Brian Smith (rugby league)

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Brian Smith is a former Australian rugby league player who played 13 first grade games for St. George (1974), and 17 for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (1975-1979), playing 30 first grade games all up. He also played for Port Kembla in 1977.

However, Smith is best known as a coach, having been at the helm of Illawarra Steelers, Hull FC, St. George Dragons, Bradford, and most recently the Parramatta Eels.

Brian Smith

Personal information
Full name	Brian Smith
Date of birth	March 14, 1954
Position	Coach
Club information
Current club	Newcastle
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1973-74 1975-76 1979	St George South Sydney South Sydney	13 16 1
Professional clubs coached
1984-87 1988-90 1991-95 1996 1997-2006 2007-present	Illawarra Hull FC St George Bradford Parramatta Newcastle
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only.

Record: Played 457, Won 239, Lost 208, Drawn 10 (Winning Percentage 52.30%)

Grand Finals: Hull 1988-89 (lost to Widnes), St George 1992 (lost to Brisbane), St George 1993 (lost to Brisbane), Parramatta 2001 (lost to Newcastle). Winning Perecentage 0%

Finals Games: Finals Games contested as at 2006, 24, Won 12, lost 12. Winning Percentage 50%;

Finals Strike Rate: Seasons coached in ARL/NRL as at 2006, 19. Made finals, 10 Seasons. Strike Rate Percentage 52.6% (ie about every second season finals are made).

He resigned as coach of the Parramatta Eels on 15 May 2006, with assistant coach Jason Taylor taking over as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season.

Smith had a short spell with the Bradford Bulls in an advisory role during the summer of 2006, and in 2007, Smith will take up coaching duties with the Newcastle Knights.

He is the older brother of Great Britain and Leeds coach Tony Smith

Teams coached:

• Newtown under 23 yr olds — 1978
• South Sydney Rabbitohs under 23 yr olds — 1980-1981
• South Sydney Rabbitohs — 1982
• Illawarra Steelers (NSWRL first grade) — 1984-87
• Hull FC (England) — 1988-90
• St. George Dragons (NSWRL/ARL first grade) — 1991-95
• Bradford (England) — 1996.
• Parramatta Eels (ARL/NRL first grade) — 1997-2006 (Smith resigned partway through the 2006 season.)

Representative teams coached:

• Country — 2001-03

FINALS COACHING RECORD IN AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE

Coach of Illawarra

1984 Did not make finals

1985 Did not make finals

1986 Did not make finals

1987 Did not make finals

Coach of St George

1991 Did not make finals

1992 Major Preliminary Semi 06-Sep-1992 Lost

Minor Semi 2-Sep-1992 Won

Preliminary Final 20-Sep-1992 Won

Grand Final 27-Sep-1992 Lost

1993 Major Preliminary Semi 04-Sep-1993 Won

Major Semi 12-Sep-1993 Won

Grand Final 26-Sep-1993 Lost

1994 Did not make finals

1995 Quarter Final 02-Sep-1995 Lost

Coach of Parramatta

1997 Minor Qualifying Final 07-Sep-1997 Lost

Major Qualifying Final 13-Sep-1997 Lost

1998 Major Preliminary Semi 29-Aug-1998 Won

Major Semi 06-Sep-1998 Won

Final 20-Sep-1998 Lost (after leading 18-0)

1999 Qualifying Final 04-Sep-1999 Won

Preliminary Final 18-Sep-1999 Lost

2000 Qualifying Final 05-Aug-2000 Won

Semi Final 12-Aug-2000 Won

Preliminary Final 20-Aug-2000 Lost

2001 Qualifying Final 09-Sep-2001 Won

Preliminary Final 23-Sep-2001 Won

Grand Final 30-Sep-2001 Lost

2002 Qualifying Final 14-Sep-2002 Lost

2003 Did not make finals

2004 Did not make finals

2005 Qualifying Final 11-Sep-2005 Won

Preliminary Final 25-Sep-2005 Lost

2006 resigned mid season.

Coaching highlights:

• Premiership final with Hull in 1989
• Consecutive grand finals with St. George in 1992 and 1993
• Dally M coach of the year 2001.
• Minor Premiership and Grand final with Parramatta in 2001.
• Most wins as Parramatta first grade coach
• Longest serving Parramatta first grade coach.

Other Interesting Facts

As at December 2006, No Australian Rugby League club has ever won a premiership after being coached by Brian Smith.

Preceded by Allan Fitzgibbon 1982 - 1983	Coach Illawarra Steelers 1984-1987	Succeeded by Terry Fearnley 1988
Preceded by Craig Young 1989-1990	Coach St. George Dragons 1991-1995	Succeeded by David Waite 1996-1998
Preceded by Peter Fox	Coach Bradford Bulls 1995-1996	Succeeded by Matthew Elliott
Preceded by Ron Hilditch 1993-1996	Coach Parramatta Eels 1997-2006	Succeeded by Jason Taylor Caretaker coach 2006
Preceded by Michael Hagan 2001-2006	Coach Newcastle Knights 2007-	Succeeded by current coach