Hook - a different perspective

[Smacka]

Most on here have expressed negative views on our Coach. They generally want him axed in favour of others who are either untried or have been unsuccessful elsewhere. So , in summary , they're happy to cop what's gone on through the Price / Mary days yet again ! Unbelievable.

Here's just a few points to consider :
a. Hook stepped into the Club knowing it was at a low ebb.
b. He knew his Detractors in the Media would be all over him.
c. He knew the prospect of immediate success was fanciful.
d. He knew this gig would be career-ending for him if he could not turn things around.

Now balance this with the Coaching Prospects many were imploring we take on :
a. They all want to go to a strong Club.
b. They are all supported by Media Darlings.
c. They all want to inherit instant success.
d. They all want to build on their CVs.

Our Board is dysfunctional , disunified and financially unable to right the wrongs of the recent past. Their reliance is on our much vaunted Juniors coming through. Little creedence is given to the expansion of the NRL Competition and that Opposing Clubs poach those Kids we cannot immediately guarantee a first grade berth.

Hook's role - hold it all together.
He's the Board's Fall Guy while they try to reinvigorate the Joint Venture.
No other Coach would take the job on.
For mine , in the circumstances , he has done an honourable job.
His often maligned policy on our Youth is a fallacy. As mentioned in my after-match Cowboys game post , Tyrell Sloan says he has been given clear direction AND apparently the Media are reporting Amone and Others are imploring Sullivan to see it through. Ramsey , Feagai , Lomax have been other beneficiaries of Hook's attitude.

Yes we need to look elsewhere for ongoing improvement. In the meantime Hook is like a Grandad to these Kids - well meaning, nurturing , caring : the benefits will come.

 

[redv13]

The exit is coming. Sloan and Sullivan will be the next Jason Saab saga. Bloody sad really

 

[St Tangles]

Hook is not nurturing the youth as we were told he would

He is wasting time in there development

Last year persisting with Norman when the season was over

We are now a good 12 months behind where we should be

Doesn't look like he has a plan

 

[Dragon David]

The exit is coming. Sloan and Sullivan will be the next Jason Saab saga. Bloody sad really

‘Looks a shadow of himself’: Dragons blasted for handling of rising star

‘Looks a shadow of himself’: Dragons blasted for handling of rising star

www.foxsports.com.au

I have a feeling that Sloan won't be playing any further first grade games this year and maybe no KOE Cup games as well.

I hope that he can use the off season wisely to build himself up and learn much more about his game particularly his defence.

Sullivan's saga with maybe Hunt staying at half back for the next few seasons will test his resolve and patience. I hope he stays. To me he has shown potential in several lower grade games but needs to also build himself up and show that he can match it with Hunt. If he signs elsewhere, the new club will most probably keep him in the lower grade like us anyway until he develops more so same situation, different club and then may stagnate leaving his best mates at the Dragons for what?

 

[justadragon]

Without being in the inner sanctum of the club we dont really know what is going on. You hear one thing on the media and another on some other media platform. Unfortunately we rely on snippets of information that could be true or misleading. I try to judge everything by what I see and to be honest I didnt see any progression in Sloan's development, especially putting your body on the line as a fullback to take the high ball or making that last tackle. Why is it still a problem? i dont know, is he being managed right? I dont know, has he regressed? in my opinion YES. So overall until we hear directly from him as to what his future plans or issues are, its all just click bait.

 

[Dr Fruitbasket Returns]

No. Griffin's rubbish.

 

[dannyt]

No. Griffin's rubbish.

Is that your shortest ever post?

 

[Gomarchin]

No. Griffin's rubbish.

If he was sacked today, would any club pick him up as their HC? No chance.

But our board decided (before a ball was kicked in 22) to extend him by an additional year??!

Why? Because they didn't want the speculation around the coach.

There's been speculation on the coach from round 3 after our loss to the Sharks. Hello?!?!?!?!

