I know I might be clutching at straws here but there could be parallels with Ellery Hanley and his stint as Saint Helens coach.
During the early 90's Saints weren't the dominant team they are now. The odd challenge cup final, a lancs cup win and a premiership. They then won the league in 96 under Mcrae in the old first past the post format.
Then Hanley came along. I think he had only finished playing a couple of years before taking over at Saints. He was probably the biggest name in the British game at the time but had minimal experience of coaching first grade.
Reading what went on with Burgess at Souths with Latrell Mitchel etc it is clear that Burgess is not afraid to speak his mind if he believes something is not right. From memory Hanleys exit from Saints was for the similar reasons.
When you look at the saints squad from 1999 there were obviously a lot of players that went on to be superstars in the game. There were a few players like Newlove etc that were already superstars. But when you look at the squad there were a number of players that most of us would not even remember. Most of their imports were not state of origin, Kangaroos or had Kiwi caps.
For Saints the rest is history.
I remember an interview with a saints player (might have been Cunningham) who said that some of Hanleys team talks were like a spiritual experience and they the felt 10 feet tall and they prepared to run through brick walls.
So. Absolutely anything could happen with us and Burgess, it could go either way
I am happy to strap in and enjoy the ride.
