NRL: McRae remains with Rabbitohs

[DeeGan]

McRae remains with Rabbitohs
By Steve Jancetic
January 16, 2006

SOUTH Sydney coach Shaun McRae has agreed a one-year contract extension with the NRL club.

The deal, just reward for a promising debut year in charge of the perennial struggler, will keep McRae at Redfern until the end of the 2007 season.

McRae guided the Bunnies to 13th spot on the ladder in 2005, their best finish since being readmitted to the league in 2002.

They finished the year in blistering form - winning six of their final eight games - and McRae will no doubt hope to take some of that momentum into the 2006 season.

McRae was happy to settle his short-term future but said he was more excited by the prospects for the club over the next few seasons.

"We had a marked improvement last year and there's every reason to suggest we can continue that on," McRae said today.

"Through the development of younger players and the acquisition of players from other clubs ... I think that we can progress and improve even more this year and try and build towards some success.

"We have a strong coaching staff and the playing staff is getting stronger all the time. There are exciting times ahead for the club and I'm happy I will be involved in that."

McRae said he was particularly looking forward to working with the host of talented youngsters already at the club.

Last year, John Sutton emerged as a five-eighth of quality while Beau Champion, Yilleen Gorden and Manase Manuokafoa showed glimpses of promise in their debut season.

"I gave most of them an opportunity and now I get a greater opportunity to further enhance their skills and maturity and to watch them develop to be even better players," McRae said.

Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson said the show of faith in McRae by the club would provide the organisation with some much-needed stability.

"Shaun has done a great job and is an excellent communicator," Richardson said.

"We are confident that with Shaun at the helm we can continue to build our playing strength and continue to move up the premiership ladder."

The Rabbitohs open their 2006 pre-season campaign with the annual Charity Shield clash against St George-Illawarra at Telstra Stadium on February 18.

McRae expects to have most of his squad available for the match, with the exception of injured forward Mark Minichiello, who is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

Minichiello remains in doubt for the opening few rounds of the premiership as he continues his rehabilitation.

AAP

The right move by Souths in extending the contract of Shaun McRae until at least the end of the 2007 season.

McRae is a proven coach who has the ability to turn around a struggling club (Gateshead and Hull in the UK are great examples in the UK) and the proof was in the pudding in 2005 that McRae has the club on the right track.

Souths have lost some key players, namely Harrison, though still possess John Sutton who is amongst the brightest prospects in the NRL competition. With a solid core of veterans still in the team, Souths will continue to improve in 2006 and much of that will be attributed to the coaching of McRae.

Thankfully for Souths fans gone are the days when the coaching position at Souths resembled a merry-go-round.

DeeGan

[Ipswich Fan]

It's good to see Souths have given McRae time to mould his own squad & influence over the club. I can see Souths improving big time during McRae's time at the club.