Brian Smith (rugby League, Born 1954)
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Brian Smith (born 14 March 1954) is an Australian
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
coach and former player. He was also the Football Manager for the
New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...
. Smith played for
St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
from 1973 to 1974 and for South Sydney in 1975, 1976 and 1979, appearing in a total of 31 first grade games. However, Smith is best known as a coach, having been at the helm of
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
, where he took over for the 1984 season, before moving to Hull,
St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
,
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
,
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
and, most recently, the
Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
and the NSW Country side. Although Smith had a successful career in Australia, he fell short of becoming a premiership winning coach, being on the losing end of all four grand finals he coached in (1992 and 1993 with St George, 2001 with Parramatta and 2010 with Eastern Suburbs.)


Playing career

In the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, Smith played 14 first grade games for
St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
in 1974, and 17 games for the South Sydney between 1975 and 1979, appearing in a total of 31 first grade games.


Coaching career


Newtown

Smith began coaching in 1978, coaching the Newtown under 23s team. He then joined South Sydney in 1980, also as under-23's coach. He stayed there until the end of 1982 coaching the reserve grade team in that season.


Illawarra Steelers

Smith began coaching first grade rugby league in the
NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...
competition in 1984, where he became coach of the
Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On 13 December 1980, they were the ...
, where he remained until the end of 1987 season. Illawarra would struggle on the field during the early days earning Wooden Spoons under Smith's tenure in 1985 and 1986. While coaching Illawarra in 1986, Smith proposed using two referees. This did eventuate in 2009.


Hull F.C.

From 1988 until 1990, Smith was coach of Hull F.C. in England's
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
., In season 1988-89 Hull progressed to the Premiership Final at Old Trafford ultimately losing to Widnes. Hull led the competition when Smith left in January 1991 and went on to win the Premiership Final in May.


St. George

Smith returned to Australia to coach
St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
for the 1991 season. He took the club to consecutive Grand Finals in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
(in which his younger brother Tony played from the Dragons' interchange bench) and
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, losing both to Wayne Bennett's
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...
. Smith would remain at St George until 1995.


Bradford Bulls

Smith returned to England for two seasons 1995 and 1996 to coach the
Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...
to the 1996 Challenge Cup Final at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in front of 78,550 fans. For Smith it would be another final loss as Bradford went down to St. Helens 32–40. Bradford led the match 26-12 with just over twenty minutes left to play. Bradford would go on to win major trophies across the next decade including Challenge Cups, Grand Final Premierships and World Club Challenge Finals.


Parramatta Eels

Returning to Australia, from 1997 until mid-2006, Smith coached the
Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...
. In his first season at Parramatta, he guided the club to their first finals series in eleven years. This was followed by three consecutive preliminary final appearances in 1998, 1999 and 2000 with the 1998 preliminary final being the most notable. With less than ten minutes to play, Parramatta lead
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
18-2 until Canterbury staged one of the biggest comebacks in finals history to win the match 32-20 in extra-time. Smith took Parramatta to the 2001 NRL Grand Final in what was the Eels first Grand Final since their 4–2 win over Canterbury-Bankstown in 1986. The club had set numerous records throughout the season as they claimed the
Minor Premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...
. As of the
2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...
, some of these records still stand. Facing Parramatta would be the
Andrew Johns Andrew Gary Johns (born 19 May 1974), also known by the nickname Joey, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is considered one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. Johns ...
led
Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...
. Parramatta were raging hot favourites to win the 2001 NRL grand final but four converted and unanswered tries to Newcastle in the first 24 minutes of the game was too big a lead for Parramatta to overcome. Newcastle would go on to hand Smith his third Grand Final loss with a 30–24 win in front of 90,414 at
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...
. In the 2005 NRL season, Smith would guide Parramatta to another Minor Premiership and were favourites to take out the premiership that season. However, the club would suffer a shock 29-0 loss against
North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...
in the preliminary final. Smith became the longest-serving coach for the
Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...
before he resigned as coach on 15 May 2006, with assistant coach Jason Taylor taking over as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. During this period, Parramatta made seven appearances in the playoffs.


Bradford Bulls (return)

Smith had a short spell with his former club Bradford in an advisory role during the summer of 2006.


Newcastle Knights

In 2007, Smith took up coaching duties with the
Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...
. In July 2009, he signed a deal for 2010 with the
Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
and obtained a release from the Knights. On 15 August 2009, Smith effectively quit the Newcastle club, with understudy Rick Stone to act as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season.


Sydney Roosters

For the
2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 ...
Smith took over as Sydney Roosters coach from
Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is an Australian rugby league commentator, television presenter, and former player. Fittler captained both New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales ...
who had been sacked the previous year. At the 2010 Dally M Awards Smith was named coach of the year. The Roosters reached the 2010 NRL Grand Final but were defeated by Wayne Bennett's St. George Illawarra Dragons. The Sydney Roosters almost became the second club in NSWRL/NRL history to go from finishing with a wooden spoon to winning the premiership in the following year. Smith was sacked by the club with a year still remaining on his contract at the end of the
2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...
, after the Roosters finished in 13th place with an 8–15–1 record.


England

Smith also worked as an assistant coach for Steve McNamara for the English team in their 2010 Four Nations campaign.


United States

In 2013, he was briefly the head coach of the USA.


Wakefield Trinity

On 31 May 2015, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats announced on Sky Sports coverage of the Magic Weekend ahead of their game versus
Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...
that Smith had agreed to take up the position of head coach. Former coach James Webster put Smith in touch with the club via text message. He resigned from Wakefield on 8 March 2016.


Serbia

In 2015, Smith became a consultant at the
Serbian Rugby League The Serbian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in Serbia. The Association was formed in 2001 in Kruševac. They have been full members of the RLEF from August 2011. See also * Rugby league in Serbia * Ser ...
and assisted the Serbian national team in their 2016 Qualifiers in a bid to qualify for their first ever Rugby League World Cup.


Thailand

On 8 February 2017, he coached a
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
team in a 10–44 defeat to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
staged at Endeavour Sports High School,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
.


Statistics


Personal life

Smith is the older brother of former
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
coach Tony Smith and is father of Keegan Smith, the strength and power coach at the Roosters, and Rohan Smith, the former head coach of
Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...
and a former coach of
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and assistant coach at Auckland Warriors, London Broncos, Newcastle Knights, Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans.


References


External links


Sydney Roosters profileNewcastle Knights profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian 1954 births Living people Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Bradford Bulls coaches Country New South Wales rugby league team coaches Expatriate rugby league coaches Hull F.C. coaches Illawarra Steelers coaches Newcastle Knights coaches Parramatta Eels coaches People from the Northern Rivers Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league in Thailand South Sydney Rabbitohs players St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players Sydney Roosters coaches United States national rugby league team coaches Wakefield Trinity coaches 20th-century Australian sportsmen