Geoff Toovey the man to have Dragons breathing fire again

[denis preston]

Kevvie Walters for mine but Toovey is good as well.
Walters ticks more boxes than all other candidates combined. People seem to forget that Walters influence in the teams he played in was no less than Johns or JT. He presided over a team that dominated a decade and has apprenticed under Bellamy and Bennett the style of both no doubt rubbing off onto a bloke that already has the smell of great coaches and minds emanating from him, coupled with all his close contacts inside our club and in the greater league community. Walters is one focused and dedicated individual and will be a legacy coach, as in his procedures will remain long after his departure. Has anyone seen his young bloke play ? Would JDB have put himself in a position to be charged if we had a coach who would put firm social boundaries onto his players, and had conviction to enforce them, this is one example of what we have seen of kevvies coaching, This is what we need, a rebuild of structure. A known winner that is intent on stamping his authority on the game once again. And he will , we should be giving him the Avenue. I just think he brings way more than a 10% better record than what we have currently and that is what Toovey brings. Well that and fire in the belly.

Big no on Walters.No NRL grind week in week out experience.Even Mininga looked good coaching those superstars.

 

[denis preston]

When you think Mick with coaching we had Chang till 1976 the great Harry Bath until 1981 and the first outsider Roy Masters until 1987.
The next outsider was Dave Waite and of course Wayne Bennett funny all these great coaches made finals and grand finals and the Saints played some great footy over those years if we could get that back, Geoff Toovey maybe the right choice.

But will he get the mid to late season blowout due to travelling from Manly to Wollongong each day !

 

[since77]

Pretty much this. Johnston confirmed that there were 14 names presented to the board as alternatives....but they decided that McGregor was the best of the options.

It’s beyond belief they could be that stupid isn’t it? It’s going to take a long time for the club to win my good will back after this.

 

[Mickthedragon]

Why does everyone have a hard on for Toovey? Toovey inherited a Manly team that was built by Hasler. People tend to like him because he bitches and complains at press conferences and blames refs which makes him look like a hard nut. Sorry...I can't see what all the hype is about.

I don't necessarily want Toovey or bust.
Just agree he would be a way better option than Mary with his past record and hard ass approach. We also have the squad ready to go, apart from some backline changes(hire and fires) but Mary just doen't know how to use them.

 

[possm]

I am not supporting Mary but people who think he inherited a good squad is kidding. Price made a mess of it and they were a laughing stock, unfortunately they are going that way now under Mary. Toovey had a great roster that did not need much tweaking. Saints are clutching at straws getting him. They had 3 good coaches available last year in Bennett, Maguire and CLeary and stuck with the dud.

No doubt Price was a bad coach who was schooled under Bennett but as soon has he was given the authority to run the team, he tore up everything Bennett installed and introduced systems that just did not make sense and that failed miserably. Mary was in charge of coaching the attack in the final two years of Price's contract.

Like Mary, Price was useless when it came to signing the right players and so Craig Young and Doust worked together on recruiting duties.

Mary has been head coach for 5 seasons and has taken the Club inside the top 8 only twice.

 

[possm]

I don't necessarily want Toovey or bust.
Just agree he would be a way better option than Mary with his past record and hard ass approach. We also have the squad ready to go, apart from some backline changes(hire and fires) but Mary just doen't know how to use them.

I believe Mary has lost the player's confidence and so, there is no alternative but to terminate Mary's contract and hire a coach like Toovey to address the problem.

 

[St Hope]

At least he is in the positive with win v loses and has first grade experience , puts him in front of current man and crew.
Seen coaches considered list they included Greyhound, McCafferty, Murrays and a pumpkin which was counted out straight away because it didn't have the balls to go in the job.

 

[St George 1977]

Hell YES !! He wouldn’t take a backward step. I liked him as a player and a coach at manly. A no nonsense no BS type of old school coach we need. Plus he’s very passionate. Sign him NOW !!

 

[sco22]

But will he get the mid to late season blowout due to travelling from Manly to Wollongong each day !

I like it Denis hahahahaha can’t believe that was actually stated there is some much stupidity at the Dragons unbelievable.

 

[denis preston]

No doubt Price was a bad coach who was schooled under Bennett but as soon has he was given the authority to run the team, he tore up everything Bennett installed and introduced systems that just did not make sense and that failed miserably. Mary was in charge of coaching the attack in the final two years of Price's contract.

