienced.
Q: What did you make of the standard of the NRRRL competition?
A: Oh mate, I’m very impressed. I hadn’t coached at bush level before. Ballina had guys that had played a lot of Intrust Super Cup.
Tweed Coast Raiders coach Brent Kite with players Guy Lanslon, Bridey McNeven, Jamie Donaldson and Kristin Milloy. Picture: Scott Powick
Q: So, how did it actually come about that you took the reins at Tweed Coast?
A: I finished up playing at Penrith and nothing eventuated for coaching out there like I hoped it might. We used to holiday at Casuarina a fair bit. It was initially a bit of a lifestyle thing.
My wife’s cousin actually noticed an open position for the head coach of Tweed Coast so she told the wife, the wife told me and next minute I’m meeting (president) Josh Sattler and a few boys of the boys at Salt Village. We hit it off pretty quickly.
Q: The story is out there that you coached for free. How did that go down initially?
A: I was shocked to hear the boys don’t pay anyone, coaches or players. It put me at a real crossroads with what I wanted to do and what the motivation was. I suppose the idea of doing it for nothing just posed the question if I wanted to do this as a passion or is that motivation just a monetary one?
I realised I just love it. I potentially lost a bit of that towards the end of my career. I was chasing the paying role as a coach. Getting knocked back along the way, it dampened the enthusiasm. As clichéd as it sounds, it was a reminder why I was involved with the game.
Q: Michael Gordon is known to have a pretty strong link with the club. Did you see a fair bit of him throughout the year?
Michael Gordon of the Titans. Picture: AAP Image
A: Yeah, he gets along and helps out with the juniors wherever he can and we saw him at more than a handful of home games. He is very much involved in the fabric of the culture that the guys have got. They’re all quite close mates with Michael. He’s a really good fella.
Q: What’s the plan for 2019? Will we see you back leading the Raiders’ charge for consecutive NRRRL crowns or have you got something else lined up?
A: I’ve been three years out of playing. I have sort of set myself up for a four-year apprenticeship until I can get some kind of paying role. At the moment it’s back doing the Tweed Coast role again unless something else comes up and the guys have been good about that – they understand that I have aspirations to go further.
Q: It’s bush footy but do you feel you learnt plenty this year that you could take into the elite level one day?
A: I definitely have got a lot more out of it than I thought, developmentally as a coach it was great. I didn’t expect to get so much out of it and on the emotional side, I didn’t expect to be so invested and really count that premiership as one of my career highlights. It’s right up there with anything else in the game.
Brent Kite.
Country footy, you can just feel how much it means to the community. At the grand final, (Raiders fans) probably outnumbered the Seagulls on their own home ground, it was pretty special.
Q: So have you actually signed a Tweed Coast contract for 2019 then?
A: Na, I don’t think we needed one for this year. It’s nice, it’s probably a thing of yesteryear, the old handshake. That’s where we’re at.
Q: All right, time to put you on the spot. The Roosters and Storm have both been pretty strong all year but who in your opinion is going to prevail tomorrow night and why?
A: The beauty of the product and the competition of late, there’s so many coin tosses out there and you just see so many close results. I wouldn’t be game to call it.
I’ll just toss the coin and sit back and enjoy it.
Q: Very diplomatic of you. In that case, can you tell us what you rate about each team?
A: Melbourne is a little like the Queenslanders. The intangibles, the belief, theirs is second to none. They expect to be there, they expect to do well. They are obviously the best coached side for the last however many years now.
Cameron Smith and Boyd Cordner prepare to square off in the NRL grand final. Picture: Phil Hillyard
I love the way that they adapt, that (Craig) Bellamy leads the team with his defence. He’s not set in his ways which again is what makes him a great coach. Them having the experience of (Cameron) Smith and the representative players, they are always hard to beat.
The Roosters, they have got some of those older forwards that can just fire for one game. They might not have the youth and strength in the legs that they once did to have that really, really big season and consistent season but I think that will be the danger. They have been there.
They have a good blend of youth and experience with potentially some X-factor that may be enough to upset such a clinical side.
WHO IS BRENT KITE?
Born: Queanbeyan, NSW
Age: 37
Children: Georgina, 13, Jesaiah, 12, and Poppy, 8
NRL career: 2002-15
Position: Front-row
NRL games: 313 (67 at St George Illawarra, 221 at Manly, 25 at Penrith)
Grand finals: 4 (all for Manly - lost to Melbourne in 2007, defeated Melbourne in 2008, defeated New Zealand in 2011, lost to Sydney in 2013)
REPRESENTATIVE CAREER
Tests for Australia: 14
Tests for Tonga: 6
State of Origins for NSW: 10
COACHING
2016: Windsor Wolves head coach
2017: Wentworthville Magpies assistant coach
2018: Tweed Coast Raiders head coach (helping the club to their maiden Northern Rivers title, beating Ballina 24-4 in the grand final)
manlyfan76
There is no A.I. Just better computers
I love Kite.
Brissie Kid
Bencher
That's odd. I got to the story via a post in Twitter. https://twitter.com/Rhys_ONeill_/status/1045943280200867840 I think some of these paywalls don't work depending on where the link is from.
Sign him up.
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2020 Ladder
| Team | P | W | D | L | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulldogs | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 94 | 16 |
| 2 | Raiders | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 14 |
| 3 | Warriors | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | Storm | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 76 | 12 |
| 5 | Broncos | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 10 |
| 6 | Sharks | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 10 |
| 7 | Sea Eagles | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 10 |
| 8 | Tigers | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 10 |
| 9 | Cowboys | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -14 | 10 |
| 10 | Dragons | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -14 | 8 |
| 11 | Roosters | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | -42 | 8 |
| 12 | Knights | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -48 | 8 |
| 13 | Rabbitohs | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | -70 | 8 |
| 14 | Dolphins | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 15 | Panthers | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -2 | 6 |
| 16 | Titans | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -88 | 6 |
| 17 | Eels | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -117 | 6 |
