The Rumours Thread

[mattw5]

id love Ben Hornby to be signed as coach as soon as next season

No!! Keep club legends away from the role

 

[Gourley's Socks]

I"ve heard that reason given by others on this forum but don't really get it. Hornby has thrown his lot in with Souths as Brett Morris, another premiership player from the 2010 side, has with the Roosters. People make choices and Hornby has chosen another Sydney NRL club as his future. If Hornby had remained at the Dragons in some capacity I would understand the loyalty pull, but he's moved on.

I think it's less about Hornby as it is about "anyone but JDB".

If JDB were to break Hornby's record, it would be a minimum of a decade before anyone would get close to breaking it again. And all that time, JDB's name - and his past behaviour - would be linked to the club.

I'm not sure if agree with it (I can see both sides) but I do understand the logic. And frankly, that's a rare thing with this club.

 

[Forster Dragon]

No!! Keep club legends away from the role

Why?
What has he done to deserve it?

 

[mattw5]

Why?
What has he done to deserve it?

Because they tend to get preferential treatment & over stay their welcome its a fkn no!!

Give Shane the time required & get on the bus or get off.

 

[maestro1]

id love Ben Hornby to be signed as coach as soon as next season

I firstly want to see what SFlan can do once he reaches a point where he says I now have the roster I want. Mary and Hook, both said this and did nothing with it. SFlan is 1 and a half seasons into a 3 year contract and you get the feel that he'll may still get HIS roster even though at the moment there doesn't seem to be much happening. I'm prepared to give him a chance.....and bringing in Hornby or Young, halfway through isn't, giving him a chance.

 

[maestro1]

I think it's less about Hornby as it is about "anyone but JDB".

If JDB were to break Hornby's record, it would be a minimum of a decade before anyone would get close to breaking it again. And all that time, JDB's name - and his past behaviour - would be linked to the club.

I'm not sure if agree with it (I can see both sides) but I do understand the logic. And frankly, that's a rare thing with this club.

This is exactly why.

 

[InFlannoWeTrust]

I firstly want to see what SFlan can do once he reaches a point where he says I now have the roster I want. Mary and Hook, both said this and did nothing with it. SFlan is 1 and a half seasons into a 3 year contract and you get the feel that he'll may still get HIS roster even though at the moment there doesn't seem to be much happening. I'm prepared to give him a chance.....and bringing in Hornby or Young, halfway through isn't, giving him a chance.

This exactly. Where were these outcry’s when McGregor outstayed his welcome! (Because he was a club legend) people kept quiet!
Give Shane the time required! Can’t build “your squad” in 1.5 years!! Yes he’s brought in players but I don’t think they were “his players” eg klemmer , Guler , even Luch to an extent. I think they were signings that “had to happen” to full squad with experience

 

[Victoire]

No rumour or anything but an article about someone I'd love us to buy. Kobe Hetherington from the Broncos.

*
Brisbane's $4 million salary-cap crunch is biting hard with four leading Broncos playing for their futures in Friday night's blockbuster against the Bulldogs in Sydney.


This masthead can reveal Kobe Hetherington, Jack Gosiewski, Corey Jensen and Cory Paix go into the round 18 clash against big guns Canterbury with just nine regular-season games left to save their careers at Red Hill.


The key quartet remain off-contract at season's end and money is running out following the retention of Blake Mozer, Kotoni Staggs and skipper Adam Reynolds that played a role in forcing Dolphins-bound Selwyn Cobbo out of Red Hill.
*

Hetherington was on the verge of quitting the Broncos last November to join the Tigers or Dragons, only for incoming coach Michael Maguire to make an impassioned plea for the 26-year-old to stay.



Hetherington started at lock in the opening 13 rounds before recently returning to the bench, where he was strong in last week's 26-12 defeat of the Warriors.



"Kobe was close to leaving last year," Haddad said.



"He had some interest from the Tigers and Dragons but we met with 'Madge' (Maguire) and he said just give me 12 months to work with Kobe and see how he goes.

