Rick Stone appointed Knights coach

[Noname36]

http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news/2014/08/11/rick_stone_appointed_head_coach.html

Just making it official. 2 year contract.

I'm so shocked :lol:

 

[Johns Magic]

Good on him and good luck. Looking forward to watching us under him, fingers crossed.

 

[Frederick]

I'm glad to see him get another shot. I'm sure working under Bennett the last few years will have helped him refine his technique. I'd just hope that he gets us playing a more entertaining brand of football

 

[Sacrolishes]

Good to confirm it all. Also looking forward to seeing what he can do for the next two years and hopefully we all give him a good chance to do what he can and not start calling for his head straight away haha.

Interested in next few weeks to see what signings and re-signings will come of this. If any. Some
Great junior talent. I think a better choice is to give Matarora and Vai Vai a good go next year. See if they can handle the weekly grind of NRL and bring a new forward in/ experienced forward. But I really don't think we have any $$ left so lest blood a few locals and go for it next year.

Top 8 is the goal. Not a premiership but a strong competitive season.

 

[Spot On]

We'd have to have some cap room with Boyds 600k freed up now. Sign those rookies up Rick.

 

[voltron]

yeah I'm glad that he got another shot
It's not an exciting signing though
but I am looking to seeing where we go these next couple of seasons.

what does everyone think about the 2 year deal?

 

[Noname36]

We'd have to have some cap room with Boyds 600k freed up now.

We have heaps of money but nobody to spend it on. I'd use it to front load contracts (and lock up the rookies like you said) then go on a massive spending spree for 2016 when more talent becomes available. We'll have Smith's and hopefully Gidley's money by then too.

Very happy for Rick. I'm still not 100% sold he's the right option (I think we might need someone fresh) but I would feel terrible for him if he didn't get it so I'm very happy to give him a chance.

2 years is the perfect length IMO. Enough time to let him show whether he's right for the job, but at the same time it's not too long, so if he's not working we don't have to wait too long before trying another direction.

 

[Diesel]

Glad he got his job back, he seemed to have the team going well pre-Bennett but 2014 for many off field issues would've affected many teams.
Bennett didn't rate Stone, is this a FU to Bennett?

 

[Noname36]

Glad he got his job back, he seemed to have the team going well pre-Bennett but 2014 for many off field issues would've affected many teams.
Bennett didn't rate Stone, is this a FU to Bennett?

There's absolutely no evidence Bennett doesn't rate Stone. A couple of media articles with no quotes from anyone. They both speak very positively about one another.

No he didn't put his name forward for the job but most talk seems to indicate Bennett thought the local players had complacency issues and needed someone new to shake them up. I have a feeling not endorsing Stone was more a criticism of the players (which isn't new for him - he threw them under the bus when leaving) rather than Stone.

Either way I see Bennett not putting his name forward as a positive. He doesn't have a good track record with Henjak and Price.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

Congrats Stoney. Now make us proud lad. One thing is certain. He will be very driven.

His Fiji connection with the Sims boys and Aku will be strong. On recent form it is a damn shame Ashton wasn't signed as well. Having all three would be special. Imagine Beau and those three on the field together if a brawl erupted!

 

[TooheysNew]

Congrats Stoney. Now make us proud lad. One thing is certain. He will be very driven.

His Fiji connection with the Sims boys and Aku will be strong. On recent form it is a damn shame Ashton wasn't signed as well. Having all three would be special. Imagine Beau and those three on the field together if a brawl erupted!

Except no-one throws punches anymore.

 

[The Charlatan]

Good news for Stone & for Newcastle. Hopefully he leads Newcastle on to great things. He seemed to bring the best out in the team when he was there previously.

 

[perverse]

Worst kept secret in League. I'm happy for him, he's bided his time and deserves another shot... but I'm not convinced he's the right one to get a good, consistent attitude out of us. I think people have rose-tinted glasses on when they remember the pre-Bennett years... they weren't very good, but our roster was much, much worse back then.

I don't think we had scored over like 30 points in years before Bennett came on... and we certainly hadn't scored 40 or 50. Bennett has given us more killer instinct and fortitude than any of his detractors want to admit.

We have heaps of money but nobody to spend it on. I'd use it to front load contracts (and lock up the rookies like you said)

I'm hoping this is why Scott extended his contract recently. Hopefully we put a new deal in front of him where he gets a great big chunk of cash next year and it wanes off after that.

 

[otori]

The real measure of Stones performance won't be 2015 results but how good the 2016 team is. If we end up like Canberra this year, throwing money around and being used as a bargaining chip then I think he'll be moved on for 2017.

 

[slotmachine]

Good luck to stone, hope he gets some time to put his stamp on the side before being judged.

Agree that 2016 is the year.

 

[Zoidberg]

Happy that Stone got it. Hope he can bring something fresh to the table. Our 20's seem to be killing it in attack so hopefull he can let our team use their talents. Defence is something we need work on again. Looking forward to seeing how we go.

 

[Noname36]

Yep. 2016 will certainly be the year. The second year you can generally get a proper feel for the coach. It's not fair to judge a coach on their first year when they're often left with a side they don't want (or in Stuart/Hagan's case left with a good side someone else built for them which flattered them).

I'm more interested in knowing who his support staff will be. We have an idea of who the lower grade coaches will be but the assistant spot is of interest for me. We need a huge defensive overhaul and our defence was terrible under Stoney first time round. Hopefully we either employ a defensive coach or an assistant that's good in that area.

 

[Rod]

Happy enough with the appointment. Stone deserves a crack, and this is actually a pretty good squad he's got to work with bar the prop/forward issue we're all familiar with.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

In stone we trust

 

[jamesgould]

Worst kept secret in League. I'm happy for him, he's bided his time and deserves another shot... but I'm not convinced he's the right one to get a good, consistent attitude out of us. I think people have rose-tinted glasses on when they remember the pre-Bennett years... they weren't very good, but our roster was much, much worse back then.

I don't think we had scored over like 30 points in years before Bennett came on... and we certainly hadn't scored 40 or 50. Bennett has given us more killer instinct and fortitude than any of his detractors want to admit.

2010:
Round 4 lost to Penrith 30-34
Round 6 beat North Queensland 36-18
Round 8 beat Brisbane 30-22
Round 9 lost to Gold Coast 36-38
Round 10 beat Roosters 34-18
Round 21 beat Manly 32-14
Round 22 beat Bulldogs 30-6
Round 24 beat Brisbane 44-18

2011:
Round 1 beat Penrith 42-8
Round 2 beat North Queensland 34-22
Round 21 beat Gold Coast 50-20
Round 22 beat Canberra 40-8
Round 26 beat Souths 40-24