Former Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika is deadly serious about coaching in the NRL and has some serious support behind him.
Cheika has worked as a part-time assistant and advisor at several NRL clubs and has previously coached the Lebanese national team.
“I think that challenge, if you think about it, hasn’t really been met,” Cheika told Andrew Johns on the Wide World of Sports’, ‘Freddy and the Eighth’.
“Alan Jones had a crack at it way back.
“It hasn’t been done with success.
“Many league coaches have come over to rugby and been successful there… maybe not as head coaches, although I think they could.
“To master that challenge, especially being an Aussie kid where league is such a big sport and I grew up playing the sport [and] I think it would be a huge challenge.
“I’ve been back here now for maybe six weeks or so, getting my feet on the ground and deciding what I’m gonna get up to next.”
The 8th Immortal conceded just last week he’d prefer Cheika work full-time as an assistant first.
But speaking to Cheika this week, Johns said he believed Cheika could be a success in the NRL immediately if he had a good support network around – including the front office.
