McFadden

[Blake]

He won't make sweeping changes - no way.

A true test of his coaching ability will be to work with the current 'best' team - they're experienced enough and with the right coaching they should respond positively. This is his first opportunity to see if he has what it takes.

If they continue to play like poo poo then he'll make big changes.

What's interesting is that they won in NQ when the odds against them then capitulated so badly against the Sharks. Their attitudes were night and day. Basically they can play when they want to.

Mateo is a massive problem and while his general play is crap, his attitude within the Warriors is having a bigger much more negative effect. Get rid of him.

My feeling regarding some of the lads coming back over weight is that Elliot puts the onus on the player rather than demanding they stay in shape.

This won't work with young players within the Warriors team. Where is the incentive for them to stay in shape and perform the best they can?

The 'no dick head' policy needs to apply to more than just drink and ElephantJuice.

 

[reykaine]

He won't make sweeping changes - no way.

A true test of his coaching ability will be to work with the current 'best' team - they're experienced enough and with the right coaching they should respond positively. This is his first opportunity to see if he has what it takes.

If they continue to play like poo poo then he'll make big changes.

What's interesting is that they won in NQ when the odds against them then capitulated so badly against the Sharks. Their attitudes were night and day. Basically they can play when they want to.

Mateo is a massive problem and while his general play is crap, his attitude within the Warriors is having a bigger much more negative effect. Get rid of him.

My feeling regarding some of the lads coming back over weight is that Elliot puts the onus on the player rather than demanding they stay in shape.

This won't work with young players within the Warriors team. Where is the incentive for them to stay in shape and perform the best they can?

The 'no dick head' policy needs to apply to more than just drink and ElephantJuice.

You make some interesting points which I agree with on the whole.
However I do think this season the games are being way more unforgiving if your team makes basic mistakes (like dropping the ball) due to the rule changes.
Momentum is big this year and possession is a big part of this. There have been a lot of blowouts this year and there aren't the normal top 3 or 4 teams like storm, roosters and manly leading the way. Storm and Manly have had their pants pulled down already this year. Not having the cannonball tackle ( a good thing ) has sped up the ruck a lot which doesn't help a team like the Warriors when they are on defence. They have always been dodgy defending dummy runners and now they have even less time to get their line organised.

If you compare the Tigers game the previous week with the game against the Sharks, a lot of things went our way and we got a lot of momentum because of it. They lost their fullback and others and by the end of the game the tigers had no one left on the bench. Johnson got some good repeat sets. We did a lot less tackling and the points came.

Against the Sharks we racked up 332 tackles cause we couldn't complete our sets. Sharks completed 35/41 sets at 81% completion. No one in the competition is going to win a game with those stats against you.

If you go back to Coach Cleary's era, he was all about high completion rates and getting a fair share of possession. Less tackling meant more energy and games were closer. We had good goal kickers in the team (Witt, Moloney) and we won a lot of close games we might otherwise have lost due to having 85% kicking rates on conversions etc. He kept the game plan pretty simple and our wing defenders actually defended out wide far better. Inu may have been rocks and diamonds but he did read well on defence (the majority of the time) and having a good talker like Tate out in the centres (when he was fit) helped also. And the icing on the cake was having a cover defender like Luck cleaning up or helping out as he knew where to be on the field.

Our style wasn't glamorous most of the time but it got results which instills confidence in the coach from the players, leading to more even performances over the course of a season.
I haven't seen that confidence since Cleary left and took some of our more reliable players with him.
The uneven performances have returned. I hope McFadden knows how to turn this around. But basic things like wing defence need to be addressed as we are getting killed out wide every game.

 

[LeagueNut]

It's the Daily Telegraph, so it could be 95% guesswork, but parts of it still sound worrying...

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ors-coaching-job/story-fni3fbgz-1226878143258

Nathan Brown officially rules himself out of contention for vacant Warriors coaching job

NATHAN Brown has become the first coach to officially rule himself out of contention for the vacant New Zealand Warriors coaching position.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens is unlikely to be appointed and the Warriors aren’t overly keen on Wigan coach Shaun Wane.

Another option, Neil Henry, appears comfortable as Gold Coast assistant coach.

It seems the position is so toxic no one really wants the job.

