Kearney is not the problem

[Poupou Escobar]

Seriously, if there was anything in the coaching that could prove otherwise............we have no attack.

Actually we've outscored a couple of teams (Penrith and the Titans). Our defence is the main problem - we've conceded 40 more points than the next-worst team (the Chooks).

 

[oldmancraigy]

Kearney has tried really has, I think just looking at his press conferences he has just about given in and does not know what else to try.

The problem is in the squad and when you look at the 1-17 and you sit back no matter how much of hardcore eels fan you are and you say wow that is a really bad team no real strength area anywhere.

Guys like Hindy,Matiua,Burt,Smith,Poore,MoiMoi,Morgan,Keating,Roberts are all not NRL standard anymore at the level where you will be top 8 contenders and does not help when the NSW cup team is not even worth looking at.


Yes Kearney took a stab and recruited guys like Sandow and Tonga who both come with big reps and lets face it if you where in the same situation like he was last year you would have have tried to sign these 2 players as well if you had the chance.

Yes they have not worked out but at the start of the year I came in here and read about how all you guys are excited about Sandow and Tonga.


I think just give kearney a season or 2 more he needs to clear out so much dead wood that is stuck at eels at the moment it will take time as there is so much dead wood on the squad.

You have good youngsters coming through in the backs like sio and blair and decent 2nd rowers in paulo and ryan as well.

Also don't forget you have Hayne one of the best players in the game and you can always build a team around him for the next 3-4 years you guys will be top of the tree again if you guys can recruit some top class 2nd rowers.

I don't disagree with a lot of what you say.

But there's one small thing you're missing! It's not an "either/ or" situation here. It's an "also/and"
Like you say, Kearney doesn't know what to do anymore - and if anyone thinks that isn't a problem then they've got rocks in their heads.
We were far more competitive last season with a weaker roster. There is no reason for a massive regression this season, particularly when we made big signings in our 2 weakest spots last season (halves/ center).

Sk isn't the ONLY problem, but if he's the answer then I'd hate to know how lame the question was!

 

[Poupou Escobar]

We were far more competitive last season with a weaker roster. There is no reason for a massive regression this season

I beg to differ.

Judging by their performances relative to last year, our tight forwards - Hindy, Poore, Fui and Shack - all hit the wall over the off-season.

Mitch Allgood has improved in the wrestle but those other four went sharply downhill. That's one reason we give away so many penalties this year.

Tim Mannah has seemed distracted this year as well.

 

[Eels Dude]

The inconsistency is a feature of young/inexperienced players and we've got plenty of them.

Next year Blair and Sio will both have a full year in first grade under their belts, as will Ryan, Paulo, Lussick and Harrison. Luke Kelly too.

Shame most of them will have no experience in winning.

 

[Forty20]

I beg to differ.

Judging by their performances relative to last year, our tight forwards - Hindy, Poore, Fui and Shack - all hit the wall over the off-season.

Mitch Allgood has improved in the wrestle but those other four went sharply downhill. That's one reason we give away so many penalties this year.

Tim Mannah has seemed distracted this year as well.

Mannah is well down on last year but as you say, he has a pretty big distraction with his brother's ordeal.

Just quietly, I reckon that opposition teams have got him pinned as a one-trick pony. I know you hate the penchant for offloads that our forum possesses but teams know he doesn't have one in his arsenal, nor a short ball at the line and thus they always number up on him.

He is still one of our best forwards but he is too focused on fighting to the dominant 4-point position for a quick play-the-ball. Hopefully he can develop this aspect of his game.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Shame most of them will have no experience in winning.

Winning matches is a result of winning individual contests on the field, which is a result of executing processes better than your opponents.

People who are less experienced have more improvement in them than those who are more experienced. This is how the law of diminishing returns works.

#wikipoudia

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Mannah is well down on last year but as you say, he has a pretty big distraction with his brother's ordeal.

Just quietly, I reckon that opposition teams have got him pinned as a one-trick pony. I know you hate the penchant for offloads that our forum possesses but teams know he doesn't have one in his arsenal, nor a short ball at the line and thus they always number up on him.

True, but at his best he still has as the quickest play-the-ball in the game. Even against multiple defenders.

Also I love offloads, but only when they're a result of winning the wrestle and getting hands free to a support player in good position. Offloading just for the sake of it, against a defence crowding the support player, results in uglier football than one-out runs up the middle.

But all footy should involve support runners, whether the player intends to pass or not. Everybody - player and coach - knows that, but it's the first thing to go out the window under fatigue or when confidence is down.

He is still one of our best forwards but he is too focused on fighting to the dominant 4-point position for a quick play-the-ball. Hopefully he can develop this aspect of his game.

It would be nice if he would learn to pass, but don't forget he came into a team full of great offloaders. His sole job was to get quick play-the-balls. But yeah, it's time for him to diversify.

 

[Swiftstylez]

shame most of them will have no experience in winning.

lol

I have faith in Kearney's direction as long as he persists with Sandow and builds a stronger forward pack. I just have nothing to go on ability-wise in regards to Kearney.

I still believe he is a a premiership winning halfback, if not here than somewhere else.

 

[oldmancraigy]

I beg to differ.

Judging by their performances relative to last year, our tight forwards - Hindy, Poore, Fui and Shack - all hit the wall over the off-season.

Mitch Allgood has improved in the wrestle but those other four went sharply downhill. That's one reason we give away so many penalties this year.

Tim Mannah has seemed distracted this year as well.

