Stido
13-09-2008, 07:29 AM
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/09/13/16158_hpsport.html
Siren sounds for Cowboys under-20s coach Bell
ANTONY STEWART (stewarta@nqn.newsltd.com.au)
September 13th, 2008
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2008/09/13/Grant-Bell.jpg
Grant Bell
INAUGURAL under-20s coach Grant Bell will depart the Cowboys disappointed but refusing to be bitter.
Bell is being replaced as the club's NRL Youth Competition mentor, with Cowboys development manager Kristian Woolf widely tipped to be given the job.
The 46-year-old was desperate to continue the team's progression next season, saying the North Queensland side had finished the year as the most improved team in the competition.
Although the Cowboys finished with the wooden spoon, statistical evidence drawn from the way the team started and finished the season indicated he was right.
But with new first-grade coach Neil Henry joining North Queensland next year, the club decided to `head in a new direction'.
"I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say I was disappointed by not being able to work on with the guys I've really enjoyed working with and seen develop," Bell said.
"But rugby league is a sport where things change and obviously I'm a part of some changes occurring at the club.
"I'm disappointed I'm not a part of moving forward but, in saying that, it doesn't mean that I feel any less about my time (at the Cowboys) now."
Cowboys general manager of football Dean Lance said Bell deserved plenty of praise for the job he had done with the under-20s and the entire club.
Bell was North Queensland's inaugural first-grade coach in 1995 before rejoining the club and guiding Queensland Cup team the Young Guns to a premiership in 2005.
In 2006-07 he was an assistant to Graham Murray in the NRL.
"He's been involved as a head coach in the early days, as an assistant with Graham Murray through some tough times and some good times and took over a very difficult role pioneering the under-20s NYC competition," Lance said.
"And those boys have been creditable in their performance, but with the new coach coming in and the new staff ... it was decided to go in a different direction."
Next Friday will mark his last day on the job but Bell said his interest in how the under-20 Cowboys progressed would not wane.
With the bulk of the squad returning and a year's experience in the competition, Bell said he expected the under-20s to be extremely competitive next season.
He said he would still take great enjoyment out of the team's success.
"I am very grateful about my time at the club and I think I can positively reflect on the things that I have been a part of during my time there," he said.
Siren sounds for Cowboys under-20s coach Bell
ANTONY STEWART (stewarta@nqn.newsltd.com.au)
September 13th, 2008
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2008/09/13/Grant-Bell.jpg
Grant Bell
INAUGURAL under-20s coach Grant Bell will depart the Cowboys disappointed but refusing to be bitter.
Bell is being replaced as the club's NRL Youth Competition mentor, with Cowboys development manager Kristian Woolf widely tipped to be given the job.
The 46-year-old was desperate to continue the team's progression next season, saying the North Queensland side had finished the year as the most improved team in the competition.
Although the Cowboys finished with the wooden spoon, statistical evidence drawn from the way the team started and finished the season indicated he was right.
But with new first-grade coach Neil Henry joining North Queensland next year, the club decided to `head in a new direction'.
"I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say I was disappointed by not being able to work on with the guys I've really enjoyed working with and seen develop," Bell said.
"But rugby league is a sport where things change and obviously I'm a part of some changes occurring at the club.
"I'm disappointed I'm not a part of moving forward but, in saying that, it doesn't mean that I feel any less about my time (at the Cowboys) now."
Cowboys general manager of football Dean Lance said Bell deserved plenty of praise for the job he had done with the under-20s and the entire club.
Bell was North Queensland's inaugural first-grade coach in 1995 before rejoining the club and guiding Queensland Cup team the Young Guns to a premiership in 2005.
In 2006-07 he was an assistant to Graham Murray in the NRL.
"He's been involved as a head coach in the early days, as an assistant with Graham Murray through some tough times and some good times and took over a very difficult role pioneering the under-20s NYC competition," Lance said.
"And those boys have been creditable in their performance, but with the new coach coming in and the new staff ... it was decided to go in a different direction."
Next Friday will mark his last day on the job but Bell said his interest in how the under-20 Cowboys progressed would not wane.
With the bulk of the squad returning and a year's experience in the competition, Bell said he expected the under-20s to be extremely competitive next season.
He said he would still take great enjoyment out of the team's success.
"I am very grateful about my time at the club and I think I can positively reflect on the things that I have been a part of during my time there," he said.