The NRL might be the top competition in the rugby league world but it is not the be-all and end-all of the sport. Three Australian coaches are finding that out as they make their mark in the UK.

England is a great setting for Aussies to learn their trade and get their first chance in charge of a first-grade side. NRL jobs are scarce and it is notoriously difficult for an aspiring young coach to get a shot.

Wests Tigers boss Mick Potter did a few years in Super League, the same as Roosters supremo Trent Robinson with Catalan and a number of NRL assistant coaches like Matt Parish, Terry Matterson, Justin Morgan, Peter Gentle and Andrew Webster have too. The English game has long been the place where antipodeans go to gain experience in a top job, from Shaun McRae and Tony Smith to Ian Millward and Michael Maguire.

Many have come home and then flourished in the NRL, like Maguire at Souths and Robinson at the Roosters.

At the moment there are three young Australian coaches, each on different paths and different levels, but each finding their way in rugby league in the Old Dart with varying levels of success.

At the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats James Webster found himself thrust in the head coaching position after Richard Agar left the club in May. It was unexpected and took the former Balmain and Parramatta halfback, who had been an assistant coach for five years, by surprise.

But since taking over the Super League club Webster hasn’t looked back. Generally one of the competition’s underachievers, who finished 11th in 2013, the Wildcats had won just four from 15 matches when Webster took over.

That quickly changed. Under the redhead’s watch Wakefield has won five, lost two and drawn one.

The Wildcats’ scalps have included a two-point win over Leeds and a 14-point victory against Warrington, two of the comp’s top clubs. They are playing with much more confidence than before and their defence has tightened extensively. A smart but honest operator, Webster has done well at Belle Vue.

It will be interesting to see what he can do with Wakefield next year with a full pre-season behind him.

Another NSW product finding his way in Yorkshire is Glenn Morrison.

Most will remember him as the blonde second-rower who played for Balmain, North Sydney, North Queensland and Parramatta from 1996 to 2006. In 2007 he moved to Super League where he had three seasons with Bradford and two with Wakefield before retiring.

Two years ago Morrison moved into coaching with the Dewsbury Rams in the Championship, the level below Super League.

In his first season the Rams, who previously were relegation battlers, finished seventh and qualified for the semis for the first time in many, many years.

This season the Rams have improved again and are currently in fifth place on the ladder. Morrison, who recently and unsuccessfully threw his hat into the ring for the New Zealand coaching job, is earning his stripes and doing a good job with limited resources.

Another Aussie coach doing his apprenticeship in England is Joey Grima. A former Parramatta player, Grima had been an assistant in the NRL with the Eels, Sharks and Dragons.

He headed to the UK at start of this year to become an assistant with the London Broncos with the view to becoming their head coach next year.

That plan changed mid-season when Tony Rea departed and Grima took over. It’s fair to say it hasn’t been easy for Grima in the capital.

The Broncos have not won a game all season, they were zero and 11 under Rea in 2014, and that has continued with Grima with another 12 losses in a row.

But Grima’s job with London has basically been mission impossible. The club was a basket case who barely scraped into Super League this year, shed most of last season’s squad and was still recruiting players after this season had already kicked off.

The results have been a surprise to no-one and many of the Broncos squad is not up to Super League standard. London have already been relegated to the Championship next year and will have a fight to get back up.

But Grima has impressed many with his approach, his candor and his long-term planning. The ex-Malta national team coach has been working without an assistant and is assembling an impressive squad for 2015.

Already he has snared Daniel Harrison, Josh Cordoba and Liam Foran from the NRL, along with Super League players Richard Mathers and William Barthua, to help them get promoted. He’s also signed Italian hooker Ray Nasso, Welsh winger Rhys Williams and more experienced players are on the way. Grima is rebuilding the club’s culture, enhancing its professionalism and it’s great to watch.

2015 will be fascinating to see what the Tamworth product can do with a team of his own design and a proper off-season to mould them.

Webster, Morrison and Grima are each building a background of knowledge and experience in coaching that will hold them in good stead for the future. It is easy, but the apprenticeship they are gaining is invaluable.

Who knows, they might be running an NRL team one day in the future.

Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson