What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Rumours and Stuff

Joshuatheeel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
19,581

I didn't realise that he had a 2 year contract and that they have to pay out $750K if he is sacked. Which brings me to this point. I don't think we should sack BA but I'm thinking that we should not rush either to make a call on his future for 2023. Most of us have said mid next year but why can't we wait until the end of our run in season 2022 to maintain his and the team's hunger?

I can't see any other team besides maybe the Cowboys wanting him for season 2023.

What's the rush?

I'd only give him the heads up if we jagged someone like Trent Robinson but if we're thinking of someone like Cameron Ciraldo I don't think we should rush with a decision either way.
Players off contract is the issue ….why wouId they re-sign if they don’t know who the coach is. Additionally how do we sign new players when the coach is TBC…..

decision really needs to be made sooner rather then later or it could turn 2022 and 2023 into disasters…..
 

Incorrect

Coach
Messages
11,828
At the end of the day, I reckon if you put the right number of zeroes on their contract a player will sign and not give a f**k who their coach is going to be next year or the year after next..and their managers will advise accordingly....

But then you end up like the Tigers. 2 years down the track, a new coach comes in and has 3 or 4 blokes he doesn't want on ridiculous overs and the squad is hamstrung.
 

Joshuatheeel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
19,581
At the end of the day, I reckon if you put the right number of zeroes on their contract a player will sign and not give a f**k who their coach is going to be next year or the year after next..and their managers will advise accordingly....

But then you end up like the Tigers. 2 years down the track, a new coach comes in and has 3 or 4 blokes he doesn't want on ridiculous overs and the squad is hamstrung.
So pay offers…..

anyhow I reckon players definitely want to know who the coach is, especially players with a few options like some of ours will have….
 

Noise

Coach
Messages
17,106
Players off contract is the issue ….why wouId they re-sign if they don’t know who the coach is. Additionally how do we sign new players when the coach is TBC…..

decision really needs to be made sooner rather then later or it could turn 2022 and 2023 into disasters…..
Yep. This talk of waiting until round 10 or 12 to make a decision likely f**ks our 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
 

hybrideel

Bench
Messages
4,084
We are a strange set of fans, actually commenting that players basically want to leave. Surely there was enough shown in the Penrith game to assume they would prefer to stay.

Guess that’s not the narrative that some want to puruse, the grass is greener elsewhere, the glass is half full, just seems so strange that we of little real knowledge always tend to favour players moving, oh well the orf season is upon us.
If you are referring to my post, where exactly did I say he wanted to leave?
 

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
73,552
At the end of the day, I reckon if you put the right number of zeroes on their contract a player will sign and not give a f**k who their coach is going to be next year or the year after next..and their managers will advise accordingly....

But then you end up like the Tigers. 2 years down the track, a new coach comes in and has 3 or 4 blokes he doesn't want on ridiculous overs and the squad is hamstrung.
Agree, they want to can Madge just at the time when Joey Leilua Mbye and Packer who were on close to $2.5m between them.


^^^^ By the way, WTF happened to Chee-Kam ? He was literally their best player not too long ago.
 

84 Baby

Referee
Messages
28,032
Players off contract is the issue ….why wouId they re-sign if they don’t know who the coach is. Additionally how do we sign new players when the coach is TBC…..

decision really needs to be made sooner rather then later or it could turn 2022 and 2023 into disasters…..
I don’t think re-signing players would be an issue. I’m sure they’d like to be certain of who their coach would be but it’d be ironic if they didn’t want the club to change coach so they left to another club under a different coach. As long as the core squad is fairly consistent, the likelihood of a coach change being destabilising is limited. Although I might use the uncertainty in my contract negotiations if I was one of them.

Signing external players could be more the problem. Specifically those players who we would be contending with the likes of Rorters, Scum, etc for signatures. It’ll possibly make it harder/more expensive but as long as that core group is there that mitigates the problem by reducing how many players you have to pay overs to.
 