 

[dannyt]

 

[FlameThrower]

Sorry I have lost all faith in Hook. I posted elsewhere, he won’t be sacked as the Club extended him, so don’t want to look like fools. So they do a mini clean out with his assistants . They will give him another year and basically hope for the best. We’ve signed no new players for next year, yet word has it, some of the current squad are being let go? Our much talked up juniors, are an unknown quantity as they barely get game time or from the little we see seem to be not ready with basic 101 skills lacking. Now we have Hunt stating he wants to stay as long as he is the halfback and Hook is in charge! No matter how you slice it, we are in some deep trouble and there is no quick fix here.

 

[Dragon David]

If he was sacked today, would any club pick him up as their HC? No chance.

But our board decided (before a ball was kicked in 22) to extend him by an additional year??!

Why? Because they didn't want the speculation around the coach.

There's been speculation on the coach from round 3 after our loss to the Sharks. Hello?!?!?!?!

What more can one say about our sorry plight. I don't know how long the posts on us wanting the sacking of our three coaches from 2012 to now would go if all of the words about them were joined together - how long is a piece of string? Same goes for the Board members.

It is painful to realise that in the last 10 years we have had to endure years of torture and frustration and negativity towards this club and unless the Board changes tack and gets us heading in the right direction, we will be experiencing the same dramas for some time.

Reading on what the Bulldogs have done and who they have signed and their aims on what they want to achieve makes me so envious. They have made hard decisions to try to get out of the mess of the past 6 years and they are following the likes of the Sharks to reach a higher level equivalent to the Panthers, Roosters, Storm etc. Even the Tigers are doing their hardest to get the club out of the doldrums of the past seasons.

We will be the "runt of the litter" and be wooden spooners not for one year but maybe a couple if the club doesn't act now. I know that we will have the C of E in a couple of years that will help in the future but in the meantime we will have a couple of years in the wilderness still wondering where we are heading.

 

[SAP58]

I dont believe there is any chance Hook will be replaced this year. It will just be interesting to see who ends up as Assistants, I remember back on the Footy Show on Fox when Lomax & Blocker made fools of themselves & when Fletcher asked about Hook Lomax said he is more of the man manager & he leaves the Assistants to run the sessions etc naturally Hook would have input into the direction etc So this is why the appointment of the Assistance is so importatant if we are to get back on track in 2023 & will either of the new Assistants be groomed to take over in 2024 ?? Us fans will never know what is planned as the club likes to tell us nothing & let us speculate. I think if they could share the key factors in the 3-5 yr plan with us it would make a massive difference I cannot believe the club/Hook wouldnt have that plan so can someone please elaborate. Each time I hear Webb interviewed his focus is very much on the finances & has great delight in telling us the RL club is making a profit year on year, I guess that is why in the past we have gone for the cheap options when employing Assistants, well it is time to open the purse strings Ryan no more paying peanuts & getting monkeys invest back into the team for a change.

 

[Unsainty79]

I tend to agree with your point that people want him knifed and replaced with god knows who. I think the Dogs signing Ciraldo for 5 years shows there are a lack of head coaches out there.

Something must be a miss with Flanagan, he's been overlooked by the Dogs, twice, the Tigers and Warriors.

However, irrespective of whether he should go or not, we had no option but to hire him based on our applicants. We couldn't go with Young, the fallout of the fans would've been enormous and Furner would've been an absurd appointment. It speaks of how the Dragons are perceived by coaches and the Rugby League community.

I tend to think we will go all out for someone in 2024, but that could be too late considering Sullivan and Sloan are all but gone.

 

[BennyV]

Most on here have expressed negative views on our Coach. They generally want him axed in favour of others who are either untried or have been unsuccessful elsewhere. So , in summary , they're happy to cop what's gone on through the Price / Mary days yet again ! Unbelievable.

Here's just a few points to consider :
a. Hook stepped into the Club knowing it was at a low ebb.
b. He knew his Detractors in the Media would be all over him.
c. He knew the prospect of immediate success was fanciful.
d. He knew this gig would be career-ending for him if he could not turn things around.

Now balance this with the Coaching Prospects many were imploring we take on :
a. They all want to go to a strong Club.
b. They are all supported by Media Darlings.
c. They all want to inherit instant success.
d. They all want to build on their CVs.

Our Board is dysfunctional , disunified and financially unable to right the wrongs of the recent past. Their reliance is on our much vaunted Juniors coming through. Little creedence is given to the expansion of the NRL Competition and that Opposing Clubs poach those Kids we cannot immediately guarantee a first grade berth.

