PAUL ANDERSON will return from his three-week fact-finding trip to Australia next week.
But he can forget about having any time off when he gets back to Huddersfield!
In fact, by the time the Giants No2 and head coach-in-waiting has got over his jet-lag, he’ll be boarding a plane with the rest of the squad to head off to the South of France for next Saturday’s top-of-the-table Super League clash against Catalan Dragons.
That’s going to be a tough ask for the former Great Britain prop.
But Galpharm chief Nathan Brown knows Anderson will be relishing the trip to the Dragons and being able to tell everyone all about his experiences Down Under.
“I’ve been catching up with Baloo on an almost daily basis, and he’s really enjoying it,” said the former head coach at top Australian NRL club St George Dragons, who helped set up a number of meetings for Anderson while he was out there.
“In the time he’s been there he’s visited the Dragons, Sydney City Roosters, Wests Tigers, Canterbury Bulldogs and South Sydney.
“He’s been able to watch them train, seen how the clubs’ respective coaching teams go about their business and had a look at the way they prepare for games. On top of that, he’s also observed the various conditioning methods.
“In other words, he’s been overwhelmed with information over the past few weeks, and he couldn’t be happier!
“For either an assistant or head coach over here, there’s no better experience than doing what Baloo’s doing over there.
“I know he’s picked up a great deal from Tim Sheens, Brian Smith and Des Hasler, who are three of the most successful coaches in the Australian game, and is intending to take a lot of what they’ve told him on board.
“But I’m sure he’ll be keeping a lot of that to himself, and saving it for next year when I’ve moved on!
“For obvious reasons, he’s also not likely to be telling me if he’s spotted any potential targets for next season. I know he’s grateful I’ve helped him sort out the trip, but I’ll draw the line at that!”
Although Brown used a lot of his own contacts to set up visits for Anderson, the current Giants’ assistant also arranged a number of meetings himself while he was out there.
And Brown is aware that meant he had even less spare time.
“I managed to sort out a fair bit for him, and that would have kept him fairly busy,” added Brown.
“But Baloo wasn’t content with that, he went out and sorted out even more meetings. Fair play to him for that.
“Over the years Baloo has obviously played with a lot of Australians and struck up strong relationships with them, and that’s clearly helped him open up a few more doors while he’s been out there.
“He knows as well as anyone you can never learn too much on trips like this. In terms of his coaching development there’s nothing to compare to the last there weeks he’s just had.
“I’m sure he’ll be feeling a bit tired when he first gets back to England, but judging by how enthusiastic he is every time I speak to him I know how much he’s looking forward to getting back here to tell us all about it.
“Having said that, we haven’t lost while he’s been away, so may be he should stay out there!”
