Bluey ends coaching career

Brian (Bluey) McClennan, former league player and coach of the Warriors, Kiwis and, more recently, Hibiscus Coast Raiders, says he will never coach again.

He says league will always be part of his life, but since the death of his father, Mike McClennan (also a league player and coach), his heart is not in it anymore.

Bluey got his start at Raiders as a player and coach. He coached there when his sons were in junior teams and last year he volunteered to coach the Raiders Premier team, who competed in the Fox Memorial Championship.

After the Premier’s final game last season, in August, Bluey told the paper he was in it for the long haul but the death of his father, in October, changed everything.

“I was training with Raiders towards the end of last year and realised I had no spark for it anymore,” he says. “You have to have the energy to take it on, because you are dealing with the hopes and aspirations of young men and it is full-on. I realised that I can’t do it any more. I am 58 and I’ve done my bit to give back.”

He told the club his decision at the end of November.

However, he has no plans to cut all ties with the club in Stanmore Bay that has been such an important part of his life.

“I’ll pop down and watch Raiders games during the year and always be there if they need any outside assistance,” he says. “I was born into the game and have been in league every year of my life. I am always grumpy over summer waiting for the footy to start. I will always follow the sport, but now it will be from the sidelines.”

The Raiders’ team manager, Paul Davis, says that Bluey’s departure is a huge loss.

“His fingerprints are all over every bit of success this club has had,” Paul says. “He was hugely instrumental in putting this club on the map nearly 30 years ago. Last year he came back at exactly the right time, and with immediate impact. It was a fun and successful season. This season, while losing him is a huge loss, he has put the blocks in place for the Raiders to continue the momentum gained last year. And we plan to.”