Roy Masters (rugby league coach)
Encyclopedia
Roy Masters is an Australian sports journalist and former rugby league football coach, sports administrator and . He is currently a sports columnist at the Sydney Morning Herald. He was originally a school teacher with an interest in team psychology. Masters is the son of author and journalist Olga Masters
and brother of prominent media notables including current affairs journalist Chris Masters
.
in the NSWRL competition in 1978. He was appointed even though he had no experience as a professional player. He re-built the Magpies, who had been in decline since suffering three successive grand final
losses to St George from 1961 to 1963. He coached the Magpies to a minor premiership
in 1978 and they played with consistent high quality during this period. Many acclaimed players were produced under his tutelage, including Les Boyd
and Tommy Raudonikis
.
Masters was a master of psychology, famously terming the Western Suburbs the "fibros" (a type of asbestos
sheeting commonly used in houses in the area) as opposed to Manly
(The Sea Eagles), whom he described as the "silvertail
s". This reflected both the socio-economics of the respective Sydney
suburbs and the financial situations of the clubs. He created this term after an exhibition match in Melbourne
. The Sea Eagles stayed at a luxury resort while Wests had to make do with a two star hotel. Masters left Western Suburbs when it emerged that the Magpies' affiliated leagues club at Ashfield
would no longer be able to support the incomes of his key "fibros" players.
Masters moved on to St George in 1982, reaching the Grand Final in 1985 but losing to Canterbury-Bankstown 7-6. Masters is regarded as the finest coach to have never won a premiership because he was seemingly able to help financially struggling clubs to perform above their ability. He was awarded the Dally M coach of the year in 1985.
In September 2004 Masters was named as coach of the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.
, and also appears on the ABC-TV sports panel show Offsiders
.
Masters did not support Super League
when it emerged in 1995 and is well-known for his support for rugby league traditions. He is also respected for his analytical skill, and is highly regarded by current players, a rarity for a member of the media.
Masters also covers soccer, boxing and a variety of other sports, famously criticising American jingoism
at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games
.
He is a strong supporter of John O'Neill
, the Australian Rugby Union
chief executive (and former Football Federation Australia
CEO) who led the federation to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. However, Masters has criticised FFA chairman Frank Lowy
in a series of articles detailing Australian soccer's financial problems, in spite of the Socceroos' success at the World Cup. He questioned whether Lowy, Australia's second richest man, would repay an Australian Sports Commission loan of over A$
3 million, to help develop a national league. In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lowy questioned Masters' journalistic credibility, saying among other things that Masters was a "Rugby League commentator". Masters then revealed that his great uncle James "Judy" Masters was a former captain of the Australian national team
.
In 2005 Masters gave the 7th annual Tom Brock Lecture
. He also made an appearance in the 2007 rugby league drama film The Final Winter
.
Olga Masters
Olga Masters née Lawler was an Australian journalist, novelist and short story writer.-Life:Olga Masters was born in Pambula, New South Wales, the second of eight children. Her early life was characterised by the poverty of the depression era, her family moving around the South Coast region in...
and brother of prominent media notables including current affairs journalist Chris Masters
Chris Masters (writer)
Christopher "Chris" Wayne Masters PSM is a multi-Walkley Award winning and Logie Award winning Australian journalist and author.-Life:Chris Masters was born in Grafton, New South Wales...
.
Rugby League coach
Masters began his career coaching at the Western Suburbs MagpiesWestern Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
in the NSWRL competition in 1978. He was appointed even though he had no experience as a professional player. He re-built the Magpies, who had been in decline since suffering three successive grand final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
losses to St George from 1961 to 1963. He coached the Magpies to a minor premiership
Minor premiership
A minor premiership is the name of the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the playoffs....
in 1978 and they played with consistent high quality during this period. Many acclaimed players were produced under his tutelage, including Les Boyd
Les Boyd
Les Boyd is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales side in the State of Origin...
and Tommy Raudonikis
Tommy Raudonikis
Tommy Raudonikis OAM is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played over twenty-nine Tests and World Cup games as Australia representative halfback and captained his country in two Tests of the 1973 Kangarooo tour.-Early life and club playing career:Raudonikis is the son of a...
.
Masters was a master of psychology, famously terming the Western Suburbs the "fibros" (a type of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
sheeting commonly used in houses in the area) as opposed to Manly
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
(The Sea Eagles), whom he described as the "silvertail
Silver spoon
The English language expression silver spoon is synonymous with wealth, especially inherited wealth; someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in his mouth". As an adjective, "silver-spoon" describes someone who has a prosperous background or is of a...
s". This reflected both the socio-economics of the respective Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburbs and the financial situations of the clubs. He created this term after an exhibition match in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The Sea Eagles stayed at a luxury resort while Wests had to make do with a two star hotel. Masters left Western Suburbs when it emerged that the Magpies' affiliated leagues club at Ashfield
Ashfield, New South Wales
Ashfield is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 9 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Ashfield.The official name for the...
would no longer be able to support the incomes of his key "fibros" players.
Masters moved on to St George in 1982, reaching the Grand Final in 1985 but losing to Canterbury-Bankstown 7-6. Masters is regarded as the finest coach to have never won a premiership because he was seemingly able to help financially struggling clubs to perform above their ability. He was awarded the Dally M coach of the year in 1985.
In September 2004 Masters was named as coach of the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.
Journalism
Masters is a columnist at The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, and also appears on the ABC-TV sports panel show Offsiders
Offsiders
Offsiders is an Australian television sports program, that is currently airing live on Sunday mornings at 10.30am on both ABC1 and ABC News 24 networks . It began airing in 2005...
.
Masters did not support Super League
Super League (Australia)
Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
when it emerged in 1995 and is well-known for his support for rugby league traditions. He is also respected for his analytical skill, and is highly regarded by current players, a rarity for a member of the media.
Masters also covers soccer, boxing and a variety of other sports, famously criticising American jingoism
Jingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
.
He is a strong supporter of John O'Neill
John O'Neill (sport administrator)
John O'Neill is an Australian sporting administrator. He has been involved with both rugby union and football at the national level, after being head of the NSW State Bank...
, the Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
chief executive (and former Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
CEO) who led the federation to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. However, Masters has criticised FFA chairman Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy, AC is an Australian-Israeli businessman. He is a co-founder of the Westfield Group, operator of over 100 shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain...
in a series of articles detailing Australian soccer's financial problems, in spite of the Socceroos' success at the World Cup. He questioned whether Lowy, Australia's second richest man, would repay an Australian Sports Commission loan of over A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
3 million, to help develop a national league. In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lowy questioned Masters' journalistic credibility, saying among other things that Masters was a "Rugby League commentator". Masters then revealed that his great uncle James "Judy" Masters was a former captain of the Australian national team
Australia national football (soccer) team
The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
.
In 2005 Masters gave the 7th annual Tom Brock Lecture
Tom Brock Lecture
The Tom Brock Lecture is an annual scholarly lecture organised by the Australian Society for Sports History under the bequest of Australian sports historian Tom Brock. The topic of the lecture is the history of rugby league football...
. He also made an appearance in the 2007 rugby league drama film The Final Winter
The Final Winter
The Final Winter is an Australian drama film released in 2007. It was directed by Brian Andrews and Jane Forrest and produced by Anthony Coffee, and Michelle Russell, while independently produced it is being distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was written by Matthew Nable who also starred as the...
.