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HE turns 63 next year, but deposed Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens says he has not given up hope of working in the NRL again as he begins plotting Australia's World Cup revenge mission.
Sheens said he would not be railroaded into retirement and still retains the passion for an NRL coaching career that began with Penrith in 1984.
Since his messy divorce with the Tigers 10 weeks ago, Sheens has been a coach in limbo, with the four-time premiership-winning mentor in the process of negotiating a severance package with the club he took to a title in 2005.
But after being re-appointed Test coach last week, Sheens is determined to move forward, outlining his plan to wrest the World Cup back from New Zealand, which includes:
* A reconnaissance trip to England next month where he will assess various World Cup venues;
* The veteran coach attending NRL games on a regular basis to run his eye over both current and prospective Kangaroos players;
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* Emulating Queensland coach Mal Meninga by holding more frequent meetings with the ARL hierarchy over team selections;
* Joining respected league minds Wayne Bennett and Bob Fulton on a committee established to clean up the code's confusing representative eligibility rules.
While Sheens will devote his time next season to the Kangaroos' cause, he hopes his departure from the Tigers will not signal the end of his 28-year NRL coaching career.
"I won't go advertising myself, but I would like to continue to coach in the NRL, I admit that," Sheens said. "Right now, I've been appointed Australian coach and that's my focus. There will be a fair amount of pressure not only on me but the whole group to win the World Cup.
"We aren't defending champions, but we are expected to be by the end of the tournament. To be honest, I don't know what my retirement date is. I take things year by year, but I still enjoy coaching."
At the end of 2001, Sheens left the Cowboys on stress-leave and spent 18 months on the outside before being thrown a lifeline by the Wests Tigers.
With Mick Potter now calling the shots at Concord, Sheens has been around long enough to understand the joys and volatility of coaching.
"There are three things in football and in any business you have to work at every day. One is public perception. The second is your opposition. The other one is forces within - and those three things are something you have to always be aware of as a coach.
"It was 10 or so years since my time at North Queensland.
"I'd prefer not to look back at what happened and might happen, for me now it's a look forward situation.
"Particularly now, so many can have their say via fan forums and what not, you have to be prepared for that. But I've always worked hard as a coach and I'm not content in saying I know it all."
Sheens is under no illusions about the World Cup challenge after the Kiwis defeated the Kangaroos in the 2008 final.
"We've won various Four Nations trophies but the World Cup is the one we are really keen to get," he said.
"World Cups don't come around very often, so as a player some guys are at an age where they might not get another opportunity and I could be in the same boat.
"I am planning to go overseas early in the New Year to check out the venues and make sure everything is 100 per cent."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/deposed-wests-tigers-coach-tim-sheens-has-not-given-up-hope-of-coach-in-nrl-again/story-e6frexnr-1226532829629
Sheens said he would not be railroaded into retirement and still retains the passion for an NRL coaching career that began with Penrith in 1984.
Since his messy divorce with the Tigers 10 weeks ago, Sheens has been a coach in limbo, with the four-time premiership-winning mentor in the process of negotiating a severance package with the club he took to a title in 2005.
But after being re-appointed Test coach last week, Sheens is determined to move forward, outlining his plan to wrest the World Cup back from New Zealand, which includes:
* A reconnaissance trip to England next month where he will assess various World Cup venues;
* The veteran coach attending NRL games on a regular basis to run his eye over both current and prospective Kangaroos players;
\
\
\
* Emulating Queensland coach Mal Meninga by holding more frequent meetings with the ARL hierarchy over team selections;
* Joining respected league minds Wayne Bennett and Bob Fulton on a committee established to clean up the code's confusing representative eligibility rules.
While Sheens will devote his time next season to the Kangaroos' cause, he hopes his departure from the Tigers will not signal the end of his 28-year NRL coaching career.
"I won't go advertising myself, but I would like to continue to coach in the NRL, I admit that," Sheens said. "Right now, I've been appointed Australian coach and that's my focus. There will be a fair amount of pressure not only on me but the whole group to win the World Cup.
"We aren't defending champions, but we are expected to be by the end of the tournament. To be honest, I don't know what my retirement date is. I take things year by year, but I still enjoy coaching."
At the end of 2001, Sheens left the Cowboys on stress-leave and spent 18 months on the outside before being thrown a lifeline by the Wests Tigers.
With Mick Potter now calling the shots at Concord, Sheens has been around long enough to understand the joys and volatility of coaching.
"There are three things in football and in any business you have to work at every day. One is public perception. The second is your opposition. The other one is forces within - and those three things are something you have to always be aware of as a coach.
"It was 10 or so years since my time at North Queensland.
"I'd prefer not to look back at what happened and might happen, for me now it's a look forward situation.
"Particularly now, so many can have their say via fan forums and what not, you have to be prepared for that. But I've always worked hard as a coach and I'm not content in saying I know it all."
Sheens is under no illusions about the World Cup challenge after the Kiwis defeated the Kangaroos in the 2008 final.
"We've won various Four Nations trophies but the World Cup is the one we are really keen to get," he said.
"World Cups don't come around very often, so as a player some guys are at an age where they might not get another opportunity and I could be in the same boat.
"I am planning to go overseas early in the New Year to check out the venues and make sure everything is 100 per cent."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/deposed-wests-tigers-coach-tim-sheens-has-not-given-up-hope-of-coach-in-nrl-again/story-e6frexnr-1226532829629
