Rick Stone appointed Knights coach

[Frederick]

Pwnt

 

[slotmachine]

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.

Defence got better with more time under stone. Hopefully bedsy is around, he could write a book on that topic.

Points allowed per game
2010 - 23.7
2011 - 18.5
2012 - 20.3
2013 - 17.6
2014 - 24.0*

Also, I think 36 is still the most points scored in a loss? Not a great record.

 

[Dave_]

I'm happy for Stone to get the job but it just makes me think the Bennett years were a big waste of time. We'd probably be a far better side if Stone had just stayed head coach.

It's like we just halted the teams development for 3 years.

 

[jamesgould]

Defence got better with more time under stone. Hopefully bedsy is around, he could write a book on that topic.

Points allowed per game
2010 - 23.7
2011 - 18.5
2012 - 18.7
2013 - 17.6
2014 - 24.0*

Also, I think 36 is still the most points scored in a loss? Not a great record.

Wasn't 2012 more like 20.33 per game?

Yeah, Stone has plenty to work on though ... I think he had something like a two month period in 2011 where we didn't score over 20 points ... although I seem to remember we won a few in that time. You have to wonder if we'd continued to improve under him in 2012 if he'd stayed on as well, or dropped off again like we did this year after a successful 2013.

 

[slotmachine]

Right you are.

 

[perverse]

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

Better than I thought, some weird margins in there, though... lots of points against. Still, much better than I thought.

 

[Apey]

The 36 - 38 Titans game does not exist. Not any more.

 

[voltron]

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

i saw this and thought
what were we doing between rounds 3 and 21 in 2011???

 

[Bring it home Knights]

I think a lot of people are remembering Stone with Rose coloured glasses. There were plenty of games when he was head coach, where the team didn't turn up in the forwards. If it wasn't for Mullen's kicking game and Uate and Macdougalls incredible form, then we would have struggled big time!

I'm not saying that I am unhappy that we signed him, however I'm not overly optimistic. I think having spent time under Bennett will definitely have helped his coaching. Here's hoping anyway!

 

[Noname36]

Defence got better with more time under stone. Hopefully bedsy is around, he could write a book on that topic.

Points allowed per game
2010 - 23.7
2011 - 18.5
2012 - 20.3
2013 - 17.6
2014 - 24.0*

Also, I think 36 is still the most points scored in a loss? Not a great record.

Yeah if I recall it was pretty deplorable in 2010 under Stone, and according to those stats pretty much as bad as this year. I remember the scores from that season being posted here a few months ago and most were big scores against us even if we got close by scoring a lot ourselves. I remember being horrified because it was sensational under B Smith. It got a lot better in 2011 though so hopefully Stone had worked out what worked...or he had support staff that did that he hopefully brings back.

Hopefully Bedsy gets to stick around regardless. Loved seeing him get stuck into the boys on Saturday night.

 

[Noname36]

I think a lot of people are remembering Stone with Rose coloured glasses. There were plenty of games when he was head coach, where the team didn't turn up in the forwards. If it wasn't for Mullen's kicking game and Uate and Macdougalls incredible form, then we would have struggled big time!

I'm not saying that I am unhappy that we signed him, however I'm not overly optimistic. I think having spent time under Bennett will definitely have helped his coaching. Here's hoping anyway!

There's absolutely no doubt about that IMO.

 

[Rod]

I think a big reason that the first Stone era is looked on quite favourably is because we played attractive footy in that time. We were always shifting the ball out to MacDougall and Uate early in the tackle count and in our own half. It didn't always work but it made it easy to tune into a game.

When you combine that with the fact that Stone was working with a much inferior squad back then, there should be cause for some optimism. He also said today he going to focus on improving our front row situation so that's a good sign.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

We have a much better team this time around. The last team that stone had to work with was one of the worst teams on paper in the NRL. I will be interested to see how he goes with a team that is worth feeding.

 

[aqua_duck]

Not just inferior squad but inferior resources, facilities and overall budget. The money Tinkler spent on the club will prove fruitful in the future especially in terms of juniors coming through. Also Stone is probably a lot wiser now than he was back then

 

[Nuffy]

Let's hope Pika gets a start again.

We need to get back into the wrestling game.

Plus he was good for mail.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

How much of Bennett's legacy will be in Stone's coaching, if any, is what will be the most interesting part to observe. Good call giving two years though. Perfect contract for any coach. Keeps them hungry, focused and the fans at bay because if the coach fails they are gone 12 months later. No long drawn out sagas. However the tigers have made a career out of destroying coaches careers.

 

[Noname36]

^ there's a lot I hope Stone does take away from Bennett to become a better coach, but there's also stuff I hope he doesn't. I want us to play more attacking football much more consistently because it suits the type of players we have IMO.

 

[Nuffy]

I like the 2 year deal for Stone, it means he needs to hit the ground running.

The reality is that other than props, our squad is not too bad, he just needs to get them playing winning footy.

 

[Yosh]

Does Stone like an expansive attacking game (early balls out to the centres etc) or did he resort to that because our forwards were crap?

 

[Sacrolishes]

Man they are giving it to Knights and Stone in the media. Not a lot backing the decision. All I can say is we will see what happens in the next two years. I think it was right due to he did a pretty good job when he was in position b4 Bennett and deserves to get another go because he stuck by us.