Neal keen to stay at Swords

If you do what you always do, you will get what you always get. That is what Northern Swords Premiers coach Revell Neal often reminded his team at training this season.
New Zealand Rugby League's inaugural National Competition saw the return of Northland to provincial rugby league. Their absence from playing provincial footy showed in the results, with six heavy losses (and a bye) from seven rounds placing them on the bottom of the table. The short and sharp representative season proved to be a huge learning curve for everyone involved.
It was one of the Auckland coach's most challenging stints in his established coaching career.
Neal has received abusive texts from disgruntled players and supporters who believed he was the wrong person for the job over the past two months. He had to find players to fill the gaps in his team left by some squad members who left him in the lurch on game days.
Despite all the challenges, he has come out the other side with the same enthusiasm to coach the Swords if re-selected, that he had when he first started training the team in August.
He said he would definitely be putting his hand up for the role again, but he would be a little more realistic when setting goals next year.
"It is a long project - as long as five years - before Northland will become competitive in this competition. We need to set lower targets and chip away at them - if we can get the scorelines down to the 50s next year that would be an improvement. We need to show an improvement over the next three years or I'm not really sure what action NZRL would take," Neal said.
To see improvements at this level, change is necessary.
"Things need to change for the betterment of rugby league in Northland, not for any individual or club and I think people need to remember that.
"Some of these losses have been some of the biggest I've ever had while coaching, but it wouldn't be fair if I walked away. I would do things differently next year - the trials were a little rushed after the coaches were appointed and some of the players said they were not told about them.We used over 30 players this season trying to find the right combinations, and with people not showing up each week consistently."
The local competition needs to be examined and preparations for the representative season need to start early in the year, during the club season.
"They are looking at the possibility of adding two extra teams to the club competition - one from Kaitaia and one south of Takahiwai. We could also try and get some pre-National Competition rep games happening - if we are strong at the top it will filter down to all the grades."
Some league supporters voiced concerns about having Auckland coaches in charge of the Northland teams. While Neal was supportive of local coaches taking the reins of their local team, he said every coach, including himself, constantly needed to up-skill by attending courses to meet the standard required to coach a team at provincial level.
Neal along with Portland coach Craig Bird and Kaikohe coach Benson Selwyn were all attending a coaching course at the Millennium Institute of Sport with the Kiwi League team today. Each coach would take from it what they wanted and adapt it to their own coaching style, Neal said.
While it was only a short season with the team, Neal said it was sad leaving the team.
"You get quite attached to the boys. There are a core group of talented players that need to be nourished, who showed commitment and they are keen to stick around again next year. It would be a shame if a new coach came in and didn't know the hard work they put in this year."
Two players who stood out for Neal was Aaron Ferguson of Takahiwai and Kaikohe's Tane Ravlick. Following next Sunday's National Competition finals, the coach will sit down with Northern Zone general manager Rob Wakelin and report to the NZRL on what changes they want made, the lessons learned and the NZRL and the Northern Zone board will decide what action to take next year, and who will be in charge.
The biggest positive from the season was getting the Swords up and running and getting Northland back playing representative footy, along with seeing some players develop and gain from the experience of competing at this level, the coach said.