Around the Grounds

[slotmachine]

Anyone who isn't Bellamy or Robinson is a gamble.

 

[Yosh]

Gamble? Even in gambling there are odds. We should have done better due diligence on AOB. He isn't the answer anyway. Who is available now?

 

[TooheysNew]

Anyone who isn't Bellamy or Robinson is a gamble.

With vastly different odds.

 

[slotmachine]

With vastly different odds.

You're acting like there are sure things out there.

Payten will win coach of the year by the length of the straight and his NRL CV was half a season with the Warriors before he got the Cowboys job.

Meanwhile premiership winning coach McGuire took the Tigers backwards in his time there.

Everyone is just guessing.

 

[TooheysNew]

You're acting like there are sure things out there.

Payten will win coach of the year by the length of the straight and his NRL CV was half a season with the Warriors before he got the Cowboys job.

Meanwhile premiership winning coach McGuire took the Tigers backwards in his time there.

Everyone is just guessing.

I'm doing nothing of the sort.

All I'm saying is that assuming Ciraldo is the best option for us is exactly what got us in trouble with AOB.

 

[TooheysNew]

This O'Brian lad sounds like he is 60% Bellemy, 20% Robinson and 20% his own man. Could be a lethal mix. Exciting if he does come.

We basically got the best man available. What can we complain about.

We have a really bright coach coming in with a great resume. The club is financially healthy. The players actually have some talent.

It was going to be much uglier before it got better. All things considered, I think we're doing just fine and we will have a big year in 2020.

I personally like the direction the club is moving in. It's not pretty but the moves being made, again in my opinion, are the right moves.

O'Brian coming in. Joey coming in. Some great prospects coming through. Great talent in the squad. What's there not to like?

We got our first choice coach and assistant. What's there not to like?

This is what I'd prefer we avoided again.

 

[PhilGould]

Anyone who isn't Bellamy or Robinson is a gamble.

And that was said about Bennett before he came here too. Choosing a new coach really is just making an educated guess, especially from a fans perspective. So many factors can make or break a coach, many of which they themselves have no control over.

I would say finding an actual GM with a plan and experience building a team is more important than a new coach, as much as I do want AOB gone.

 

[Yosh]

This is what I'd prefer we avoided again.

Have you seen my posts lately? I'm as fickle as they come!!!

To be honest, I'm stupidly optimistic anything Newcastle Knights but this season is the first in 20 years I feel crappy following the Knights. Even during the Spoon years I felt like we were going to get better. However, I feel like we are on a sinking ship atm.

 

[slotmachine]

would say finding an actual GM with a plan and experience building a team is more important than a new coach, as much as I do want AOB gone.

Waste of time with current structure/CEO.

 

[Jono078]

I don't know what the right direction is.

I'll be honest with you all, and I don't know if this is me convincing myself, but I'm pretty excited about Dobson joining us now.

We don't know what he's like but I think the best coaches are usually those that had good footy brains but maybe never reached the heights due to some limitation.

For example I think it's harder for Joey to teach because he was at the top. Whereas a Dobson never reached those heights so he has some extra drive and perhaps hard work around preparation and learning - at least that's what I'm hoping.

But if we go down the route of a new coach I do think I'd like an experienced campaigner rather than a new guy again.

 

[perverse]

I'm doing nothing of the sort.

All I'm saying is that assuming Ciraldo is the best option for us is exactly what got us in trouble with AOB.

But hasn't Ciraldo been head coach of some very successful teams in lower grades? Which teams was AOB a successful head coach of before joining us?

 

[TooheysNew]

But hasn't Ciraldo been head coach of some very successful teams in lower grades? Which teams was AOB a successful head coach of before joining us?

Yep that's a good point, but our system is worlds away from Penriths model.

 

[perverse]

Yep that's a good point, but our system is worlds away from Penriths model.

Like don't get me wrong, I do think getting any new coach in is a gamble. I'd just prefer to gamble on the unknown than fester in mediocrity with the known.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

It truly irritates me that the Broncos can rise to the top 4 from winning a wooden spoon only 2 years ago and with what seemed like a very average roster pre-season. Meanwhile, we're only getting worse and worse.

 

[slotmachine]

just shows you how important a decent 7 is

meanwhile we will be rolling out clune or luke brooks next year

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

That Burns has been good for St George tonight. I haven't heard much about him.

 

[Jono078]

Anyone see Nelson Asofa-Solomona whack Cameron Murray in the first minute of the game? Cam Murray has had his head issues similar to Ponga this year but somehow he managed to keep playing.. Where's the consistency? Or are they purely reacting to what the player shows in the immediate aftermath? I thought multiple HIA in short amount of time automatically meant no coming back for the game.

And just on Ponga's, I watched a tiktok and he was out as soon as the forearm connected with his head.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Man we need to get on the phone to Connor Tracey's management asap and get the kid a contract. He's tough, safe, good speed and all effort. Exactly the type of player we need in our outside backs. He's totally wasted playing for Newtown waiting for a Sharks injury

Hell, move Ponga to 6 and give him a run at fullback

 

[macavity]

Changing coaches without fixing our management structure is shuffling deck chairs.

Gardner might be a great businessman, and a great bloke, I don't know.

But no one person makes good decisions in a vacuum. He has centralised decision making and is a micromanager.

We need a Phil Gould type (not sure there are any except Gould out there though) to come in and run the club for the next 5 years and just start again.

The fact we are fixated on recruitment instead of development says it all.

We will only be successful when we are a "club of choice" development club. But that takes a lot of time and a hell of a lot of money - think high performance hubs from Gosford to Coffs and out to the north west.

We need to ring-fence from the central coast to the QLD border as our territory and get all the kids with any promise in the area linked with the club. Need probably 1,000 15yo kids to get a first grader.

I would even look to link up with Mounties and use them as a Sydney catchment. Take them on at their own game.

Penrith have shown that unless you are the Roosters or Storm it is the way, lucky for them they have half a million footy mad people (and lots of big boys) in their catchment. Hell, even Manly are now getting all their players from Blacktown.

We then need to keep the right ones. The hardest bit of all.

No confidence we have the commitment to spend, or the right people in place, to make it happen.

 

[Jono078]

I'm a big fan of his too actually. He always seems to be making something good happen when he plays for the Sharks.