Disagree with EVERYTHING you have written.
The GF build up has been good....as good as any other year. Not an over the top media wank....because Souffs choked last week.
Robinson does deserve a lot of credit for the Chooks successful year. If you know anything about coaching at an elite level, it is about man management and getting the best out of your players, and having them want to play for you and each other. Just because you have a good roster, doesn't mean you have instant success.
And Toovey also deserves a lot of credit. Manly had many critics at the start of the year, "their team was too old", the board was/is still infighting, they lost some players and assistant coaching staff. Toovey has done a great job to get them to the GF.
Guyver, Not sure if you know much about the game or more importantly the psychology of professional sport..or you're just a sad negative derp.
Mate what are you on about? First of all there was more hype throughout the week when the Roosters were playing the Rabbitohs for the minor premiership there there has been all week leading up to the grand final.
Secondly good coaching only plays a part in getting to and winning the grand final. You need a combination of good coaching, good playing roster and a lot of luck to go your way. Most if not all coaches at the elite level are good chaches.
Sure I agree with you that a good coach is a good motivator who gets the best out of his players and manages his players well as well as prepares them for game day, gives them direction etc etc but at the elite level most if not all first grage coaches are good motivators otherwise they wouldn't be there in the first place.
Secondly you need a good playing roster and this is by far the most important. You can be the best motivator in the world but if you dont have good players on your team you're not winning anything simple as that. This formula has proved to be right time and time again. Take away Sam Burgess/Inglis from Souths, Cameron Smith/Cooper Cronk from Melbourne, Brett Stewart/Jamie Lyon from Manly, do the 3 coaches still have the successful seasons they had? Does Trent Robbinson still win the minor premiership without SBW, Jennings and Maloney? Alan Langer and Darren Lockyer even made Wayne Bennet what he is today. Look at Souths over the years, they didn't have bad coaches but they never had the players to win.
Lastly you need a lot of luck and a lot to go your way to make and make/win the grand final too.
If you go back as far as the last 10 years then the Melbourne Storm have been the best and most consistent club in the competition by far but things havent always gone their way hence why they didn't win every year.
-Would Souths have still beaten Melbourne had Melbourne been not been disallowed that try that Slater scored? maybe
-Manly themselves were unlucky and inches away from scoring against the Roosters in the first game of the finals. Had the Roosters lost in week 1 would the still be in the grand final? maybe
-Would Manly have still beaten the Sharks had the referee not awarded the Taufua dropped ball a try? maybe
-Would Manly still come back against Souths had Issac Luke not knocked the ball on and Souths got up from 14 to 20-0? maybe
I know these are now all hypotheticals and they dont really matter now but you need a lot more to go your way to get to the grand final then just good coaching.