 

[I'm Hornby]

This exactly. Where were these outcry’s when McGregor outstayed his welcome! (Because he was a club legend) people kept quiet!
Give Shane the time required! Can’t build “your squad” in 1.5 years!! Yes he’s brought in players but I don’t think they were “his players” eg klemmer , Guler , even Luch to an extent. I think they were signings that “had to happen” to full squad with experience

Flanagan was given three years, the same amount Griffin was given. That means that both Flanagan and management agreed three years was enough time to see results and improve the roster.
Pressure mounted on Griffin at around the same time of his tenure if not sooner and no one made the same excuses for his signings either.

Flanagan was appointed in June 2023, so he had more than a full pre season to build the roster for his first season as coach in 2024.

He has had ample time and this is now his roster, no ifs or buts.
If things don't turn around and fast, he will be looking for another job and rightfully so.

 

[mattw5]

No rumour or anything but an article about someone I'd love us to buy. Kobe Hetherington from the Broncos.

*
Brisbane's $4 million salary-cap crunch is biting hard with four leading Broncos playing for their futures in Friday night's blockbuster against the Bulldogs in Sydney.


This masthead can reveal Kobe Hetherington, Jack Gosiewski, Corey Jensen and Cory Paix go into the round 18 clash against big guns Canterbury with just nine regular-season games left to save their careers at Red Hill.


The key quartet remain off-contract at season's end and money is running out following the retention of Blake Mozer, Kotoni Staggs and skipper Adam Reynolds that played a role in forcing Dolphins-bound Selwyn Cobbo out of Red Hill.
*

Hetherington was on the verge of quitting the Broncos last November to join the Tigers or Dragons, only for incoming coach Michael Maguire to make an impassioned plea for the 26-year-old to stay.



Hetherington started at lock in the opening 13 rounds before recently returning to the bench, where he was strong in last week's 26-12 defeat of the Warriors.



"Kobe was close to leaving last year," Haddad said.



"He had some interest from the Tigers and Dragons but we met with 'Madge' (Maguire) and he said just give me 12 months to work with Kobe and see how he goes.

Either will help

 

[I'm Hornby]

Because they tend to get preferential treatment & over stay their welcome its a fkn no!!

Give Shane the time required & get on the bus or get off.

At least Mary got us to finals in his first full season in charge and again in his fourth full season in charge.

His win/loss ratio as coach is also superior to Flanagan's at the dragons.

You're encouraging Flanagan to overstay his welcome which is absurd, he can either get the team winning or he can piss off ASAP

 

[mattw5]

Taking over from Hook was a shit job regardless of who took on the role, people can say what they like about Ryles at Parramatta he would be in all sorts of drama taking over from Hook people forget Parramatta were in a Grand Final only two seasons prior.

 

[Mickov]

No!! Keep club legends away from the role

I disagree, i think this is a good scenario where a guy like Hornby who has Dragons DNA but spends time away from the club broadening his knowledge, seeing what works what doesn't at other clubs and then brings that experience back when he's ready.

 

[st.phil]

More importantly, going after Woods may do more harm than good at SGI. Reed imo is an even better prospect than Woods (he is a very accurate goal kicker as well) and I wouldn't want Reed thinking the Dragons have another young gun in mind as their long-term half ( ie beyond 2027).

Yep - apparently they played each other in some junior footy w Reed getting MOM and guiding his side to victory. Happy for woods to get all the hype - from a small grab I caught he’s already cocky - fkn Joey already touting him for origin w Katoa! Insane

 

[mattw5]

I disagree, i think this is a good scenario where a guy like Hornby who has Dragons DNA but spends time away from the club broadening his knowledge, seeing what works what doesn't at other clubs and then brings that experience back when he's ready.

Disagree all you like its not the answer.

 

[The Word]

I firstly want to see what SFlan can do once he reaches a point where he says I now have the roster I want. Mary and Hook, both said this and did nothing with it. SFlan is 1 and a half seasons into a 3 year contract and you get the feel that he'll may still get HIS roster even though at the moment there doesn't seem to be much happening. I'm prepared to give him a chance.....and bringing in Hornby or Young, halfway through isn't, giving him a chance.

