NRL: Bell puts onus on players

Dean Bell is the Warriors newly appointed recruitment and development manager. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Dean Bell didn't mince his words when he returned to New Zealand two years ago.

Asked how Wigan, a club whose domination of the English game during his time there as a player was utterly complete, had fallen to the point where it was a serious relegation contender, Bell said: "We signed too many crap players."

Now, as the club's newly appointed recruitment and development manager, Bell's primary task is to ensure that doesn't happen at the Warriors.

Of course, there's a lot more to it than that. Bell will continue to have a hand in the club's junior operations, and will be responsible for assessing the return it is getting from the players already on the books. He will assess wage levels, manage the salary cap, and implement a rolling recruiting strategy.

Primarily, though, it will be his job to make sure the club brings in only prime cattle. It is a big step up, he says, from his previous job as the NYC team's manager.

His new post will put him the firing line, and take him out of his comfort zone. Helping young players avoid the pitfalls and overcome the hurdles on the way to the big time has been Bell's forte since he called time on one of the game's most glittering playing careers. He helped to set up the academy at Leeds and then spent seven years as Wigan's head of youth development.

Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah promised to put "rugby league people" in key positions as part of the club's structural overhaul. They don't come any more rugby league than Bell. He's been there and done that. He's seen how it should be done in Wigan's dynasty years, and how it shouldn't as that dynasty was allowed to unravel.

Even so, his new role puts his head firmly above the parapet at a time when it's fair to say things in Penrose could be going a bit better. His wife is nervous. That will be the job security thing. Bell is excited, and a bit flattered.

"I suppose it is a big vote of confidence in my ability that this was where the club wanted me," he said.

"I didn't put my hand up. To me, it is always about what I can do for the club, not what it can do for me. I come from the old school. Being brought up in South Auckland and playing for Manukau and working, I am grateful for everything I have got out of the game. It is about me putting back."

There will be a honeymoon period. Bell isn't responsible for the current players, many of whom he says let themselves down this year. There will, however, be no immediate purge.

"It's up to [the players] to raise their game," he said.

"At the end of the day, most of it comes down to the players. They need to show the best of themselves. That is going to help me and [coach] Ivan [Cleary] and everybody at the club make a decision on [their futures]."

Bell will need to work closely with Cleary. While it will be his job to identify the talent, he needs to find players the coach can work with.

"[Cleary] is the one who is leading the ship. He is the one who takes all of the credit and takes all of the shit when things go wrong."

One of the most important assignments on his to-do list is to bring in the next marquee player when Steve Price departs the scene.

That player will almost certainly be a halfback, with Jonathan Thurston heading the club's wish-list.

"We are very hopeful that Brett Seymour, James Maloney and Shaun Johnson are going to work for us, but they are not marquee players yet. They may turn out to be but if that doesn't happen then we will need to obviously fill that position.

"It is all about recognising the gaps in our line-up.

"Everyone wants Jonathan Thurston but you've got to be able to fit him under your cap. So you've got to make sure that you are working towards that happening, that you can actually go after those players."