Joshuatheeel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
19,581
I don’t think re-signing players would be an issue. I’m sure they’d like to be certain of who their coach would be but it’d be ironic if they didn’t want the club to change coach so they left to another club under a different coach. As long as the core squad is fairly consistent, the likelihood of a coach change being destabilising is limited. Although I might use the uncertainty in my contract negotiations if I was one of them.

Signing external players could be more the problem. Specifically those players who we would be contending with the likes of Rorters, Scum, etc for signatures. It’ll possibly make it harder/more expensive but as long as that core group is there that mitigates the problem by reducing how many players you have to pay overs to.

changing coach and not deciding on the coach until late into the season are 2 different things.

I don’t think changing coach will necessarily be an issue in keeping the players, however it needs to be done sooner rather then later. As I reckon players will want to know what direction the club is taking.

For example players like Drown / Mahoney may have interest from both broncos / dogs. In February Ikin/Gus show them the clubs plans for the future, they meet Barrett / Walters. They then ask the eels what the plans are for 2023, eels advise they haven’t decided. Then in May they ask again……still no decision on the coach. Broncos/Dogs put in attractive offers. What wouId Mahoney/Drown do? They want to stay, but have no idea who the coach is……Same as Marata, wants to play under BA and willing to accept unders to stay…..but with no decision on a coach, he has to make a decision…

however if a coaching decision is decided early…..players know where they stand….
 

yy_cheng

Coach
Messages
18,007
I don’t think re-signing players would be an issue. I’m sure they’d like to be certain of who their coach would be but it’d be ironic if they didn’t want the club to change coach so they left to another club under a different coach. As long as the core squad is fairly consistent, the likelihood of a coach change being destabilising is limited. Although I might use the uncertainty in my contract negotiations if I was one of them.

Signing external players could be more the problem. Specifically those players who we would be contending with the likes of Rorters, Scum, etc for signatures. It’ll possibly make it harder/more expensive but as long as that core group is there that mitigates the problem by reducing how many players you have to pay overs to.
Yeah, but player managers will use this.

I know you'll probably say then pass them off but it does add another factor
 

TheRam

Coach
Messages
13,461
Just the promos of Tales from Tiger Town tells me this guy is not what they need. They need a more realistic coach, dare I say it, open to accepting mediocrity?
His schtick might be alright at at top club where money is no option but at a shit club it's an unrealistic approach.

At a shit club, you need a teacher, mentor and tactician to bring the best out of the mediocrity that is in your roster.

Maguire is none of these things. He is a very simple, train hard, run hard and tackle hard kind of guy. Works when you have quality, but burns out the mediocre.

Our coach is very similar type to Maguire, but for one thing, he is more likeable and has the ability to recruit well. He brought cheap hard workers to the club when we were struggling and young relatively unknowns like Gutho and even landed superstars like Foran regardless of how it turned out. He had/has the personality and credibility to attract players.

Maguire doesn't. His personality eventually took its toll on the Bunnies. He couldn't replenish the roster even though it was still decent and it was on the slide so he was ousted. None of the players that he coached or coaches show the same kind of respect or love for the guy as say our players do for BA. In fact some have even said they don't like his style of coaching and they just don't get it. On its own that would mean nothing, but when you look back on his career and current situation, it adds to the negatives and the doco hasn't helped his cause at all.

All in all I think he is a one dimensional character coach which I don't think makes for a very good coach. He is the type that can succeed when you give him a quality roster that has enough self motivated quality players to make it a success and that is about it.

Having Sheens there is going to eventually make all the difference to that club and if they give him the resources and staff, he will get them back to being a very strong club from the ground up. But it will take a few years to see the fruits of his labour. Boy do I wish we had moved and signed Sheen as our development/football manager. I think he and Gould are the two best in the business for that type of thing. Well maybe if they dick him around in a year or two he might get the shits enough and be ripe for the picking. We really do need someone of this type of elite quality to get in there and restructure our whole under NRL level systems. I really don't like watching such high quality players like Josh Schuster and Haumole Olakau'atu playing for Manly. Those sorts of players were a standout from a very young age and should never have been missed, ignored or not been a priority to keep in our juniors districts.

