TONY REA has been appointed as the new head coach of English Super League club, London Broncos.
Tony, who has been interim head coach since Rob Powell stepped down in mid-July, has signed a two-year contract.
He initially came over from Australia at the request of chairman David Hughes to help the club out of a difficult situation and had no thought about taking the job permanently. However, following final preparations for the game against Warrington last Thursday, Tony was called into a formal and lengthy discussion with the chairman after which the position was offered to him and he accepted.
“He sat me down and asked me to think about it and it was purely a coaching decision,” said Tony. “If I scratch myself hard enough, I did miss coaching.”
Since leaving Australian rugby union franchise, the ACT Brumbies, at the end of last year Tony has been working in the business world as a performance coach. However, he has kept in close contact with the game and in particular the NRL.
Commenting on the decision to appoint Rea, David Hughes said: “We’ve had lots of applications from Down Under and the UK and have given them all due consideration. One shouldn’t underestimate what a tough task it is coaching a club like the London Broncos but I think Tony Rea is the man for the job.
“I believe in his coaching. His prowess has strengthened in his time away from us. He’s experienced another code and allied to his motivational work this has made him the ideal candidate. He’s got a massive desire to coach again and he’s impressed on me that coaching is all he wants to do.”
Tony will return to Australia at the end of the Super League season and return for the start of pre-season training in November.
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[ Source: Australian Times ]