NRL Rd 27 2024 - General Non-Warriors Thread

[Big Marn]

Ffs Fuller. Fins imploding

 

[Beavers Headgear]

That’s a send off for Bromwich

 

[Big Marn]

And then Bromwich. Wtf

 

[Big Marn]

Wearing the wrong uniform for a send off

 

[Blair]

Redcliffe just can't penetrate. Down to 12 men and desperate.

 

[Big Marn]

Hammer time!

 

[Blair]

Hammer time!

Now a crucial forward pass with Nikorima away.

Sorry Canberra, you don't rely on other results, particularly at the death.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Feel like Wayne made a big error today, 1 of the most promising young halves Katoa not playing in a big game, O’Sullivan is a battler

 

[Blair]

14-6, Knights. Final.

Newcastle make the semis. They looked bloody average for a lot of this season.

 

[JJ]

14-6, Knights. Final.

Newcastle make the semis. They looked bloody average for a lot of this season.

Bloody average gets you in the 8…. Sad for those lower down

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Hot take - to me, Bennett hasn't done a good job with the Dolphins at all? That squad seems to me to have plenty of talent, literally one of the most exciting backlines in the comp and an outstanding young half (who he inexplicably decided not to pick). Their forwards have a lot of good names who are probably past their best, but I figured that was the plan, exciting backs mixed with old head forwards. Yet overall, they've been erratic and frankly a pretty soft footy team.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Hot take - to me, Bennett hasn't done a good job with the Dolphins at all? That squad seems to me to have plenty of talent, literally one of the most exciting backlines in the comp and an outstanding young half (who he inexplicably decided not to pick). Their forwards have a lot of good names who are probably past their best, but I figured that was the plan, exciting backs mixed with old head forwards. Yet overall, they've been erratic and frankly a pretty soft footy team.

From where they were with the squad when they started, I think they’ve done ok and exceeded expectations year 1, this year middling around were expected. Maybe the aging pack strategy has caught them out, both seasons they’ve fallen off a cliff the longer a season has gone

He has never had to coach a poor squad, those Broncos sides he had that he won everything with, probably any good to above average coach could have gotten those results

 

[JJ]

From where they were with the squad when they started, I think they’ve done ok and exceeded expectations year 1, this year middling around were expected. Maybe the aging pack strategy has caught them out, both seasons they’ve fallen off a cliff the longer a season has gone

He has never had to coach a poor squad, those Broncos sides he had that he won everything with, probably any good to above average coach could have gotten those results

Kind of agree on that - re the Broncos, the main challengers should have been the Panthers (but they fell off a cliff) and Canberra had many injuries... when he's had mediocre squads (Newcastle) he's got mediocre results, his origin record isn't great etc... what is astonishing is his longevity - it's a stressful gig (even with Rolls Royce squads), his two main contemporaries (off the top of my head) were Gould (who I believe was a much better coach, and has a pretty much unmatched footy brain - walked away from coaching long ago) and Sheens (who similarly did well with talented teams but the game seemed to pass him by - or is that just what it looks like when you're old and your squad is rubbish?) haven't managed that (for different reasons as described).

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Yeah outside from the amazing Tigers 05 run, Sheens didn’t do a lot after the star studded sides left.


Overall with coaching I try to look a bit more at what they are working with and what they get out of them, rather than premierships won which is the American narrative that we seem to live by now

Brian Smith had an outstanding record over a long period at different clubs, and doesn’t get talked about as glowingly as he should because he ran into red hot sides, took 3 different clubs to Grand Finals, and left them all in a good place when he moved on. Hasler gets destroyed over his Dogs stint, in his tenure there he took teams with Reynolds/Keating and Reynolds/Hodkinson as half pairings to the grand final which is a bloody good effort

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

From where they were with the squad when they started, I think they’ve done ok and exceeded expectations year 1, this year middling around were expected. Maybe the aging pack strategy has caught them out, both seasons they’ve fallen off a cliff the longer a season has gone

To provide a more balanced perspective, it would be fair to say that part of the reason why I perceive the Dolphins as having a strong squad is because of good talent identification and recruitment. Like, Bostock and Fuller are both new players brought in under Bennett who I now see as very talented guys. Isaako was a bit of a journeyman who has had a resurgence with the Dolphins. Nikorima has looked better than expected too. So I guess maybe it's credit to Bennett for patching together a squad which ended up looking quite strong on paper, but ultimately flattered to deceive.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Yeah outside from the amazing Tigers 05 run, Sheens didn’t do a lot after the star studded sides left.


Overall with coaching I try to look a bit more at what they are working with and what they get out of them, rather than premierships won which is the American narrative that we seem to live by now

Brian Smith had an outstanding record over a long period at different clubs, and doesn’t get talked about as glowingly as he should because he ran into red hot sides, took 3 different clubs to Grand Finals, and left them all in a good place when he moved on. Hasler gets destroyed over his Dogs stint, in his tenure there he took teams with Reynolds/Keating and Reynolds/Hodkinson as half pairings to the grand final which is a bloody good effort

On Brian Smith, I was thinking recently about how the Broncos, Raiders and to a slightly lesser extent Manly were the superstar sides of the 90s, yet somehow relatively workmanlike Dragons and Bulldogs sides made 4 and 3 grand finals respectively. From 1992 to 1996 either the Bulldogs or Dragons made the grand final every year despite it being the height of the Broncos and Raiders in particular having superstar sides.

If you look at the 92/93/96 Dragons grand final sides on paper, it was an impressive feat for them to make those grand finals.