Preparing for the future without Mal Meninga, who looks destined to be named the head coach of the Perth Bears, a surprising frontrunner has reportedly emerged to be named the new coach of the Australian Kangaroos.
Meninga, the current Kangaroos and former Queensland coach, is expected to be named the NRL's 18th club's inaugural head coach in the coming weeks, giving him under six months of preparation time before November 1, when the Bears can begin signing players.
However, his arrival in Perth means he will depart the Kangaroos with the international team set to name their new coach in the coming months as they prepare for the end-of-year Ashes series against England.
While several candidates have been linked to the Kangaroos head coaching job, The Daily Telegraph's Buzz Rothfield has revealed that Brad Fittler has emerged as the shock replacement for Meninga.
โThe man to replace Mal will be Bradley Fittler,โ Rothfield said on Off the Record.
โI find this a stunning appointment in that Wayne Bennett has told all the right people that he would be prepared to coach the side.
"He's coached New Zealand, England, and Queensland. However, the commission insists it does not want anyone with club or state ties.
โThat's left two men standing: Cameron Smith and Brad Fittler.
โFreddy has the edge because he has coached before. He was wound up as NSW Blues coach, but he didn't do too bad a job.
"He could've kept that job, but he wasn't happy with a four-month contract and taking a substantial financial hit. He hasn't been approached to coach Australia yet โ but knowing him it's a challenge he'd jump at.โ
The reports of Fittler leading the race to take over from Meninga follow Cameron Smith's statement that he hasn't received any approaches to coach Australia despite being in the mix with Kevin Walters and Wayne Bennett for the head coaching job.
Although Smith denied that he had talks with the Kangaroos, the ex-NRL hooker and future Immortal confirmed that Australia is the one side that he would be interested in coaching one day.
"A lot of people have asked me at the back end of my career when I retired, 'would you ever coach?'," he said onย 100% Footyย on Monday.
"I emphatically said no (but) if there was one team out there that it would gain my interest to coach, it would be the Kangaroos. You're dealing with the best of the best.
"As far as the calendar's concerned when those commitments occur, it's at the end of the year, so that works in with my commitments with commentary."