We have to many players come from our nursery who never play for us, but go on to play for other clubs, win premierships and achieve representative honours. This I want to see stop to the point that if we lose them, they should have played for us at least for 3-4 years at NRL level. This "can't keep them all" bullshit line that so many of you trot out is just that.

The Roosters know how to spot quality at a very early age. Most of their stars come to their club at around 16 years old. Besides Schuster for example was the best player in his district at 14-15 years of age. We should have been all over him and if our systems and setup was where it should be, we would have been and the kid/s and parents would know that and never want to leave and play for our rivals. Who wants to go and play for an area that isn't your own if you are being looked after and you have pride and love for where you come from, your mates and your roots?

If we set it up right, the best talent would never want to leave, knowing that they will come through a stellar program system that will improve and hone their game and look after them all the way up through the grades to NRL level if they work hard and make it. It should be every kids ambition to make it with the Eels not their/our rivals ffs! We should have a finger on the pulse of all the best talent and make sure that they know we are there for them and not allow other scouts get in their ear and turn them before we have the chance. That can only happen if the player/parents feel that we aren't in the picture for whatever reason. Like I said, no kid or parent would send their kid to the other side of town to train and play in the hope of making it 5-8 years later, when if we showed the same interest they could do the same in their own backyard.

That can only happen if we have dropped the ball, which we obviously have on numerous occasions. Someone like Sheens or Gould would fix that from happening in my opinion. Also someone on here mentioned a while back that Penrith poached our best man that looked after our junior setup and the guy in charge now sucks. I can't remember who said it or the guys name that was poached, but whoever it was, we should look to getting him back before the guy doing the job now totally F's things up, if he hasn't already. I'm sick of politics and mediocrity. Please, please, please club, fix everything from the ground up once and for all. It will shock everyone how great we could become, especially mediocrity dwellers like Pou. Not a powerhouse.......THE POWERHOUSE!
 

Rocket man

Juniors
Messages
494
At a shit club, you need a teacher, mentor and tactician to bring the best out of the mediocrity that is in your roster.

Maguire is none of these things. He is a very simple, train hard, run hard and tackle hard kind of guy. Works when you have quality, but burns out the mediocre.

Our coach is very similar type to Maguire, but for one thing, he is more likeable and has the ability to recruit well. He brought cheap hard workers to the club when we were struggling and young relatively unknowns like Gutho and even landed superstars like Foran regardless of how it turned out. He had/has the personality and credibility to attract players.

Maguire doesn't. His personality eventually took its toll on the Bunnies. He couldn't replenish the roster even though it was still decent and it was on the slide so he was ousted. None of the players that he coached or coaches show the same kind of respect or love for the guy as say our players do for BA. In fact some have even said they don't like his style of coaching and they just don't get it. On its own that would mean nothing, but when you look back on his career and current situation, it adds to the negatives and the doco hasn't helped his cause at all.

All in all I think he is a one dimensional character coach which I don't think makes for a very good coach. He is the type that can succeed when you give him a quality roster that has enough self motivated quality players to make it a success and that is about it.

Having Sheens there is going to eventually make all the difference to that club and if they give him the resources and staff, he will get them back to being a very strong club from the ground up. But it will take a few years to see the fruits of his labour. Boy do I wish we had moved and signed Sheen as our development/football manager. I think he and Gould are the two best in the business for that type of thing. Well maybe if they dick him around in a year or two he might get the shits enough and be ripe for the picking. We really do need someone of this type of elite quality to get in there and restructure our whole under NRL level systems. I really don't like watching such high quality players like Josh Schuster and Haumole Olakau'atu playing for Manly. Those sorts of players were a standout from a very young age and should never have been missed, ignored or not been a priority to keep in our juniors districts.

We have to many players come from our nursery who never play for us, but go on to play for other clubs, win premierships and achieve representative honours. This I want to see stop to the point that if we lose them, they should have played for us at least for 3-4 years at NRL level. This "can't keep them all" bullshit line that so many of you trot out is just that.

