BY DAN

The addition of Chris Lewis to the Canberra Raiders coaching staff is an intriguing decision announced by the club today. The Raiders have been keen for new ideas for some time. At the same time that comes with a risk.

Chris Lewis only just recently retired his playing career from the Melbourne Storm. He’s been brought aboard to take leadership of the NSW Cup team. With him he’ll bring a new set of ideas. Canberra’s coaching staff are either professional coaches (as opposed to former players) or so long part of the Raiders apparatus (like kicking coach Jarrod Croker) that it’s hard for them to bring innovation to the club. Lewis will be be bringing a way of working from arguably the most consistent organisation in rugby league, one that has invented and re-invented it’s processes over and over again. That kind of mental acuity is of desperate need for the Milk. Lewis could well be bringing a new epistemology to Canberra.

The downside is that we have no evidence he’ll be able to communicate it. That’s not to say he can’t. Lord knows the best coaches are often the least starlit players. But coaching is a skill like most that have to be harnessed and curated. Right now we’re trusting Sticky and the club that Lewis is the right man for the job. The challenge is significant. The Raiders have made much of a shift into a youth movement. They’ve now put a good chunk of the process of moulding those players over to someone without demonstrable experience. That’s a substantial risk.

But as Lewis himself has said, he can bring a unique perspective for these players

I’ve spent time playing in both reserve grade and first grade so I’ve had a taste of it both ways and I can share that experience with the young players

Indeed given his relative proximity to being successful footballer (and let’s be clear, anyone that players five years of first grade is impressive in my book), he may be better placed than we realise in helping these players understand what is necessary at the highest level.

It’s another year with another new coach. Change has been needed to ensure that Sticky’s longevity mitigates the potential for organisational torpidity. Giteau, Shepperd and now Lewis have all been apart of a transition of the coaching staff from the end of Rona. Cappy McFadden and Brett White have moved on. Only Mick Crawley remains from that era. As attacking coach he’ll have his work cut out given the stagnation that has occurred on that side of the ball in recent years.

Brock Shepperd, who in my view did an admirable job turning the competing priorities of NSW Cup footy into something productive, has been elevated to the first grade coaching staff as a full time assistant. I’ve been clear about my admiration for Shepperd. The work he’s done, the time he’s put into becoming a top level coach suggest someone with a passion for the job and an ability. Most people aren’t excited by professional coaches. A name will usually draw more oohs and aahs from the gallery than someone who’s put the hard yards in to climb the ladder. But we should value people who seek to hone and perfect their craft. Their expertise is just as valuable, if not more so.

It’s not the first time the NSW Cup team has been used as a incubator of coaching talent. All members of the first grade assistant staff (Shepperd, Justin Giteau and Mick Crawley) have all had tenure over the Cup team at some point in the past, and even list manager Joel Carbone was in charge for one year during ‘rona. Evidently coaching and playing aren’t that different, at least in pathways from the periphery. It suggests that Lewis’ job is not given lightly. The club likely has plans for him beyond this.

But for now his focus will be NSW Cup and turning our next generation into the best generation. It’s a tall ask for a new coach. We wish him luck.

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