David Furner and the Raiders.

^ all agreed to. Dave obviously has the respect of the players, and is senior enough not to have played with any of them (save maybe Tonguey in his rookie year).

Seems like a bit of a hard bastard, too, so hopefully the Neil Henry “Treat ’em mean, keep em keen” fitness strategy will continue under Dave’s tenure. That added fitness was one of the reasons why we were so good in 2008.

I think the real issue with Dave is what will happen if he doesn’t perform. Somehow I can’t see a night of the long knives taking place while his brother is running the show.

I’ve got no problems with David Furner as a coach – he was a top flight player and a loyal club man and, as far as I can tell, he has served a decent coaching apprenticeship. What more can you ask for in a new coach?

If there is any problem, it could be that the Raider’s vision is limited to the whims of the Furner cabal. Father Don Sr is the Raiders foundation coach and patriarch while Don Jr is the current chief. I don’t doubt for a minute that they have the club’s best intentions at heart. However, I do wonder if they might exercise, for want of better term, groupthink and don’t necessarily come up with the best decisions. Nevertheless, I think Don Jr is the best CEO the Raiders have had in many years and have every faith that Dave will build on the Raider’s recent success.

What MrMagoo said

Unlike Mal ‘mini-bus’ Maninga (so called at the as he was half a coach)Furner has no direct ties to the current playing group, not having played alongside any of them. Thus there is a big enough gap to ensure he has respect from the playing group. Maninga struggled to find that gap between being one of the boys and coaching. He hadn’t been away anywhere near long enough.