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Do you want Brad Arthur as coach

Do you want Brad Arthur as coach

  • Yes

    Votes: 109 48.0%
  • No

    Votes: 118 52.0%

  • Total voters
    227

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
That’s rather arbitrary. Even though it’s more difficult you can still win the competition as long as you make the top 8. Who would you rate as having the more successful season out of the Dragons and Eels in 2009?
The Dragons, because like us in 2020 they were building. The 2009 Eels were a dead cat having its final bounce.

To win the comp you need luck, but you need a lot less of it if you finish in the top four.
 

lucablight

First Grade
Messages
6,552
The Dragons, because like us in 2020 they were building. The 2009 Eels were a dead cat having its final bounce.

To win the comp you need luck, but you need a lot less of it if you finish in the top four.
The point I’m making is that you have to judge someone on what they have demonstrated. So far the team has shown that they can bumble their way to the finish line and fall over it against mediocre teams for the last 2 months or so. If you’re going to hand wave that away and say we are finals bound and then it’s a whole new competition then it’s no different to saying the Dragons are in finals contention and could win the premiership. Those statements are both *factually* true but you know that’s not the full story. I dare say you don’t think the latter because you’re judging them on what they’ve demonstrated. I think you should apply the same standards to our team when judging them because saying we are currently third and the finals are a whole new competition is being extremely disingenuous.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
The point I’m making is that you have to judge someone on what they have demonstrated. So far the team has shown that they can bumble their way to the finish line and fall over it against mediocre teams for the last 2 months or so. If you’re going to hand wave that away and say we are finals bound and then it’s a whole new competition then it’s no different to saying the Dragons are in finals contention and could win the premiership.
Only if you think 3rd and 12th are no different because they're both numbers.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
I will say this, we are now 5th in the NRL for points differential, which I have always maintained is a better reflection of the quality of the team than ladder position. Going into this season I expected us to finish around fourth or fifth, so I'm not slashing my wrists. Our squad is too good for eighth but not good enough for the minor premiership. But with some luck we can win the comp. Our only flogging of the year doesn't change that.
 

lucablight

First Grade
Messages
6,552
Only if you think 3rd and 12th are no different because they're both numbers.
I’m not sure what you mean by that. The Dragons aren’t coming 12th. You seemed to be saying as long as teams are in finals contention (or more arbitrarily top 4) then that supersedes what they demonstrate on the field. If that was the case the Dragons shouldn’t have sacked their coach if potential table position carried that much weight.
 

lucablight

First Grade
Messages
6,552
I will say this, we are now 5th in the NRL for points differential, which I have always maintained is a better reflection of the quality of the team than ladder position. Going into this season I expected us to finish around fourth or fifth, so I'm not slashing my wrists. Our squad is too good for eighth but not good enough for the minor premiership. But with some luck we can win the comp. Our only flogging of the year doesn't change that.

I don’t agree that our squad isn’t good enough for the minor premiership. We’ve only had to play Melbourne, Roosters and the Raiders once this season (Melbourne was severely weakened) and played a plethora of games at home. The fact is we haven’t played well enough to take advantage of our opportunities. I agree our roster is good enough to win the competition but they haven’t demonstrated that on the field for the past few months. You have to ask why that is.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
I’m not sure what you mean by that. The Dragons aren’t coming 12th.
They were when McGregor got the arse. I dare say if we were running 12th Arthur's would be gone too.
You seemed to be saying as long as teams are in finals contention (or more arbitrarily top 4)
Top four gets two bites of the cherry, so it's not especially arbitrary. And it's not just the position on the ladder at any given point in time, but the general trajectory of the team. We have been winning ugly and just copped our only flogging of the season, to a team full of Origin players in key positions. Souths are also now a top four team in terms of for-and-against. They are legit and in top form while we had one of our worst games against them. The footy is on again next week and we are certainties for the finals. We're also looking good for next year.

The Dragons under McGregor were in danger of missing the finals altogether, for the second year in a row, with not enough top 17 youngsters to expect the team to improve next year.
 

lucablight

First Grade
Messages
6,552
They were when McGregor got the arse. I dare say if we were running 12th Arthur's would be gone too.

Top four gets two bites of the cherry, so it's not especially arbitrary. And it's not just the position on the ladder at any given point in time, but the general trajectory of the team. We have been winning ugly and just copped our only flogging of the season, to a team full of Origin players in key positions. Souths are also now a top four team in terms of for-and-against. They are legit and in top form while we had one of our worst games against them. The footy is on again next week and we are certainties for the finals. We're also looking good for next year.