Hook's role - hold it all together.
He's the Board's Fall Guy while they try to reinvigorate the Joint Venture.
No other Coach would take the job on.
For mine , in the circumstances , he has done an honourable job.
His often maligned policy on our Youth is a fallacy. As mentioned in my after-match Cowboys game post , Tyrell Sloan says he has been given clear direction AND apparently the Media are reporting Amone and Others are imploring Sullivan to see it through. Ramsey , Feagai , Lomax have been other beneficiaries of Hook's attitude.

Yes we need to look elsewhere for ongoing improvement. In the meantime Hook is like a Grandad to these Kids - well meaning, nurturing , caring : the benefits will come.

Welcome to the Internet Anthony. Good to see you’re branching out from Twitter.

 

[This Year?]

I'm on the fence regarding this. People say Hook doesn't give the kids a go, yet Feegai and Amone have had pretty much all season in 1st grade.
Sullivan has spent alot of time injured and both he and Sloan haven't performed well in their limited opportunities in 1st grade. Both of them aren't big bodies which is maybe why Hook doesn't have confidence in them physically. Sullivan has the heart of a lion and will always put his body on the line.
What my problem is how the kids have been blooded. They will make mistakes and they need the opportunity to come back after making those mistakes. I get that there are supposed to be standards, but when plodders play week to week without any recourse after a shocker then something is not right.

 

[SBD82]

I’m all for seeing Hook from different perspectives.

Just off the top of my head, some of those could be:
- finally showing some emotion and crying at a press conference after being sacked.
- walking out the door.
- collecting unemployment at Centrelink.

 

[SBD82]

I'm on the fence regarding this. People say Hook doesn't give the kids a go, yet Feegai and Amone have had pretty much all season in 1st grade.
Sullivan has spent alot of time injured and both he and Sloan haven't performed well in their limited opportunities in 1st grade. Both of them aren't big bodies which is maybe why Hook doesn't have confidence in them physically. Sullivan has the heart of a lion and will always put his body on the line.
What my problem is how the kids have been blooded. They will make mistakes and they need the opportunity to come back after making those mistakes. I get that there are supposed to be standards, but when plodders play week to week without any recourse after a shocker then something is not right.

It’s not just the small blokes though. Fuimaiano and Kerr can’t get a run either.

I’m sure there’s something that Bud, Sloan, Fui and Kerr all have in common, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it might be.

 

[This Year?]

It’s not just the small blokes though. Fuimaiano and Kerr can’t get a run either.

I’m sure there’s something that Bud, Sloan, Fui and Kerr all have in common, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it might be.

I know what it is! None of them are former Broncos!

 

[Slippery Morris]

It's funny how Parra fans blowing up about their coach and they have been in finals and will be in this one with a huge chance of winning it seeing they have beaten the Panthers twice already.

Our club just accepts mediocrity and saving dollars unfortunately. Hook won't go as they will not waste money on a payout. The only way he will is if there is something in the extension that mentions making the finals and if they don't make it, it will be revoked or a much smaller payout.

What a dumb excuse though, extending the coaches contract to end any speculation. It has made it worse if not the same if they did not extend.

I really hoe people that attend the player/coaches function give Hook a gobful to let him know how most Dragons fans feel about what we are seeing and the selections over hasbeens against youth is a disaster.

 

[Gomarchin]

It's funny how Parra fans blowing up about their coach and they have been in finals and will be in this one with a huge chance of winning it seeing they have beaten the Panthers twice already.

Our club just accepts mediocrity and saving dollars unfortunately. Hook won't go as they will not waste money on a payout. The only way he will is if there is something in the extension that mentions making the finals and if they don't make it, it will be revoked or a much smaller payout.

What a dumb excuse though, extending the coaches contract to end any speculation. It has made it worse if not the same if they did not extend.

I really hoe people that attend the player/coaches function give Hook a gobful to let him know how most Dragons fans feel about what we are seeing and the selections over hasbeens against youth is a disaster.

I think the next Member's Forum with the CEO/Coach will be many many months if not years away. No chance of that coming up again.