DANNY Linnane has ruled himself out of coaching again next season as the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs officially begin their search for a new mentor in 2024.
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The former premiership winner, part of a golden era at the club during the 1990s, will stay in the role for the rest of this year as bottom-placed Kurri strive to crack a win over the last seven rounds.
"We've had discussions recently and I've expressed I no longer want to pursue that [coaching] moving forward," Linnane told the Newcastle Herald.
"I said you're best to advertise and see what calibre coach we can get in, hopefully recruit some players, attract players and build basically.
"I've got a young bloke [Jye] down at the Knights [Jersey Flegg] and I want to watch him play a bit.
"It's definitely been frustrating and I never had any long-term plans with coaching, it was just after Aaron Watts resigned and the club asked me if I'd put my hand up to help out.
"So yep I did but that's probably as far as I'll go. I'll help out as much as I can there and then I'd like to keep helping out behind the scenes."
Kurri have been cruelled by injuries in 2023.
"We lost 17 players that played first grade for us last year ... so it was always going to be tough but it's probably been tougher than I anticipated because of the amount of injuries," Linnane said.
"On the weekend Zac McEntyre made his debut and I'm pretty sure he was our 39th player."
Kurri (0-10) last tasted victory over 12 months ago, accounting for Wyong 12-10 on May 28, 2022.
In a quirky twist of coaching fate, Linnane finds himself pitted against former Kurri teammate and long-time friend Phil Williams when the Bulldogs host Central on Saturday.
"Obviously a bit of friendly banter there," he said.
The likes of Cessnock's Harry Siejka (end of 2026), Souths' Andrew Ryan (2025), Wests' Rick Stone (2024), Macquarie's Matt Roach (2024) and Maitland's Matt Lantry (2024) continue in longer-term coaching deals at Newcastle RL clubs.
* OPPOSING teams will be missing one suspended player each at Tomaree Sportsground on Sunday with Aaron McGrady from Northern Hawks and Maitland's Gary Anderson both entering early guilty pleas this week. McGrady copped a two-match ban for a dangerous throw while Anderson will miss just the one game for a careless high tackle.
* WYONG'S Isaac Blakhall is poised to undergo surgery next week after suffering facial fractures in a 16-0 loss to Maitland last round. Luke Bartley (knee) will also be missing for the Roos against Lakes this weekend while Tarnae Mahon returns from suspension.
* HARLEY Ridge (knee) joins a growing exit list at The Entrance, likely sidelined for at least six weeks. Tigers halves combination Jack Burraston and Will Pearsall are already out with season-ending knee damage while David Fifitia recently left for English Super League side Wakefield Trinity. However, captain Ryan Doherty (knee) is edging closer to a comeback.
* SOUTHS will host three clubs across five fixtures at Townson Oval on Sunday - starting with A-grade against Dudley at 9:30am and also featuring under 19s, women's tackle (Wests), reserves and firsts (Macquarie).
* CESSNOCK'S Honeti Tuha arrives at the bye four ahead in the leading try-scorer stakes, crossing four times in the last three outings (two losses, draw) to reach 16 for 2023.
* ROUND 12: Saturday - Lakes v Wyong (2pm); Kurri v Central (3pm). Sunday - Entrance v Wests, Souths v Macquarie (2pm); Northern v Maitland (3pm). Bye - Cessnock.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
