Caught in dead-in-goal zone
Opinion by Ray Chesterton
June 1, 2004
PARRAMATTA coach Brian Smith is taking more hits than a "Paris Hilton does Australia Nude" website.
Paul Langmack's got a herd of cattle at Souths that would not bring enough money to buy a coaching manual if you sold them as gravy beef.
And across the Tasman Daniel Anderson has a team which could do the Haka carrying machine guns and not scare the opposition.
But Smith, Langmack and Anderson are in the dead-in-goal zone of supporters' ire because their teams are failing.
The term "dead men walking" is as fitting for rugby league coaches as it is for men on death row.
All three coaches are in jeopardy. Langmack is under most pressure but expected to survive a Souths board meeting tonight.
Parramatta, under Smith, have lost five in a row and show no encouraging signs.
It is a degenerating situation that may well leave Parramatta so corroded with disillusionment and resentment it will take years to recover.
How much of the blame should be carried by Smith or by Langmack and Anderson for their teams' problems?
Ironically Smith and Anderson have better coaching records, having taken teams to grand finals, than the CVs of many of their players.
So were Smith and Anderson totally responsible for the asinine, unprofessional and embarrassing performances of a mob of well-paid, supposedly competitive players last week-end?
Or do the players have to carry some responsibility.
Smith's time at Parramatta may well have gone well past its use-by date. It is impossible to see any coach reversing the momentum of a side that has careered out of control at warp speed under his recent guidance.
At best, Smith and Parramatta are incompatible. At worst he is a hindrance.
I thought Langmack squeezed every drop of commitment Souths had to offer, especially to lead Cronulla on Saturday night at halftime.
They fell away in the second half, as they will continue to do under any coach, because they lack experience and mental toughness to last 80 minutes.
But they are the best Souths can muster on a small budget.
On Sunday Parramatta were puerile. They were an acute embarrassment to everyone at the club from administrators to the coach and players.
Smith's tactics may have been unsuitable, they may have been tragically wrong and easily exploited by the opposition.
But he was not responsible for the ineptitude.
He was not to blame for Parramatta kicking out on the full from a restart which follows three conceded penalties from fouled restarts two weeks ago.
He was not responsible for a Parramatta player running 30m clear on Sunday and being surrounded by five Tigers with no support player in sight.
And Smith did not drop the ball in the Tigers' in-goal as Parramatta did or lose a feed against the head.
Burning effigies of Smith for childlike team errors while exonerating the players, will leave you with burnt fingers.
chestertonr@ dailytelegraph.com.au
The Daily Telegraph
