I get that argument, I really do, but there are other realities to the situation.
Whether we like it or not, Canberra is not a particularly attractive location to blokes in their early 20s with lots of cash to splash. I've never gotten it personally. It's not the most happening place in the universe, but there is a pretty cool bar scene there once you know where to go. Also I've never gotten how Townsville or Auckland could be more attractive destinations for a young bloke. Townsville is a complete shithole, and Auckland is in another country for gods sake. In Canberra you can drive home for the day when you've got it off, or go home easily for the bye weekend. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Also, lets not forget how damn close we were to getting Ennis, Proctor and Tedesco. Mansour may have come if we'd gotten the other three but we'll never know. Despite what is said about Stuart, clearly they were willing to play under him, otherwise Tedesco and Proctor never would have said yes in the first place and Ennis wouldn't have been considering it as seriously as he did.
We can go on about how bad Stuart is but do you think Bellamy or Maguire would be doing much better with our roster? We just have a horrendous roster - full of has been's and never will be's - and Stuart was signed up well and truly after the roster was locked in for this season and very little scope to change it. When given the opportunity this year he actively and aggressively tried to change it, which is something as an organization we have seldom attempted in the past and as mentioned were close to achieving.
I don't think he's supercoach, but I think he's a massive improvement on Furner. I think despite the shit he's gotten about his efforts at Parra, they are doing so well this season in no small part due to his cleanout last year. He's trying to do the same with us, which is why the re-signing of McCrone upset so many Raiders fans, but at the end of the day without replacements coming in he was somewhat hamstrung there.
But he's doing some good things too. He's copping an awful lot of flack for the lack of minutes he's giving to Mitch Cornish and Shannon Boyd, but I think he's doing it beautifully. He said at the beginning of the year he wanted those two to play a full season of NSW Cup so they could get used to being the dominant players in a competition with over-aged blokes. He's had to have them in firsts due to necessity and he's easing them in to not ruin their development. Stuart knows we're no chance this year, and only the most ignorant green-eyed supporter thinks otherwise. By giving these guys limited time you let them adjust to the step up without the pressure that comes with being a starter.
I guess what this long winded post is trying to say is that it's hard to judge him off of six months coaching a roster he had f**k all to do with assembling that everyone knew going in was sub-par. I'm happy to give him at least three years to effect changes, and if there are no signs then, maybe look elsewhere. Because god knows, turning us around is not going to be an overnight fix.
