RUGBY LEAGUE
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PAUL Upfield was never a quitter on the field and he's not about to walk away now from a legal fight with Orange Hawks.
Despite being awarded almost $50,000 in compensation after successfully suing City Of Orange Hawks for breaching its contract with him, Upfield fears he faces a continuing battle to receive the money as City Of Orange Hawks now trade through a different entity, Orange Hawks.
The legal toing-and-froing in the civil claims matter is set to continue - at least as far as Upfield is concerned.
"I'll fight, like most things in my life I'll fight,'' Upfield said.
"I've spent $15,000 of my own monies pursuing what I believe is my entitlement and I will continue to pursue it. I'll go as far as I have to.
"Four times after my sacking I pleaded with Hawks to sit down and work out a compromise. They're all of the belief I'll just go away but they've picked the wrong bloke if they believe that.''
Upfield was sacked as Hawks coach at a committee meeting on Tuesday, June 13, 2000.
Six months earlier he was the toast of the club after winning the Group 10 premiership in his first season as captain-coach.
Upfield came to Hawks as one of the most successful coaches in NSW Country.
He'd won premierships and lost grand finals with Bathurst Penguins and Parkes and in five seasons as a captain-coach he'd always taken his sides to the semi-finals.
But in 2000 at Hawks things turned sour.
Upfield retired as a player to concentrate on coaching and Hawks won only one of 10 games before his sacking.
With every loss the rumblings behind the scenes grew.
Upfield became the licensee of the Tattersall's Hotel in Blayney and Hawks questioned his commitment to coaching their premier league side.
"I couldn't win, everyone in Blayney hated me because I was tied to Hawks and everyone at Hawks hated me because they had the belief that I'd be tied up with Blayney,'' Upfield said.
Upfield's relationship with president Jeff Fallon, so strong in 1999, deteriorated.
Upfield said the players became nervous and worried about the club's future as Fallon had intended to step down as president in 2000. He said the players were concerned they wouldn't be paid and after a meeting the night before Upfield was sacked they wanted the coach and the president to sort out their differences.
But Upfield said he was never given the chance.
He attended training that Tuesday night but left when it was obvious the club didn't want him as coach. A phone call from Fallon the next morning confirmed what he already knew: He had been dumped as premier league coach.
After Upfield's sacking Fallon told the Central Western Daily: "I feel the club needs to be stabilised.'' Hawks also drafted a letter to Upfield listing what they claimed were contract breaches.
Rather than being a destabilising influence, Upfield claims he was the meat in the sandwich between the players and the club.
"If I had a destabilising effect why was I pleading with other committee members to stop the fighting. All I wanted to do was coach,'' he said.
"I couldn't get the players to play as good as they can while they've got worries about the club.
"I was trying to keep stories quiet but the players were asking more and more questions. I'd give them my version of what was happening because at the time it was upsetting the football club.''
Upfield attributed Hawks' on-field problems that season to a lack of recruiting and a hangover from winning the year before.
"We lost I don't know how many players from the year before ... Simon Hauville retired and came back late, Jamie Corcoran was out, we lost Jamy Forbes, Fuss Afoa, Steve Ekepati, Shep (Adam Shepherd) was injured fror most of the year, Daniel Waters, James Carrick ... the list goes on. The heart of the side was torn out,'' he said.
"The committee was of the belief we didn't need much to be successful that year.
"Part of the blame I can accept I should have pushed harder for the club to recruit players. Even the best clubs upgrade their player lists all the time.
"We had four or five young players playing in a premiership-winning side who thought they did it all and the next year didn't aim up.''
Asked if he deserved to be sacked, Upfield said: "Looking back on my coaching record and what I've done in football, I'll rest on that.''
Upfield describd his sacking as devastating.
"I haven't coached since, I coached Western Division but that was already set in stone before I was sacked,'' he said.
"I was heartened by the support of a lot of players. Jamie Corcoran at least had the guts to jump on television and speak his mind
"At the time I couldn't walk around town.''
When contacted by the Central Western Daily current Hawks president Peter Ostini and former president Jeff Fallon both declined to comment.