Tony Iro and interim coach Andrew McFadden remain in the hunt. McFadden is firming to favouritism, provided he can secure some winning results this season.

Insiders suggest he must guide New Zealand to the finals to be named head coach in 2015.

If he can’t, no-one quite knows what the Warriors will do.

The position became available after the club sacked Matt Elliott on Sunday night.

Brown has enjoyed significant success in his five years with Super League clubs Huddersfield and St Helens and was expected to nominate for the Warriors position.

But Brown told The Daily Telegraph from St Helens on Tuesday night he was happy to remain in Super League.

“I’m quite happy and content where I am,’’ Brown said.

“I’m quite satisfied at the moment.

“The big thing is timing and the timing must be right.

“I’ve got a good job here. I would like to come home and coach one day but it’s not really an option at the moment.

“We are very happy where we are.”

St Helens has won all seven games to start the Super League season.

“We are undefeated so far,” Brown said proudly.

“We brought through a lot of kids last year and they are performing strongly for us.

“As I said, I would like to come home to the NRL one day but timing is the key.”

Wane was thought to be a favourite after his success with Wigan.

He is also close friends with Warriors football operations general manager Dean Bell.

But well-placed sources are adamant Wane won’t be heavily considered.

Sheens, as World Cup winning coach, certainly has the credentials and is looking for another NRL job.

Warriors officials, at the moment, haven’t spoken about Sheens with any depth.

Warriors CEO Wayne Scurrah told the New Zealand media that McFadden deserved the job at least for this season.

“(It wasn’t) a difficult decision to put Andrew in the job once Matt resigned,” Scurrah said.

“We know his calibre and we know what the players think about him.

“He’s made of the right stuff and with what he’s told us about what he wants to do and how we wants to operate. I think he’ll be a breath of fresh air for the club, not only in replacing Matt, but in general.

“Andrew absolutely understands what players have to do and what their obligations should be in terms of being professional and consistent, and I’m confident that he’s got their support in wanting to do that as well.”

 

[Izz]

The only quotes they have are from Brown.

However, i want them to give McFadden a good crack. I rate him. Which, as we all know, means a lot

 

[Rich102]

The message was clear when Andrew McFadden spoke to his players for the first time as Warriors' head coach yesterday: It's time to harden up.

"I think they want a tough environment," the former Raiders' playmaker said when asked how he intended to solve a riddle that has befuddled a long and distinguished line of coaches and draw consistency out of a squad that specialises in making a lie of its obvious talent.

"This team has always had lots of potential and talent. But ultimately we need tough players coming through and I need to create the environment that allows them to be that," McFadden said.

Thomas Leuluai, a senior hand wheeled out at yesterday's announcement to put forth the players' view, confirmed Australian McFadden's message had been forthright.

"He made it clear he would be making the tough calls and toughening up our environment," said Leuluai, who denied player power had played a part in Elliott's demise.


"Definitely not. It was a shock to us. You could sort of sense something was happening when we came back from Australia and we found out today, but it was nothing like that.

"We don't have any say in those sort of matters. Obviously the owners have set pretty ambitious goals and in their eyes maybe things needed to change."

While the club's management stuck firmly to the line that Elliott had fallen on his sword, Leuluai didn't bother with the political claptrap.

"It is pretty embarrassing standing here today [yesterday] knowing that your coach is getting sacked because of our performance. We need to have a deep look at ourselves. Matty took the ultimate punishment for our poor performance. It is not a nice feeling standing here knowing that."

A long-time Elliott understudy who has been carefully groomed for a head coaching position, McFadden inherits an underperforming squad, restless fanbase and trigger-happy ownership. The head coach's chair at Mt Smart is one of the hottest seats in the NRL, but McFadden insists he isn't daunted by that.

"Matt has obviously paid the ultimate price," he said. "Whether that is right or wrong is not for me to decide, but I am the coach now and the buck stops with me."

McFadden's appointment is for the remainder of the season, but a decision on whether he is a long-term solution will be made mid-season, according to chief executive Wayne Scurrah.

"He needs a bit of time to settle in but that doesn't mean we can't win," Scurrah said. "I spoke to [owner] Eric [Watson] last night ... he is hugely optimistic about what Andrew can do and so am I. He is made of good stuff and he'll get every chance to be the NRL coach beyond this season."

