After the big losses we had against the Roosters on ANZAC Day and recently against the Bulldogs post-our first bye - the three previous 'coaches' we had would certainly have not had answers to keep us going.
Despite us being a major 'work in progress' this year, Flanno has kept us on the straight and narrow, hasn't let any outside noise become a distraction, and continues to hone in on those areas that need improvement in order for us to become a consistently successful team in the coming 3-5 years.
I commented prior to the Panthers game that I thought the changes made were positive...
Ravalawa, for example, has reportedly not been meeting the new standards being set by Flanno & staff at training. By the look of it - that came to fruition yesterday when he was sent off in NSW Cup for a outburst at the officials. Has deserved to be dropped - and may well end up spending some time in suspension as well. Needed a kick up the backside. It's either going to be a come back stronger or out on his backside type scenario.
The Feagai twins - the majority of the same supporters who didn't think they deserved to be recalled to first grade are the same who were calling for them to be given a shot during the late Mary and into the Hook years. These guys have speed and while their footballing nous still needs a bit of work, if anyone is going to get them right it's Flanno and his staff.
The Couchman twins - Toby was awesome against the Panthers, and despite not getting big minutes last night he still had a couple of good carries. Time back in reserve grade has done both twins well (and they will continue to get more minutes back in reserve grade as well).
Carrying all (capable) middles and no utility on the bench the last couple of games - this is an indicator of where Flanno wants to take this team into the coming years. Playing an uptempo physical game. Yes we will need to recruit an elite middle or two in order to make this brand of footy successful.
The challenge for the rest of the year is going to be tough. We have some tough away games in Brisbane & Melbourne. We will also play some teams who will be keen to prove themselves (i.e. on the cusp of making the finals and players looking to impress ahead of new coaches coming into their team next year). Can we do enough to make the finals? Can we exceed expectations and perhaps entrench ourselves in the eight over the next three months? Will we experience some more heavy & disappointing defeats? We could easily put yes and no against all of these scenarios - and that is pretty exciting all the same.