The Roosters know how to spot quality at a very early age. Most of their stars come to their club at around 16 years old. Besides Schuster for example was the best player in his district at 14-15 years of age. We should have been all over him and if our systems and setup was where it should be, we would have been and the kid/s and parents would know that and never want to leave and play for our rivals. Who wants to go and play for an area that isn't your own if you are being looked after and you have pride and love for where you come from, your mates and your roots?

If we set it up right, the best talent would never want to leave, knowing that they will come through a stellar program system that will improve and hone their game and look after them all the way up through the grades to NRL level if they work hard and make it. It should be every kids ambition to make it with the Eels not their/our rivals ffs! We should have a finger on the pulse of all the best talent and make sure that they know we are there for them and not allow other scouts get in their ear and turn them before we have the chance. That can only happen if the player/parents feel that we aren't in the picture for whatever reason. Like I said, no kid or parent would send their kid to the other side of town to train and play in the hope of making it 5-8 years later, when if we showed the same interest they could do the same in their own backyard.

That can only happen if we have dropped the ball, which we obviously have on numerous occasions. Someone like Sheens or Gould would fix that from happening in my opinion. Also someone on here mentioned a while back that Penrith poached our best man that looked after our junior setup and the guy in charge now sucks. I can't remember who said it or the guys name that was poached, but whoever it was, we should look to getting him back before the guy doing the job now totally F's things up, if he hasn't already. I'm sick of politics and mediocrity. Please, please, please club, fix everything from the ground up once and for all. It will shock everyone how great we could become, especially mediocrity dwellers like Pou. Not a powerhouse.......THE POWERHOUSE!
I believe we lost juniors to Manly because they hired the head of Westfield sports high Rugby League department l as a coach in their junior system. He obviously got in the players ears and the rest is history.
 

TheRam

Coach
Messages
13,461
but I doubt the core squad, especially Gutho and Reed, and going to sign longer term contracts without knowledge of the clubs intentions with the head coach

Haven't we progressed enough and have a quality enough roster for off contract players to know that the club will be ok no matter who the next coach is?

I mean it's not like we will go out and hire Maguire as our next coach, right? We aren't that basket case club anymore. The players should be aware and their managers told to take a breath. We are an elite club now, stop panicking and reacting like scared chickens that think that a butcher will be taking over from the trustworthy and loving old farmer.

I'm sure if we were to eventually replace BA it would be with someone the players would be happy with. If we were to go with a junior coach, Ciraldo would be at the top of the list at this point. If an experienced coach, Flanno is my pick of who is available right now.
 

TheRam

Coach
Messages
13,461
I believe we lost juniors to Manly because they hired the head of Westfield sports high Rugby League department l as a coach in their junior system. He obviously got in the players ears and the rest is history.

Well it would be a very wise and smart move to hire him for ourselves then wouldn't it. I mean that is what an elite organisation does. It headhunts the best for themselves. He is working in our backyard. He shouldn't be on the payroll of the freakin enemy now should he. What great organisation allows that?
 

emjaycee

Coach
Messages
12,868
I believe we lost juniors to Manly because they hired the head of Westfield sports high Rugby League department l as a coach in their junior system. He obviously got in the players ears and the rest is history.
Well f**k that.
We should have just bought the school.
 

emjaycee

Coach
Messages
12,868
Haven't we progressed enough and have a quality enough roster for off contract players to know that the club will be ok no matter who the next coach is?

I mean it's not like we will go out and hire Maguire as our next coach, right? We aren't that basket case club anymore. The players should be aware and their managers told to take a breath. We are an elite club now, stop panicking and reacting like scared chickens that think that a butcher will be taking over from the trustworthy and loving old farmer.

I'm sure if we were to eventually replace BA it would be with someone the players would be happy with. If we were to go with a junior coach, Ciraldo would be at the top of the list at this point. If an experienced coach, Flanno is my pick of who is available right now.
One issue is that we aren't the players, so despite us thinking Ciraldo or Flanagan would be suitable, maybe the players don't want to play for those coaches.
 
Top