In conversations around the time of Jason Demetriou’s removal from South Sydney, Michael Cheika made it known he was interested in pursuing a job in the NRL but didn’t want to become that guy.

You know the one: the coach included on every shortlist of potential candidates when a job comes up, but whose chances of getting hired fade with every mention.

So there was a certain irony that within the space of 90 minutes on Bloody Monday, Cheika’s name was again on the lists of possible replacements for two departing coaches in two different codes.

In the “where to next” section of stories on the sacking of Parramatta’s Brad Arthur and the Waratahs’ announcement they would not be-resigning Darren Coleman, there was Cheika’s name.

It can’t be considered a bad thing, of course. In the NRL context, Cheika’s inclusion as an option for proud old clubs like Souths, the Dragons and Parramatta is mildly remarkable and a testament to his reputation as a players’ coach, which in the 13-man game was earned from a short stint as coach of Lebanon.

But there’s a big difference between being that guy and the guy, and it won’t have escaped Cheika’s notice that the man who will get the Souths job – and was chased for the Parramatta post, too – was the highly experienced, highly successful old bloke on the market next year: Wayne Bennett.

Michael Cheika took Lebanon to the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup in........

© WA Today