As Canberra boss Don Furner puts it, his brother David hasn’t earned vindication, but rather a stay of execution.
With his NRL team languishing in second last spot on the ladder when booed off their home ground after a 40-0 hammering by Wests Tigers, the calls for coach David Furner’s head could not have been louder.
There was talk NSW Origin mentor Ricky Stuart was being lined up to take over in 2013, with the whole situation complicated by the fact the man in the middle was the coach’s brother, Raiders chief executive Don Furner.
The Raiders’ decision to stick by their coach paid dividends with the Green Machine winning eight of their last 10 matches in the regular season to sneak into the top eight – before opening the finals with an impressive 34-16 win over Cronulla.
But history has proved time and again, winning streaks don’t deliver any guarantees for coaches.
“You come out and have a bad start to next year and the same thing happens,” said Don Furner. “That’s the reality of it.
“Similar calls happened mid-2010, calling for his (David’s) head.
“He turned it around and won eight in a row and made the semis.
“It buys you a bit of time but it doesn’t buy you a lifetime.”
The Raiders proudly boast they have never sacked a coach mid-contract, and Don said there was never any intention to start doing so with David, who has a deal with the club through to the end of 2014.
But Don also heard the whispers that the reason David was not being cut was because he was his brother.
He points out that call lies with the club’s board.
He also firmly believes their family ties have made life much tougher, not easier, for David.
“I don’t appoint myself to the job and I don’t appoint the coach,” Don said.
“I used to hear it all the time, the nepotism calls.
“I reckon it’s harder for him than if he wasn’t my brother. Because as soon as you have a few losses that call will always be there.
“If his surname was Jones it would be different.”
But it’s not, which is why all the criticism of the coach hurt Don as much as it did David.
“It’s hard, he’s my brother and I love him,” Don says.
“We’ve been involved in footy since we’ve been six years of age. We’ve seen it all, heard it all, but it doesn’t make it easy.
“We’re reasonably well experienced to cope with it but it’s still not nice – people having a go at your brother and he’s copping it.
“That’s the side that people don’t see.
“The only time I saw him really affected was when personal stuff came through. His son might be getting abuse and that sort of stuff.
“When that stuff hits home and people leave letters in the letter box. The personal stuff is when he sort of went `Is it all worth it?'”
While the abuse may not have been worth it, David’s persistence was, with the Raiders just two wins away from what would be a miraculous grand final berth.
It’s not new territory for David, who was there in 2010 when Canberra was one missed Jarrod Croker penalty kick away from golden point and potentially playing in a preliminary final.
But as both Furners can attest, things can quickly go pear-shaped. Like they did in this year’s round 13 mauling by the Tigers, the club’s worst home loss in 27 years.
If you have to reach the bottom before you start your rise, the Raiders certainly found bottom amid the rain and gloom that evening.
“We got flogged by Wests here and they were getting booed off and that hurt them a lot,” Don said.
“The coach said `We’ve got to get them out of Canberra because they’re copping it and it’s just going to kill their confidence’.
“They went into camp against Newcastle at Newcastle, no-one gave us a hope in the world and that (win) gave them a bit of confidence.”
With 10 wins from their next 13 games, the Raiders haven’t looked back since.