The Dragons under McGregor were in danger of missing the finals altogether, for the second year in a row, with not enough top 17 youngsters to expect the team to improve next year.
What’s the point of getting two bites at the cherry if you look like you could go out in straight sets? If you want to talk about the trajectory of the team we are going backwards. We’ve lost 2 out of our last 3 games and struggled to put away a Melbourne side missing half its players. The team was told that people weren’t taking them seriously because of the manner in which they were winning games and instead of making a statement they wilted badly. I think it’s incredibly naive to think things are going to get magically get better once the finals arrive until the side demonstrates it on the field.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
I don’t agree that our squad isn’t good enough for the minor premiership. We’ve only had to play Melbourne, Roosters and the Raiders once this season (Melbourne was severely weakened) and played a plethora of games at home. The fact is we haven’t played well enough to take advantage of our opportunities. I agree our roster is good enough to win the competition but they haven’t demonstrated that on the field for the past few months. You have to ask why that is.
As a team we lack experience, especially big match experience, and especially in key positions. That will only change from consistently winning more games than we lose. We're on a good trajectory though:

2014: 50%
2015: 38%
2016: 54%
2017: 67% + 0% finals
2018: 25% YUCK!
2019: 58% + 50% finals
2020: 75% so far

If we shit the bed next year I'll be happy to blame the coach, but this year I'm happy with how we're travelling. There's nothing to blame him for.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
92,274
What’s the point of getting two bites at the cherry if you look like you could go out in straight sets? If you want to talk about the trajectory of the team we are going backwards. We’ve lost 2 out of our last 3 games and struggled to put away a Melbourne side missing half its players. The team was told that people weren’t taking them seriously because of the manner in which they were winning games and instead of making a statement they wilted badly. I think it’s incredibly naive to think things are going to get magically get better once the finals arrive until the side demonstrates it on the field.
Three games isn't the kind of trajectory I'm talking about. In the context of judging coaches it is meaningless. Mal Meninga was a world beater over three games year after year. Coaching has next to zero effect over such a short period of time.
 

lucablight

First Grade
Messages
6,552
As a team we lack experience, especially big match experience, and especially in key positions. That will only change from consistently winning more games than we lose. We're on a good trajectory though:

2014: 50%
2015: 38%
2016: 54%
2017: 67% + 0% finals
2018: 25% YUCK!
2019: 58% + 50% finals
2020: 75% so far

If we shit the bed next year I'll be happy to blame the coach, but this year I'm happy with how we're travelling. There's nothing to blame him for.
While it doesn’t hurt to have big match experience I think don’t think it’s a valid excuse to not win a premiership when the opportunity presents itself. This is about as good an opportunity our team is going to get and I hope we don’t waste it. There are no guarantees of an upward trajectory. Who would you say is responsible for constantly struggling to win games we should be winning every week and not getting better?

Three games isn't the kind of trajectory I'm talking about. In the context of judging coaches it is meaningless. Mal Meninga was a world beater over three games year after year. Coaching has next to zero effect over such a short period of time.
It’s not 3 games though. It has been 2
months now and the team has been getting worse over that period.
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
154,467
As a team we lack experience, especially big match experience, and especially in key positions. That will only change from consistently winning more games than we lose. We're on a good trajectory though:

2014: 50%
2015: 38%
2016: 54%
2017: 67% + 0% finals
2018: 25% YUCK!
2019: 58% + 50% finals
2020: 75% so far

If we shit the bed next year I'll be happy to blame the coach, but this year I'm happy with how we're travelling. There's nothing to blame him for.
Experience???? Souths tonight had a bunch of kids in the centres and wings and absolutely murdered us. Of course you are happy with how we are travelling you were happy with how we were travelling in 2018 and making dumb excuse's then.
 

Joshuatheeel

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
20,192
Yes we were bad, terrible, shocking etc etc etc etc!! Improvement is needed urgently!!

but gee half the posts sound exactly like the end of 2018 where BA also had no idea, couldn’t coach, our squad for 2019 is terrible etc etc

yet he took us to finals last year (where a lot said the squad wasn’t good enough )

And now a top 4 is a good chance ......

Back in 2018, it was a pipe dream that we could be contenders in 2 years, yet here we are in 2020 as chances, why is that the case?

anyhow yes we need to improve to seriously challenge this year, however we are heading in the right direction, and next year is probably the key to BA’s future (premiers generally hang around the top 4 for a few years before winning).

and really what options are available to replace him? Plenty of coaches struggle with squads similar to ours
 

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