The Super League Coach of the Year nominees have been revealed with London Broncos boss Mike Eccles among those on the four-man shortlist.
That is in spite of London Broncos finishing bottom of the table and picking up just three wins all season with the club now widely expected to be relegated under the IMG criteria.
Eccles has argued on multiple occasions that London would not have been in the situation they were in had IMG not doomed them from before a ball was kicked, with that near-certain relegation meaning that they struggled to recruit and build an adequate squad for Super League.
Nevertheless, Eccles certainly got his team playing with London one of the best teams to watch in the second half of the season despite the regular losses. Those regular losses and narrow defeats, including two golden point losses to Leeds Rhinos, made the three wins even sweeter.
His name will certainly raise eyebrows when you look upon the Super League table but he’s certainly deserving of the nomination.
Another man who has been nominated and done an incredible job with limited resources is Salford coach Paul Rowley who guided his side to fourth place despite losing several stars before the season began.
The list is rounded off with Wigan’s Matt Peet and Hull KR’s Willie Peters, the coaches in charge of Super League’s top two teams.
Super League confirm Coach of the Year candidates
Credit: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
A statement from Super League confirmed the four nominees.
It read: “Mike Eccles of London Broncos is among four nominees to be the Betfred Super League Coach of the Year for 2024, even though his team finished bottom of the table.
“Eccles is joined by Matt Peet of Wigan Warriors, Willie Peters of Hull KR and Paul Rowley of Salford Red Devils following a poll of the 12 Super League head coaches – with the winner to be named at Rugby League’s Awards Night next Tuesday (October 8) at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
“Eccles was named Betfred Championship Coach of the Year in 2023 after steering the Broncos to a surprise promotion to the Super League, and has earned widespread admiration for the way his team have responded to a wide range of challenges, remaining competitive in the vast majority of their matches even though they only secured three wins.
“It is a third consecutive nomination for both Peet and Rowley. Peet, who won the award in his first season as head coach of Wigan in 2022, has steered them to a second consecutive League Leaders’ Shield and picked up two other trophies, with victories over Penrith Panthers in the World Club Challenge in February, and over Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Challenge Cup Final at Wembley in June.
“Rowley maintained his remarkable record of defying pessimistic pre-season predictions for Salford, with the Red Devils finishing fourth in the table to secure their second appearance in the Play-Offs in three years.
“This is a first nomination for Peters, the Australian who took charge at Hull KR last season, and has followed a successful debut campaign in which they qualified for the Play-Offs and reached Wembley in the Challenge Cup by achieving greater consistency to secure a top two finish – the club’s first in the Super League era.”
