Giants and Wolves bosses are real Australian Neighbours - amazing story

Aug 28 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

NEIGHBOURS

THEY will walk out at Wembley tomorrow, side by side.

Nathan Brown and Tony Smith will then watch their respective sides, Huddersfield Giants and Warrington Wolves, do battle in the Carnegie Challenge Cup.

But a series of remarkable coincidences lies behind tomorrow’s duel.

Not least the fact that the two coaches, who now live only 10 minutes apart, actually grew up together in a small, Australian town.

Maclean is located on several hills adjacent the Pacific Highway cutting through New South Wales, 667 km north-east of Sydney.

Tourism officials described it as one of those remarkable Australian towns which has an excess of attractive buildings and unusual things to see.

But this weekend it’s main claim to fame is that it produced the two coaches taking centre stage in the sport of Rugby League.

It was only a few minutes after Warrington won a place in Great Britain’s premier rugby league event that Tony Smith sent a text message to his former playing partner and now coaching rival Nathan Brown, of Huddersfield.

The content was not one of regular coaching rivals.

Smith’s message was to highlight the extraordinary coincidence of two coaches from the one small town – population only 3,500 – on the North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, facing off for one of the sport’s most prized trophies.

Smith and Brown, one time playing partners at St George, where they were coached by Smith’s brother Brian in the Australian Rugby League, are both from Maclean.

It’s known locally as the Scottish town in Australia.

Smith’s mother, Clarrice, is already in the UK to watch her son’s team perform and Brown's father, John, flew in on Thursday just in time for the game.

John Brown, a former coach of the Maclean-based Lower Clarence Rugby League Football Club, said his son Nathan had always been interested in rugby league.

He wanted the young Nathan to play soccer because of his size, but Nathan stood his ground and insisted he play league with his mates.

So, right through his school years Nathan played for Maclean and Lower Clarence sides until his talent-spotting father sent six of his mates to St George for trials.

He hadn’t sent Nathan, thinking he was too slow for the quick-paced Sydney competition.