The Canberra Raiders have appointed the clubs NYC Coach Brett White as Assistant Coach for the next two seasons, replacing Dean Pay, who finished with the club to take up the Head Coaching role with the Bulldogs.
White joined the club from the Melbourne Storm as a player in 2011, retiring at the end of 2014. He then joined the Raiders Coaching staff in 2015 before becoming Head Coach of the clubs NYC team in 2016, a position he continued this year.
White said he can’t wait to continue his career working with the Green Machine and said he’s looking forward to the challenges and next phase of his career as a Coach.
“I’m extremely excited, this is the club I grew up following and I was lucky to play for the Raiders. To now be a part of the coaching staff is a great honour,” White said. “To be able to work alongside Mick Crawley and Ricky Stuart is fantastic, they are two of the smartest individuals I have worked with.
“Pre-season can’t come quick enough, I wish the season kicked off next week. We’re all keen to get back into the swing of things and make sure we all fulfil our potential.”
Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart said White embodied the culture and work ethic of what he wants his players to aspire to and said he viewed him as a Coach on the rise.
“The one thing that I like is that he’s a Raider. He’s played at the club and he’s got that understanding of our fabric and what we’re trying to build,” Stuart said. “He had a culture that as a player I want in my current players, he’s got a great work ethic, he’s very professional and I think he’s got a very bright future as a Coach.”
Stuart said White had been approached by the Melbourne Storm at the beginning of the season to take on a coaching role in Melbourne, but knocked back the approach to remain at the Raiders.
“Brett showed a sense of trust in what we’re looking to achieve at this club and for him to stick loyal and knock back a big job like that shows he cares about our organisation,” Stuart said. “He gets the job because he’s a very diligent and thorough worker, a smart coach and has a great rapport with the players he’s coached at the club which is a good thing.”
