RIP Don Furner

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HoldenV8

Journey Man
I know that Don Furner wasn't anything to do with Manly, but its sad to hear that the former Kangaroos, Easts and Canberra coach passed away yesterday. From all accounts he was a good bloke and will be missed.

26 December 1932 - 25 February 2020.

RIP Don Furner.

Condolences to your family and friends.
 
Re-read the article about the police walkie talkies to protect Canberra from Manly in the 1987 GF.

Didn't work!

Seemed like a good guy.

RIP and condolences to his family.
 
Don Furner did as much as anyone to get the Raiders established as more than just a team to make up the numbers after their entry into the competition in 1982. And in the early years he often had to make do with rejects and cast off's from other clubs as his players.

I guess his biggest coup as Canberra coach was signing Mal Meninga and Gary Belcher from South Brisbane at the end of 1985. Then there was the recruitment of others such as Peter Jackson, Laurie Daley, Bradley Clyde, Ricky Stuart and Glenn Lazarus. He put together a team that, salary cap issues in 1991 aside, would be a force to reckon with other the next 7-8 years.

He may not have been the one who took them to their first premiership win in 1989, but he was the main one who gave the club legitimacy by taking them to the 1987 Grand Final.

And lets not forget his record as Kangaroos coach. From 1986-1988 the Kangaroos played 15 tests. They won 13 of them including his last game in charge, the 1988 World Cup Final. His only loss as Australian coach came in the one off test against New Zealand in 1987.

Don Furner was also Easts coach when they played Manly in the 1972 Grand Final, their first Grand Final appearance since 1960.
 
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Don Furner did as much as anyone to get the Raiders established as more than just a team to make up the numbers after their entry into the competition in 1982. And in the early years he often had to make do with rejects and cast off's from other clubs as his players.

I guess his biggest coup as Canberra coach was signing Mal Meninga and Gary Belcher from South Brisbane at the end of 1985. Then there was the recruitment of others such as Peter Jackson, Laurie Daley, Bradley Clyde, Ricky Stuart and Glenn Lazarus. He put together a team that, salary cap issues in 1991 aside, would be a force to reckon with other the next 7-8 years.

He may not have been the one who took them to their first premiership win in 1989, but he was the main one who gave the club legitimacy by taking them to the 1987 Grand Final.

And lets not forget his record as Kangaroos coach. From 1986-1988 the Kangaroos played 15 tests. They won 13 of them including his last game in charge, the 1988 World Cup Final. His only loss as Australian coach came in the one off test against New Zealand in 1987.

Don Furner was also Easts coach when they played Manly in the 1972 Grand Final, their first Grand Final appearance since 1960.
So with Furner’s record you would assume it was his co-coach, Wayne Bennett’s fault they couldn’t win in 1987.
 
So with Furner’s record you would assume it was his co-coach, Wayne Bennett’s fault they couldn’t win in 1987.

I'm glad you said co-coach. It $hit me to tears back with the 2015 Grand Final when Ch.9 kept on banging on about how Bennett had never lost a Grand Final as a coach. Absolute BS. Forgetting his losses in the old BRL with South Brisbane, he was co-coach with Furner at Canberra, not an assistant. He as a first grade coach had lost the 1987 Grand Final, plain and simple.

Assistant coaches don't win the Dally M Coach of the Year award. In 1987 that award went to both Don Furner AND Wayne Bennett. Its the only time that more than one coach has won the award for a single season.

And for the record (to actually answer your question lol), the reason Canberra couldn't win in 1987 wasn't the coaches. They simply lost to a better team who had a coach who at the very least was their equal. In all reality, the only reason that Grand Final didn't turn into a blowout was because we bombed about 4 or 5 tries. We could have easily won by more than 10 points. Easily.
 
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I'm glad you said co-coach. It $hit me to tears back with the 2015 Grand Final when Ch.9 kept on banging on about how Bennett had never lost a Grand Final as a coach. Absolute BS. Forgetting his losses in the old BRL with South Brisbane, he was co-coach with Furner at Canberra, not an assistant. He as a first grade coach had lost the 1987 Grand Final, plain and simple.

Assistant coaches don't win the Dally M Coach of the Year award. In 1987 that award went to both Don Furner AND Wayne Bennett. Its the only time that more than one coach has won the award for a single season.

And for the record (to actually answer your question lol), the reason Canberra couldn't win in 1987 wasn't the coaches. They simply lost to a better team who had a coach who at the very least was their equal. In all reality, the only reason that Grand Final didn't turn into a blowout was because we bombed about 4 or 5 tries. We could have easily won by more than 10 points. Easily.
I am glad I am not the only one who recalls the Rubbish about Bennett never losing a gf.

We were the far better team on the day in 87, but switched off a bit in the second half. A trait that came back to bite us in 96.
 
I am glad I am not the only one who recalls the Rubbish about Bennett never losing a gf.

We were the far better team on the day in 87, but switched off a bit in the second half. A trait that came back to bite us in 96.

Yep, not once did either Nine or Fox mention 1987 when talking about Bennett's Grand Final record. According to them, prior to 2015 he was unbeaten. Bull. Absolute bull.

And I think you meant 97. We won in 96.

On that day in 1987, Snoz could have had 2 or 3 tries, Rowdy could have had a couple, Des could have had one or two. The only time Canberra looked like scoring was when O'Sullivan actually did. That game could have been an absolute walkover on the scoreboard if we had taken all or even most of our chances.
 

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