Introduction
Steve Folkes (born 31 January 1959) is a former Australian rugby league test footballer and former coach of the Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. He is currently the assistant coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Playing career
Folkes, who was Captain of Punchbowl Boys' High School, came from the Bankstown Sports Junior Rugby League Club, played 245 first grade games and 308 grade games for the Bulldogs between 1978 and 1991 as well as 24 games for Hull in England. A hard-working second-row forward; despite playing at 85 kilograms, he could beat many, much bigger opponents through the number of tackles he was able to make. He also represented New South Wales on nine occasions in State of Origin football. At the end of the 1986 NSWRL season, he went on the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. He would play a total of five Tests between 1986-88. As a player, Folkes played in 6 Grand Finals (1979, 80, 84, 85, 86 and 88) winning on four occasions.
Coaching career
After serving as reserve grade coach of the Bulldogs between 1996 and 1997, Folkes was appointed coach of the Bulldogs to succeed Chris Anderson. In his first year as coach, the Bulldogs made the 1998 NRL grand final, where they lost to Wayne Bennett's Brisbane Broncos.
The Bulldogs appeared poised to claim the 2002 NRL premiership but were disqualified and stripped 37 premiership points after a major salary cap breach was uncovered. Folkes claimed his premiership two seasons later with a 16–13 defeat of the Sydney Roosters in the grand final.
Steve Folkes was awarded Dally M Coach of the Year in 2004.
The 2004 grand final victory continues a unique tradition at the Bulldogs - every coach appointed by the club since 1978 - (Ted Glossop, Warren Ryan, Phil Gould, Chris Anderson and Folkes) - has won a premiership. At the end of the 2007 season, Folkes' win record with the Bulldogs was 60%. On 7 April 2008, the Bulldogs announced that Folkes tenure as would end with the 2008 season.
Following his departure from the Bulldogs, Folkes took up a position as strength and conditioning coach for the West Indies cricket team. In October 2009, Folkes returned to rugby league, accepting the role of strength and conditioning coach for the Wests Tigers. In 2011, he was an assistant coach with the club.
It was announced in May 2011 that Folkes would join the St George Illawarra Dragons as the assistant coach to Steve Price from 2012.
Personal life
Folkes was married to Karen, the daughter of Bulldogs 'godfather', Peter Moore. She died on 2 June 2013 from cancer.
Coaching record
| Steve Folkes - Coaching Results by Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Team | Year | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Win % | Finals Series |
| Bulldogs | 1998 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 58.62% | Grand Final: 12-38 v Brisbane |
| 1999 | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 61.53% | Semi Final: 22-24 v Melbourne | |
| 2000 | 26 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 38.46% | ||
| 2001 | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 60.71% | Semi Final: 10-52 v Cronulla | |
| 2002 | 24 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 83.3% | ||
| 2003 | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 62.96% | Preliminary Final: 18-28 v Sydney Roosters | |
| 2004 | 28 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 78.57% | Grand Final: 16-13 v Sydney Roosters | |
| 2005 | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 37.5% | ||
| 2006 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 65.38% | Preliminary Final: 20-37 v Brisbane | |
| 2007 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 46.15% | Semi Final: 6-25 v Parramatta | |
| 2008 | 24 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 20.83% | ||
| Career | 288 | 162 | 119 | 7 | 56.3% | at 30 September 2008 | |