So why are you blaming the players for this? Who should be getting the most out of their players?

Anyway, I disagree on your point, so the above question is partly moot! I'd suggest that our backrowers in Paulo and Ryan are better options than we had last season.

Allgood has gone backwards in running the ball; Poore is much better than he was last season (where he hardly played at all); Mannah was strong until the last month; Fui looks to have regressed, but hard to really know since he's been played as a wide running backrower as often as in the prop rotation....

I'm not sure you can just say "they've aged" and blame them for our performances. Again, until last month, we were winning the 'tight meterage' contest on a weekly basis.


We've been relying on inept defensive structures all year long (with no adjustment) and there seemed to be no plan or thought as to how Sandow would fit into the team in terms of playstyle until well after the season began.

Our roster IS better, but performances have gone backwards.

 

[strider]

what wall did Shack hit? I don't think he got the chance to even see the wall let alone hit it

 

[stuke]

Shack saw the wall and wrote all over the wall so he had to climb another wall before he hit the wall.

 

[cv8z]

what wall did Shack hit? I don't think he got the chance to even see the wall let alone hit it

Didn't he put the wall up?
One could argue whether it was too high or not

 

[spiderdan]

The squad is full of kids, rookies and broken down old merkins.

so was the squad in 2000, but by the end of the season we were the second best team in the comp after looking like crap in the first half of the year.

there must be a reason why sk was so highly regarded down in melbourne but is seemingly struggling now. if i had to guess i'd say he may well be one of those guys like peter sharp or royce simmons that has some great ideas and makes an awesome 2ic, but struggles when he is the top dog.

 

[Kornstar]

so was the squad in 2000, but by the end of the season we were the second best team in the comp after looking like crap in the first half of the year.

there must be a reason why sk was so highly regarded down in melbourne but is seemingly struggling now. if i had to guess i'd say he may well be one of those guys like peter sharp or royce simmons that has some great ideas and makes an awesome 2ic, but struggles when he is the top dog.

This^

Sometimes it just happens

 

[Maroubra Eel]

What chance of an 11am press conference today to announce they've pissed this merkin off?

 

[SDM]

100-1

 

[zipzip man]

Yeah hang on to him... great coach, give him as long as he needs :crazy:

The bloke is useless! The players don't wanna play for him and I might neck myself if I have to watch one more press conference where he looks blank, keeps playing with his lip and says the "lads" again... F@CK HIM OFF NOW!!

 

[Wise Old Eel]

What chance of an 11am press conference today to announce they've pissed this merkin off?

None. IMO, the board (or whoever is really running this circus) have made their decision. They want him gone but must now play politics with the elections coming up. After being elected, they sacked a proven coach with a good record to install SK - a rookie - to rebuild the club. They (or Osborne or whoever it was) signed SK to a ridiculous deal, meaning a payout would be huge. Now, they need to justify (not to mention chose) a new coach and payout the dud one without harming their re-election prospects. It's all in the timing...

WOE

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Guys like Hindy,Matiua,Burt,Smith,Poore,MoiMoi,Morgan,Keating,Roberts are all not NRL standard anymore at the level where you will be top 8 contenders and does not help when the NSW cup team is not even worth looking at.

You know there was a time, when all we recruited were blokes that were supposedly past it or not up to NRL standard. The 2004 batch didn't come off but there were some great guys as well.

Blokes that came to us after being tossed out of their old club, or that left and went into NRL obscurity, but at Parramatta, they played well and played in a winning team.

Blokes like Widders, Stringer, Morrison (to a point), Kingston, D Mortimer, Veialeki.

It is the coaches job, to work with the players at his disposal, not to sit around and wait to recruit the team he wants.

I also thought of the last batch of "past it" recruits, that we could have made good with them. I would have loved to have seen our side last year under a coach that had earned his stripes, instead of a rookie, but, such is life.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

So why are you blaming the players for this? Who should be getting the most out of their players?

No coach in the world can rejuvenate players that are physically past it.

Anyway, I disagree on your point, so the above question is partly moot! I'd suggest that our backrowers in Paulo and Ryan are better options than we had last season.

Agreed. But they're still playing off the back of slow play-the-balls.

Allgood has gone backwards in running the ball;

He's improved in the wrestle. He's probably our best forward at slowing the ruck. Gets quick play-the-balls too. I'm happy with him, and look forward to watching him next year when he's forced to step up.

Poore is much better than he was last season (where he hardly played at all); Mannah was strong until the last month; Fui looks to have regressed, but hard to really know since he's been played as a wide running backrower as often as in the prop rotation....

I'm not sure you can just say "they've aged" and blame them for our performances. Again, until last month, we were winning the 'tight meterage' contest on a weekly basis.

It's not just about metres though. It's about the speed of the play-the-balls at the end of each run and outside of Mannah and Allgood, ours are far too slow.

We've been relying on inept defensive structures all year long (with no adjustment)

We certainly have adjusted throughout the season, from employing a shooter at right centre ("Morgan can't read the play!" :crazy: "And now Blair can't read the play!" :crazy to moving Sandow to the left side, it is all tinkering to mitigate a weakness.

and there seemed to be no plan or thought as to how Sandow would fit into the team in terms of playstyle until well after the season began.

He was always intended to play what's in front of him, but in order for that to happen he needs to be attacking a defensive line on the back foot. Our forwards just haven't been providing that platform.

Our roster IS better, but performances have gone backwards.

Our attack has improved, but our defence has gotten worse - as you'd expect bringing Chris Sandow into the team.