Ronald Griffiths is hoping his appointment to the head coaching role of the men’s Indigenous All Stars team will help inspire the next wave of First Nations people to take up the challenge of leading a team for themselves.
While the skills and contributions of Australia’s Indigenous athletes have been long recognised and celebrated on the playing field, there has been a dearth of people to look up to in the coaching ranks.
Introducing the 2023 Indigenous All Stars coach
Griffiths, who most recently guided the Newcastle Knights to a maiden NRLW premiership, was hoping seeing people like himself being able to achieve at the top level would help bring about change and encourage more First Nations people to purse coaching roles.
“I think any of the (Indigenous) coaches that are at a high level will tell you that our job is just to open the door for the next lot of coaches that are coming through,” Griffiths said.
“They will reap the rewards of the hard work that we're doing. When I look further back in time, there was a whole generation of Aboriginal men and women who were activists who fought for the rights of Aboriginal people, (and) who were able to achieve those rights. When you talk about the referendum and different things like that, we live in a world where we've got to fight for things for our next generation, for our next generation of people and it just so happens that for me, it's coaching.
“I just want to try open the doors for as many Aboriginal coaches and support staff in the NRL as we can.
“I think that regardless of what happens in life, particularly I can talk from our perspective as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, there are things that you are going to be up against no matter what, but it’s up to you how you let that affect what you are doing.
“The big thing is just that you have got to keep working hard, keep turning up and keep striving for excellence and if we get an opportunity, I've no doubt we will be successful.
“Because for our people, opportunities, once they are presented, they will lead to success, because we're extremely talented and good at what we do.”
While there have been positive advancements made in the women’s game with regards to providing opportunities for Indigenous coaches (Jess Skinner is one who has just returned from a Rugby League World Cup-winning campaign with the Jillaroos), the lack of coaches at the top in men’s game was an issue the NRL has been keen to address.
Despite a high-profile example in Johnathan Thurston being appointed as an assistant to Billy Slater’s Queensland Maroons side this past year, in his role as Senior manager – Elite Indigenous Pathways, former player Timana Tahu looked at the data, with his research highlighting the need to provide more opportunity for aspiring Indigenous coaches.
“I've done some research … (and) over the past 11 years or 12 years, there hasn't been an Indigenous head coach or assistant coach in NRL since the franchise started,” Tahu said.
“Laurie Daley is probably our best Indigenous our coach that we've had, coached NSW and Country, but he never coached in club football at NRL club level, so it was something that I identified for a while, but in this position, researching and seeing that over the years, the talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes that we've had; there's been no pathway for them to have the opportunity to coach.
“The NRL wanted to utilise the NRL All Stars as a vehicle.
"We have got coaches that have come into the NRLW, but I see them as separate competitions and also there is a few coaches in the in the Queensland Cup and NSW Cup, and think I think there was only one who was doing a little bit of coaching in the NRL last year and that was Ronnie Griffiths who we appointed head coach.
“For me and for the NRL, with the support of the Australian Rugby League Commission, they want to utilise this as a pathway for our coaches, so they're coaching at the top level, they are getting that experience and showcasing their skills.
"I'd love to see a coach that comes through the All Stars that lands an opportunity at an NRL club and it being a success story.”
For this year’s Indigenous All Stars side, Griffiths was deemed the ideal candidate, with the added bonus of having an attuned knowledge about what the All Stars concept was about having serving as an assistant coach with both the women’s team and with the men’s team under Daley previously.
However, he was still required to undergo a vigorous process before ultimately being offered the position.
A panel comprising of Tahu, Daley, Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and Jillaroos coach Brad Donald assessed potential candidates and consulted with both the Indigenous Players Advisory Group and the Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council prior to the coaches for the men's and women's Indigenous All Stars teams being selected.
“It was a robust process and I think it's the right way of doing it, not only for the game and the brand, but also for the Indigenous communities to understand that there were a few parties that went through the process and that everyone all agreed with the process and the selection of the coaches,” Tahu said.
“I think that's what so made it so successful and for the fans as well, they will know that this is something that was looked over very carefully and it wasn’t a ‘tick the box’ and it wasn't a boys club approach to it.
“We made sure that from all angles from corporate, strategy, community, player, and football knowledge; we got the right coaches in.”
With his appointment officially announced last week, Griffiths has already begun the work in preparation for the game, but is also looking forward to the off-field impact he and his players would be able to achieve, with both the Indigenous and Māori men’s and women’s teams engaging in their own learning as well as the sharing of their cultures in the community.
For Griffiths, a proud Gommeroi man, this will be one of the most important and rewarding aspects of the week.
“The game is a celebration of week of culture. I understand that and that's extremely important, and it shows the rest of Australia," Griffiths said.
"It’s the opportunity for the NRL to be the conduit to put our culture out there and then put it at the forefront of everything to do with our storytelling; our song and our dance. But further to that, it may seem like one week, but it's actually an opportunity now to represent, or to showcase, the strength of the world’s oldest living culture. That that's the magnitude of what we're doing for that week.
“The excitement, it's palpable. I can't wait.
“It's going to be an opportunity to go over there (to New Zealand) and see their culture and how strong they are and we get to share our culture with them.
“But further to that, it's great for the fans of the game over there where we can take it over and continue to grow the game.
"There’s no greater advertisement that that week, so it's going to be fantastic for the supporters and the players and the support staff and the game itself.”
Match: Maori v Indigenous
Round 1 -
home Team
Maori
away Team
Indigenous
Venue: Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
The match will be played at Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua on February 11.