I'm also keen to see Flanagan get his roster. Much as I wasn't a fan of Griffin, I don't think we can say he ever got the roster he wanted. The club was completely hamstrung by the salary cap through poor signings and contract negotiations. Griffin was not good enough at managing the salary cap and neither was the football department and he ended up having to recruit aging players to fill the spots. He simply wasn't able to change or fix the mess we were already in.

The difference now is that I get the impression Flanagan has a much better handle on the cap as well as player retention and contract sizes. Although he hasn't been able to get some of the high profile players he's after, he has put the club in a position so that financially we can put in proper bids for these players. Therefore there's a decent chance that over the next year or two, if he's given the time, we could end up with a really good squad.

I'm not happy with how the season has panned out, but I would definitely say that our top 30 is continuing to evolve and improve under Flanagan.

 

[The Word]

I want everyones take on this. Obviously with JDB leaving the club, do you think its a personal thing? I know I know there are great young guns coming in, I completely understand, but considering we are getting rid of a 1 club player for 14+ years at the club, do you guys thinks its Haran or Shane flanagan thats behind him actually leaving? Like I know we want to re-sign our young guns but we have loads of space in our cap, and we could surely offer him a 1 year deal on 200-300k, he's clearly hurt, so why? is it personal? is that what we think the problem is? That ben Haran or Shane just doesnt like him? because there is no way we cant re-sign him for next year?

Whenever a player gets to the twilight of their career it becomes a tricky situation with contract negotiations. The player looking for financial security and the club looking for value for money. It doesn't always work out, even with a player who loves the club.

Jack has played well this year particularly in defence. However his ability to carry the ball has been impacted by his slower leg speed. Next year will only be worse and so it's not just about being able to find money in the cap it's about whether one of the juniors will actually do a better job than him.

Is Flanagan behind him leaving? Yes of course he is, who else would be?

Is it personal? There's absolutely no proof that there's any issues between them. Why would you allow personal feelings to get rid of a player if you think he will win you games, that would be stupid.

At the end of the day it's a business and the most successful coaches tend to be the most ruthless. I'd have been happy to see him get one more year at low wages but I trust Flanagan's decision. Time for a name change old mate.

 

[mattw5]

I'm also keen to see Flanagan get his roster. Much as I wasn't a fan of Griffin, I don't think we can say he ever got the roster he wanted. The club was completely hamstrung by the salary cap through poor signings and contract negotiations. Griffin was not good enough at managing the salary cap and neither was the football department and he ended up having to recruit aging players to fill the spots. He simply wasn't able to change or fix the mess we were already in.

The difference now is that I get the impression Flanagan has a much better handle on the cap as well as player retention and contract sizes. Although he hasn't been able to get some of the high profile players he's after, he has put the club in a position so that financially we can put in proper bids for these players. Therefore there's a decent chance that over the next year or two, if he's given the time, we could end up with a really good squad.

I'm not happy with how the season has panned out, but I would definitely say that our top 30 is continuing to evolve and improve under Flanagan.

Dead right this takes time we need to stay the course.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Hold the line........

 

[Old Timer]

Dead right this takes time we need to stay the course.

I get the point about the roster but do believe that to a very large extent S F has created some of the mess that we are in.

Some bad recruitment, some poor extensions, some debatable actions re players that have been let go and throw some bad "low balling" offers.

Notwithstanding any of that the essence of coaching is actually about players acquiring skills and improving combined with getting rid of oft repeated bad habits.

I believe in respect of that S F has failed and in fact made us more ponderous than we already were.

We still do dumb shit, we still have some players that are easily gassed, we have poor defensive patterns combined with arm grabbers, poor kicking games, clunky attacking structures combined with poor game strategy let alone game management.

If there is an area where S F has improved us as a team or an individual players skills then I would like to know what that is.

S F has been kissed on the dick because of the work that has been done by Willie T and his crew in preparing the young one's for their chance at playing regular NRL and if not for that work we would be in an even more parlous state.

Indeed the roster is not great but we should be doing better than what we are especially if any of the things that people posted about S F's "coaching" ability are actually true.