IT’S always interesting to hear from players about their former coaches and who had the most impact on their careers.
Those coaches that handed players their professional debuts are always thanked whilst, along the way, others leave a lasting legacy on stars throughout the leagues.
For former Castleford, St Helens and Salford man Jordan Turner, who has made almost 400 career domestic appearances, he will always remember those coaches that helped him make the step up initially.
“First and foremost, Lee Spencer, Alan Hunte and Karl Harrison played a huge part in my early development at Salford and helped me take my first steps in the professional game,” Turner told League Express.
“Without their help initially, my career would have been different, each one of them took a chance on me when others had different opinions.
“Karl Harrison gave me my debut which I will always be thankful for.”
Turner was also keen to emphasise just how important Nathan Brown and Daryl Powell were to his development too.
“Nathan Brown at St Helens, he made me think about the game completely differently and made me realise I could do stuff that I didn’t know I could. He brought the best out of me.
“The other coach is Daryl Powell at Castleford. I wish I would have had a bit more time with Daryl. It was quite evident when i went to Cas he was like Nathan Brown in what he saw in me.
“I think if I would have had more time with him in my career, things could have been different but it’s all shoulda, woulda, coulda.”
Turner emphasised that the belief that Powell showed in players was enough to motivate them to do their utmost for the head coach.
“He didn’t really do anything in particular that would stand out but the one thing he did do was he showed faith in me. You could see he believed in me and wanted me to play in his team.
“The way he saw the game and the way he attacked and defended suited my game because I have similar views to the way Daryl sees the game.
“You saw with Daryl, before he went to Warrington, he would bring in a calibre of player and then they all of a sudden fitted to his system. That’s the sign of a top, top coach.
“I think that’s why I did so well in that team, he saw my strengths and let me play to them.”
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