BRIAN SMITH (RUGBY LEAGUE)

'Brian Smith' was an Australian coach and former player of rugby league football. He played 13 first grade games for St. George (1974), and 17 for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (1975-1979), appearing 30 first grade games all up. He also played for Port Kembla in 1977. However, Smith is best known as a coach, having been at the helm of Illawarra Steelers, Hull FC, St. George Dragons, Bradford, Parramatta Eels and, most recently, is the Newcastle Knights.
Record: Played 457, Won 239, Lost 208, Drawn 10 (Winning Percentage 52.30%)
Grand Finals: Hull 1988-89 (lost to Widnes), St George 1992 (lost to Brisbane), St George 1993 (lost to Brisbane), Parramatta 2001 (lost to Newcastle). Winning Perecentage 0%
Finals Games: Finals Games contested as at 2006, 24, Won 12, lost 12. Winning Percentage 50%;
Finals Strike Rate: Seasons coached in ARL/NRL as at 2006, 19. Made finals, 10 Seasons. Strike Rate Percentage 52.6% (ie about every second season finals are made).
He resigned as coach of the Parramatta Eels on 15 May 2006, with assistant coach Jason Taylor taking over as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season.
Smith had a short spell with the Bradford Bulls in an advisory role during the summer of 2006, and in 2007, Smith will take up coaching duties with the Newcastle Knights.
He is the older brother of Great Britain and Leeds coach Tony Smith
Teams coached:

★ Newtown under 23 yr olds — 1978

★ South Sydney Rabbitohs under 23 yr olds — 1980-1981

★ South Sydney Rabbitohs — 1982

★ Illawarra Steelers (NSWRL first grade) — 1984-87

★ Hull FC (England) — 1988-90

★ St. George Dragons (NSWRL/ARL first grade) — 1991-95

★ Bradford (England) — 1996.

★ Parramatta Eels (ARL/NRL first grade) — 1997-2006 (Smith resigned partway through the 2006 season.)
Representative teams coached:

★ Country — 2001-03
'FINALS COACHING RECORD IN AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE'
'Coach of Illawarra'
'1984'
Did not make finals
'1985'
Did not make finals
'1986'
Did not make finals
'1987'
Did not make finals
'Coach of St George'
'1991'
Did not make finals
'1992'
Major Preliminary Semi
06-Sep-1992 Lost
Minor Semi
2-Sep-1992 Won
Preliminary Final
20-Sep-1992 Won
Grand Final
27-Sep-1992 Lost
'1993'
Major Preliminary Semi
04-Sep-1993 Won
Major Semi
12-Sep-1993 Won
Grand Final
26-Sep-1993 Lost
'1994'
Did not make finals
'1995'
Quarter Final
02-Sep-1995 Lost
'Coach of Parramatta'
'1997'
Minor Qualifying Final
07-Sep-1997 Lost
Major Qualifying Final
13-Sep-1997 Lost
'1998'
Major Preliminary Semi
29-Aug-1998 Won
Major Semi
06-Sep-1998 Won
Final
20-Sep-1998 Lost (after leading 18-0)
'1999'
Qualifying Final
04-Sep-1999 Won
Preliminary Final
18-Sep-1999 Lost
'2000'
Qualifying Final
05-Aug-2000 Won
Semi Final
12-Aug-2000 Won
Preliminary Final
20-Aug-2000 Lost
'2001'
Qualifying Final
09-Sep-2001 Won
Preliminary Final
23-Sep-2001 Won
Grand Final
30-Sep-2001 Lost
'2002'
Qualifying Final
14-Sep-2002 Lost
'2003'
Did not make finals
'2004'
Did not make finals
'2005'
Qualifying Final
11-Sep-2005 Won
Preliminary Final
25-Sep-2005 Lost
'2006'
resigned mid season.
'2007'
Began coaching Newcastle.
Coaching highlights:

★ Premiership final with Hull in 1989

★ Consecutive grand finals with St. George in 1992 and 1993

★ Dally M coach of the year 2001.

★ Minor Premiership and Grand final with Parramatta in 2001.

★ Most wins as Parramatta first grade coach

★ Longest serving Parramatta first grade coach.
'Other Interesting Facts'
As at December 2006, No Australian Rugby League club has ever won a premiership after being coached by Brian Smith.