Mal Meninga takes up spot left by Arthur Beetson - Rugby League
Mal Meninga pledged his future to Queensland State of Origin as their coach for four more years on Friday, December 2, in hopes of taking Rugby League legend Arthur Beetson's legacy forward.
His job description at Queensland entails the identification and retention of talent alongside guiding the Queensland Origin team.
While speaking about the role of the Rugby League legend in shaping his league career, Meninga shared, "It was a sad and tragic day yesterday for all Queenslanders in particular with the passing away of Arthur Beetson. It certainly reinforces the fact that
losing an icon like that someone else has to step up. We don't want to let him down. Arthur resembles the spirit of Origin. He was our first captain and our first spiritual leader. It'd be great if we can honour him in some fashion."
Meninga is a brilliant rugby league ace who started his coaching with Canberra Raiders in 1997. He shouldered the responsibility at the National Rugby League (NRL) franchise until 2001. He has so far coached 125 games at the club and won 66 out of the total.
Also, two of them drew tie. Overall, Meninga boasts a successful coaching record at the club with the 53% winning average, which is why he is recognised as one of the finest coaches in the world of rugby league.
The NRL derby player c*m coach, who counted alongside the premium players of 20th century, has been coaching the Queensland side since 2006 and until now he has not lost a single series. His coaching profile is more lavish than what it had been
with Raiders. He is one of the most sought after coaches in the world of rugby league with 72% of the wins to his credit at Queensland. In a total of 18 games played under his supervision, 13 were wins, which explains why he is acknowledged for his exceptional
coaching skills.
While talking about the newest challenge at the club which is to fight the replacement of champion five-eighth Darren Lockyer, who announced retirement after taking Australia to the Four Nations triumph.
Expressing his views about it, Meninga said, "Darren's been a great player and a great ambassador for Queensland. We're going to sorely miss him. We can't replace him but we move on."
He added that they have got some great young kids coming through the system and it is upto them how they equip themselves for the challenges.
It will be interesting to see how Meninga will lead Queensland out of this bottle neck after the recent loss of Beetson and the retirement announcement by the derby player. However, it is believed that Meninga will have to overlook the high performance unit
incorporating the Maroons emerging squad and the state youth teams.
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