Cronulla may turn attention to Raper

The Australian club, Cronulla, expect Chris Anderson to take up his post as coach, despite the heart attack that kept him in hospital in Wigan as the victorious Kangaroos flew home yesterday.

Anderson will be in hospital for a week and could need to recuperate in Britain for up to six weeks. He was due to take over at Cronulla on his return to Australia, but there is now obvious doubt about his ability to do so.

In that case, the Sharks could turn to Stuart Raper, who was shortlisted for the job while still at Castleford. When he missed out on a return to his former club, he took over at Wigan in mid-season, steering them to the Super League Grand Final.

Raper has three years of his contract to run at Wigan, but the prospect of coaching at Cronulla is the one thing that might tempt him away.

According to Cronulla, it should not come to that. The club's president, Barry Pierce, said they were confident that Anderson would make a full recovery. "We'll have to wait for medical reports," he said. "But, as far as we're concerned, nothing will change here."

Wigan had planned to make an announcement yesterday about their coaching structure with Denis Betts expected to take over the Under-17 side while retiring as a player with two years of his contract to run.

Betts had been told that he no longer figured in Raper's first-team plans, but the press conference to reveal his change of career direction was postponed yesterday morning. Great Britain's most-capped forward is now 32, but could now still opt to continue as a player.

An "implementation team" including the Wigan chairman, Maurice Lindsay, has arrived at the Rugby League's headquarters in Leeds with a brief to shake up its business operations.

The League has indicated that New Zealand's tour next autumn will be an extended visit, consisting of 10 games, including three Tests and an international against Wales.