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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

Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
57,234
plenty of factors involved in those 3 years and it wasn’t 3 years of decline, he inherited a wooden spoon squad but nearly got us to the finals in the first year, yeah the second year was a decline, but our best player pissed off on short notice with no options to replace him. Plus there were salary cap issues and not being able to have a full squad that also affected performances.

then 2016 was definitely not a decline, he got massive improvement in the squad to have us set for the top 4 spot playing great footy, we then know the story.

so basically in 3 years he had us in the top 4, compare this to other recent sides that required rebuilds:

dogs - 3 years under pay, achieved nothing
Knights - 4 seasons under Brown, no where near the finals
Tigers - Macguire, nothing this year, going into his 3rd year still not looking likely (and he was already trying to get out as it’s to hard).

He did decline, though - 10th, to 12th, to 14th.
 

IFR33K

Coach
Messages
17,043
Good points Eele.

In relation to 2014-2016 I think he probably got by because of how shit our front of house was. That really was ordinary and he was a rock during that period.

Now that we have sorted that out he should be judged more harshly on his results.

The B.Smith comparison is a good one. It seems to look that way. But I guess at what point do we start to question whether it is something bigger than that? There is something about our club since 1986 that suggests we are almost scared of success (or failure) in big moments - its happened under multiple coaches with multiple players.

Our success in the 80s still appears to haunt us.


The BS comparison isn’t a good one. We actually won some semis under BS we weren’t meant to win. Compare BA to Matt Elliott.
 

Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,565
Interesting stats.

But what stands out to me is the period of 2014 through to 2016 - he saw consistent decline in ladder position finish for three consecutive years.

Most people would be in trouble at their jobs if their quality of work was proven to decline over a period of three consecutive years.
We played well in 2016, even after having to get cap compliant and losing Paulo and Peats. 2017 was a natural progression from that. 2018 was a derailment related to having too many shit personalities in the squad. It was good that we identified and fixed it in the space of an off season.
I know he didn't exactly have the best roster to begin with, but as good as having stability is, it's curious to me to see that he had a period where his team was performing worse, and worse, and we still persevered.

Of course, he guided us to a 4th place finish, and a 5th place finish, at other points, so he showed he can guide us to a decent ladder finish.

But I am starting to suspect that he suffers from "Brian Smith Syndrome" - he seems unable to get the team firing come Finals time.
Our performances in week one of the finals have been excellent, including in 2017. For that team to beat the Storm in Melbourne, playing our best wasn't enough. We needed them to have an off game and unfortunately they didn't. They beat us by two and then went on to smash the Broncos and Cowboys. Week two was less good but the Cowboys were in form - they also beat the Sharks and the Roosters. Were Flanagan and Robinson also 'unable to get the team firing at finals time'?

Our week one win in 2019 was a finals record. It was such a celebration we were hungover in week two against f**king Melbourne again. It's all experiences to learn from, just like how all the other recent premiers learnt from their finals losses.
 
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Poupou Escobar

Post Whore
Messages
91,565
The BS comparison isn’t a good one. We actually won some semis under BS we weren’t meant to win. Compare BA to Matt Elliott.
We went out in straight sets in Smith's first finals and in the second we did have that impressive win in Brisbane (that didn't stop them winning the comp) followed by that game against the Bulldogs.
 

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