McFadden is confident he'll seize that chance. "I am not worried about timeframe or anything, I am just going to get to work."

Andrew McFadden

• The 36-year-old former halfback played 100 NRL games for the Raiders, Eels and Storm between 1997 and 2004.
• Joined the coaching staff at the Raiders in 2005, serving under head coach Matt Elliott.
• Coached Raiders NSW Cup side in 2006 before taking up an assistant coaching role at the Catalans Dragons for 2007 and 2008 Super League seasons.
• Returned to the Raiders as Toyota Cup coach in 2009, then promoted to assistant coach.
• Assistant coach in Canberra for three seasons under David Furner before joining Elliott at the Warriors in 2013.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11233906

 

[Meth]

We all want to see this guy go well. I said this when we signed Elliot- we need a steady coach now. We can't afford to show another coach the door any time soon.

 

[Scott]

I think he needs to be signed on till the end of 2016. No messing around. Lets back him & provide some stability. If the players don't like that, they can piss off.

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

I for one, would love to be a fly on the wall at the Warriors, to really see how motivated or how much pull some of the players have got.
Some of them can seem disinterested, I get a bad vibe from 3 players in particular but they appear to lose interest when it suits.

 

[One Warrior]

Just heard a bit of Andrew McFadden on Radiosport with Tony Veitch, I did not hear the whole interview, but what I did hear I was impressed by, putting aside the rest of the drama from the past week, I think he will be good for the club.

The thing that I was most impressed by is that he sounds a no nonsense guy, when he says people will face consequences for bad performance he means it, he dropped Mateo because of poor attitude and that he was out of condition, in his words he said that Mateo will not be picked again until he was fit and had the right attitude, so no bounce back into the team next week.

McFadden also said that he had been given full authority in regards of hiring new players and re-signing existing players which is great news. I believe McFadden as coach is one thing we can be positive about, now for the rest of the club.

 

[Mike0070]

Mannering resigned 4yr deal

 

[JoeD]

Warriors best coaches have both been rookies. The little I've seen of McFadden he seems like a good mix of cleary and Anderson. He has nothing to lose and I think he'll be good for the club.

 

[playdaball]

I hope not. Ackland had to go, imo.

Ackland went as he didn't get on with Elliot and had no confidence in his decisions.

 

[Izz]

Ackland went as he didn't get on with Elliot and had no confidence in his decisions.

Fair enough.

I still hope they don't get him back. While i have confidence in Ackland's ability to win us U20 premierships and spot talent, i don't have any confidence in his ability to develop talent for FG, and particularly not in positions we need (ie outside backs).

 

[playdaball]

Fair enough.

I still hope they don't get him back. While i have confidence in Ackland's ability to win us U20 premierships and spot talent, i don't have any confidence in his ability to develop talent for FG, and particularly not in positions we need (ie outside backs).

I'm not sure if Ackland's JD was to win 20s premierships or develop players for first grade? He has probably achieved both as he has won titles with the 20s. A lot of players have also comes through the 20s into FG including outside backs i.e. Hurrell, Locke, Fish as well as others that the Warriors have let go ...Hiku, Feki plus others that I can't think of.

He is probably happy in his current ARL role.

 

[Meth]

Good signs, really. Great to get a win, but I think there has been an evidence shift since he took over really. Whether that is just a surge of enthusiasm among the playing group for a new coach, I'm not sure.

There's been a few head-scratchers, but I am starting to feel good about Cappy.

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

Cappy is getting to the core of the rot and now we are starting to see results. If this keeps up we may be unearthing another good rookie coach for all of the NRL to benefit from, not just the Warriors.

Good work Cappy and the team keep it up

 

[JJ]

Hmmm, we beat a team we're supposed ti lose to....

I am not sold yet... seen it all before

 

[strummer]

The thing I am liking about McFadden is how he is making the Effort factor important-he has put an embargo on using the word talent I believe-the warriors have plenty of that but it means nothing unless coupled with effort.He will bring transparency and honesty to the Warriors game if he sticks to his word about dropping under performers(has so far)which is what the club needs.I am thinking he can turn this club into a consistent force-premature thinking maybe but he is saying and doing the right things so far.

 

[SilentOne]

I like how you can understand what he's talking about unlike that prick Elliot who was cryptic as f**k.

 

[Diesel]

I'm sure the players appreciate that too