Sam Williams on his first year as a head coach, why Super League's reserve grade needs scrapping, what Ricky Stuart taught him about coaching, and the lessons from Canberra, St George, Catalans and Wakefield.

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Joined this week by my current head coach at Northern Pride, Sam Williams.

Sam played for the Canberra Raiders, St George Illawarra Dragons, Catalans

Dragons and Wakefield Trinity before moving into coaching, and he's just come

through his first season in charge in the Queensland Cup. Having played and

coached in both hemispheres, he's one of very few people who can compare the

two systems properly.

He doesn't hold back on Super League's reserve grade, why the Australian

affiliate model works better, and what the UK would need to do to fix it.

We also get into what Ricky Stuart taught him about caring for a region, why

you can't fake being a coach, being 35 and one of the younger heads in the

competition, and shovelling snow off a pitch at Wakefield.

Recorded outdoors at Barlow Park, complete with a grass cutter.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

00:56 A disappointing finish and a first year coaching

01:14 The first outdoor podcast

01:57 What rugby league gave him beyond the game

02:20 Canberra, Catalans, Wakefield and now Cairns

04:53 Debut and the 2011 pre-season

05:21 ”Sammy, you're playing half in the second trial”

05:51 Playing with the men he watched at 12

06:53 Never feeling destined for it

08:56 Striking gold at Canberra

09:37 Stuck behind Widdop and Benji Marshall at St George

09:58 Off Season Accelerator

10:48 Catalans: new language, new everything

11:43 The run, and a first win at Leeds

12:39 One of the most desirable places on earth

12:57 Crowds, Headingley and Super League atmosphere

14:38 Expectations on clubs

15:27 Warrington taking a game to Dublin

15:53 New Zealand's talent pool

16:44 Coaching people outside of sport

17:07 What makes Super League special

19:29 Ricky Stuart and going back to Canberra

20:20 Caring about the region you coach in

21:11 ”You can't fake how you want to be as a coach”

21:44 Being 35 and one of the younger head coaches

23:37 The biggest lesson going into next season

24:31 The Cowboys relationship

25:18 Competing with full time NRL systems

26:25 How the Australian affiliate system works

27:08 Would a reserve grade competition work?

28:18 ”Knock reserve grade on the head”

28:40 The North Star is the NRL

30:26 A melee of obstacles

32:48 Embracing it when it's miles from what you know

33:20 Condensation off the roof and shovelling the pitch

34:38 Wakefield flying again

34:53 Arked Coffee

35:23 ”That's not professionalism, that's fragility”

36:38 Going back to his hometown club

37:46 The 2019 Grand Final

39:51 ”Not a rich man, but a rich man in life”

40:25 What the future looks like

Guest: Sam Williams

Host: Ronan Michael, professional rugby league player (Northern Pride, ex

Bradford Bulls & Huddersfield Giants) and online coach.

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Instagram: @ronanmichael_pt

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