Losing Sandow and gaining a modern coach is the best thing to happen for Souths. Kearney is going to have his hands full next year.
A pair of halves that don't play ad-lib will see the Rabbits perform a lot better . . . Maguire just has to train a pair
I agree with this completely. Everyone see's the Sandow highlight reels and thinks that he has been the be all and end all for Souths this year.
Those that actually watch every game that Souths play know that he has been balls at least as much as he has come up with the goods if not more. The perfect example was the game against Newcastle last week. Sure he may have set up two tries, but he let in at least 4. There are not many better ad lib footballers then him and he certainly can pull off the clutch play to win you a game. In saying that though, he is just as likely to lose you a game with a shoulder charge gone wrong or a grubber for himself on the last when the situation demands a deep kick to close out the game.
I'll give him his dues and say that I have never seen him give less than 100% on a football field. He also looks at every game thinking that it is winnable. Even when down by 18 with 10 to go. He never gives up and that is a great quality to have.
But for all the good stuff, the big overiding problems are that he cannot tackle and he struggles to play within a disciplined structure.
Don't know that I'd have been happy if Souths had have tied up $400 - $500k in a bloke that can't tackle. Defence is half the game and no matter how well you hide a bloke nowadays, the opposition can still find them.
In my mind, Sandow probably should be used as a fullback and play a similar role to Barber at the Dogs. It's the best place to hide a poor defender and it gives him the option to pop up and ad-lib. It also allows you to have a more conservative half who can provide more structure when needed.