Like Mary, Price was useless when it came to signing the right players and so Craig Young and Doust worked together on recruiting duties.

Mary has been head coach for 5 seasons and has taken the Club inside the top 8 only twice.

We need to remind everyone in the media why we are so frustrated .We have won only ONE game in the finals series in 9 seasons !

 

[blacksafake]

Left the Eagles on bad terms and never even considered him to make a return. Instead they went for Des who literally screwed his previous club over. Now that says something. Plus I remember when Baz took over players were loving the change more or less saying Tooves was a nightmare. No thanks.

He failed in England and Price hasn't so that is a huge indicator of how bad he is. He inherited a good squad after Hasler hence why his win % is good in NRL.

I think the problem was he fell out with Bozo & whatever Bozo says at manly & in general goes.

 

[blacksafake]

We need to remind everyone in the media why we are so frustrated .We have won only ONE game in the finals series in 9 seasons !

But on averages the club is happy, According to Johnston

 

[Mickthedragon]

I like it Denis hahahahaha can’t believe that was actually stated there is some much stupidity at the Dragons unbelievable.

Exactly, look at teams like the Cowboys, Storm and Warriors that have to travel way more. It's just another excuse.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Why does everyone have a hard on for Toovey? Toovey inherited a Manly team that was built by Hasler. People tend to like him because he bitches and complains at press conferences and blames refs which makes him look like a hard nut. Sorry...I can't see what all the hype is about.

I suppose you can look at this way.
1. Sure he inherited a good roster from Hasler but the coach still has to get them firing.
Made a grand final which is an achievement in itself and was there abouts during his whole tenure.
Look at McGregor in comparison.
Great roster and still can't achieve any meaningful results.
Win loss ratios Toovey 58% and McGregor 48%.
2. Have you ever heard Toovey express his views on football on the media panels he is invited to participate in?
Razor sharp commentator with a tremendous knowledge of the game.
Add to that his passion (a la Bellyache) and he is the real deal.
I also never thought twice about Toovey until I looked a little closer.
He has convinced me that he is a very capable mentor and coach.

 

[Frank Facer]

Toovey wouldn't be at the top of my list, but the more I read comments and think about it myself, he may be a decent option. Flanagan would be my number 1 target, but that depends on when his NRL ban expires.

What is David Waite up to these days? Last I heard he was coaching in England or coaching the English team.

 

[RedVDave]

Pretty much this. Johnston confirmed that there were 14 names presented to the board as alternatives....but they decided that McGregor was the best of the options.

I wonder who those 14 names were:

-Shaun McRae.
-Brian McLennan.
-Chris Anderson.
-Ivan Henjak.
-Matt Elliot.
-Stuart Raper.
-Rick Stone.
-Jason Taylor.
-Wayne Pierce.
-Neil Henry.
-Mick Potter.
-Tim Sheens.
-Michael Hagan.
-David Furner.

of those 14 candidates yep Mary is probably the best choice.

Although it's fairly safe to assume it won't happen I would love to have Toovey coaching us desire to win, passionate, competitive, great mind for the game and did a great job at Manly especially considering the circumstances when he took over.

 

[Pro Dragons]

If they signed Toovey before season end at least there would be one positive to take out of the worst season in living memory.

 

[dragon thomo]

I said in 2017 i would not attend another game while McGregor was the coach. I was so dissapointted when i broke my word and attended 2 games last year and 1 game this year but i think the only way the Management are going to take notice is we do not attend games.
I think the only coaches available to get us out of this mess are Toovey Griffen. I do not know enough about Holebrook or the Walker brothers to comment.
PS Flannery would be another one but i do not like his methods to get results

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

I said in 2017 i would not attend another game while McGregor was the coach. I was so dissapointted when i broke my word and attended 2 games last year and 1 game this year but i think the only way the Management are going to take notice is we do not attend games.
I think the only coaches available to get us out of this mess are Toovey Griffen. I do not know enough about Holebrook or the Walker brothers to comment.
PS Flannery would be another one but i do not like his methods to get results

Sorry, do you mean Flanagan?

 

[grouch]

Has Toovey won any premierships in the Illawarra League though?