Cowboys coach gets the blues

IF you are looking for angry, bitter and twisted, then you might as well forget hunting down Neil Henry.

As he sips his coffee and crunches into some toast at a Townsville coffee shop, Henry gives off an aura of contentment. It shouldn't be confused with being happy, mind you.

During a 110-minute chat, the deposed Cowboys coach smiles twice and laughs just once.

After being told this week that his services at the NRL club he clearly loves so much won't be required beyond this season, there is obvious disappointment and sadness and a distinct feeling of unfinished business.

But not resentment.

"As a coach there are a couple of things that you are reluctant to do and one is to make excuses," Henry said.

"The board gather information and make a decision that is in the best interests of the club and I can wear that.

"It's a bit of a bitter pill, but I understand their position and go 'well, ultimately, we're not where we want to be' and they have made a decision.

"Purely on results alone, I haven't got a leg to stand on."

North Queensland head into tonight's game in 13th with just six wins from 18 games.

It's far from where the team was expected to be after being touted among the premiership favourites at season's start.

But should 2013 results alone after two previous finals appearances be all that Henry's tenure at the Cowboys was based on?

"Jack Gibson once said 'when a team is going well it's not always because of the coach and the same applies when the team is going poorly', and it's true, you can't just put it down in black and white," he said.

And there are things that have worked against the club in 2013.

Perhaps most significant has been Matt Bowen, so crucial to the Cowboys' attack clicking, being hamstrung by his knee, then lack of continuity at hooker and in the halves along with some of their young guns failing to live up to expectation.

Off the field, the tragic death of Alex Elisala in April hit hard.

"For us to live up to the pre-season hype, it relies on the players playing at the standard that they were playing last year and the coach's role is to get that, too, but we also had unforseen things happen," Henry said.

"Things have transpired that have really upset our momentum. But if you don't look deeply into that sort of stuff then the easy thing is to say 'they're just not performing, why?' 'The coach'," Henry said.

"The season has been disappointing, but there are some pretty valid reasons for the team lacking cohesion.

"That's where I'm disappointed not to get another opportunity to prove they were the main reasons for this season."

Execution and errors have frustratingly let the Cowboys down often as they have lost numerous games by agonisingly close margins, but that fight from his players means Henry is confident he has never "lost the dressing room".

If he had, he doubts he would have been asked to see out the season. However, rugby league is a business and results are the bottom line.

Rumours got stronger with each game from May until after a June 30 board meeting when they appeared more like fact.

Henry took it in his stride, kept working his ridiculously long hours, but he admitted he felt for those around him - his wife Cath and two children and other coaching staff - as they were confronted with headlines and gossip that impacted on them as much as him.

"There's a real human element to coaching and it can be quite confronting to your family," he said. "But ... for all the criticism you get from the armchair critics ... 99 per cent of it is rewarding.

"You're putting smiles on people's faces and I've loved my time here."

When Henry rides into the sunset he will do so proud and hopeful of seeing the club achieve premiership glory.

"If we've got some men that can perform better and I'm not getting that out of them, well, I hope the new coach - for me and for this town - does do it because I want the club to be successful," he said.

Source: http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/08/03/386659_news.html

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