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Sack Flanagan

TheRev

TheRev

Coach
Messages
12,348
bit of a clickbait headline that one.. tbh Iongi is braining it for parra.. hes probably the 1 good thing going for that eels side currently.. im not sure about his defensive organisation mind you... Gutho I think would help manage their defence.. but only 1 of em can play fullback..

Anyway.. doesnt really matter lol.. and once again.. we need to beat them in Rd5, or we will never live it down.
 
Old Timer

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
18,451
I'm not suggesting we do or we don't but some objectivity needs to be applied to the question.

Results: < 50% win rate

Coaching staff appointments:
Defence still a massive issue and tbh unacceptable

Attack slow, clunky and cumbersome however not without some moments of skill being evident.

Mental strength & game management: Still extremely poor & extremely costly.

The lack of real and sustained improvement in these areas is highly concerning.

Roster:
S F inherited some real duds so not easy to get it right but fair to say we have had 2 full pre-seasons and 1 completed season and now 4 games into this one (including trials which caused some in here to be wax lyrical) so how do Lawrie & Feagai ever get a start in KOE Cup let sline

Recruitment:
2 duds he sent our way from Manly when he was there. 1 offloaded the other still here and not progressing and needs to be moved on asap.

Hunt extension: Extremely poor judgement, should never of happened and just so bad all round.

CT: Lack of pace highly evident but does the bullocking work and close to the line finishing well. Underlines our method / style of playing which is bash and barge and that is well short of premiership winning quality.

Sele: IMO highly overrated, certainly injury prone a poor signing.

Leilua: Not without ability but lacking dedication to make himself better and fix his long standing faults. Looking at his body shape he seems to get a free run.

Eisenhuth: Wouldn't get a gig anywhere else and we played him in the centre's ffs. His 1 year extension curious unless it is all KOE Cup to help the kids.

Gueller: Going ok needs support and all being equal will be a steady player.

Gutho: Someone we needed and will hopefully last 2 years at the back. More ups than downs with his signing but not without risk.

Cook: Suspecting he is past it and tbh his best years were with Reynolds controlling things. Looked somewhat lost at Souths without him and not going so good here either. Highly debatable that he also provides coverage at lock to allow Liddle time on the paddock.

Holmes: He brings much needed experience and speed. More useful to us than say a top team which we are not at this point in time.

Ilias: Needs some time and patience but also needs to show more than he is currently doing.

Kyle Flanagan: The extension was incongruous for mine.

Daniel Atkinson: A lot of hype around this signing but will he alone fix our immediate halves issues?

Klemmer: Our next 4 games will tell if this is good or not but only 1 year thus far so a tick.

Lack of young SOO quality players despite many changing clubs: Highly concerning considering all the hype around S F as a coach.

Each year we wait for Santa to bring us a couple of stars to put at the top of our tree but invariably we get little more than stocking fillers some of which we pay too much for and that still seems to be the case.

For mine no extension talks for S F until much much later in the year if not the end of the season.

If he wants to do it early or he walks then let him walk.

If no real and sustained improvement is evident we tell him that we won’t be extending him and recommence our search.

i suppose in the end it’s a question of how many games do we give a premiership winning coach to show us what he can do to improve us and actually get us back in the premiership race?
 
Gomarchin

Gomarchin

Juniors
Messages
1,964
Old Timer said:
I'm not suggesting we do or we don't but some objectivity needs to be applied to the question.

Results: < 50% win rate

Coaching staff appointments:
Defence still a massive issue and tbh unacceptable

Attack slow, clunky and cumbersome however not without some moments of skill being evident.

Mental strength & game management: Still extremely poor & extremely costly.

The lack of real and sustained improvement in these areas is highly concerning.

Roster:
S F inherited some real duds so not easy to get it right but fair to say we have had 2 full pre-seasons and 1 completed season and now 4 games into this one (including trials which caused some in here to be wax lyrical) so how do Lawrie & Feagai ever get a start in KOE Cup let sline

Recruitment:
2 duds he sent our way from Manly when he was there. 1 offloaded the other still here and not progressing and needs to be moved on asap.

Hunt extension: Extremely poor judgement, should never of happened and just so bad all round.

CT: Lack of pace highly evident but does the bullocking work and close to the line finishing well. Underlines our method / style of playing which is bash and barge and that is well short of premiership winning quality.

Sele: IMO highly overrated, certainly injury prone a poor signing.

Leilua: Not without ability but lacking dedication to make himself better and fix his long standing faults. Looking at his body shape he seems to get a free run.

Eisenhuth: Wouldn't get a gig anywhere else and we played him in the centre's ffs. His 1 year extension curious unless it is all KOE Cup to help the kids.

Gueller: Going ok needs support and all being equal will be a steady player.

Gutho: Someone we needed and will hopefully last 2 years at the back. More ups than downs with his signing but not without risk.

Cook: Suspecting he is past it and tbh his best years were with Reynolds controlling things. Looked somewhat lost at Souths without him and not going so good here either. Highly debatable that he also provides coverage at lock to allow Liddle time on the paddock.

Holmes: He brings much needed experience and speed. More useful to us than say a top team which we are not at this point in time.

Ilias: Needs some time and patience but also needs to show more than he is currently doing.

Kyle Flanagan: The extension was incongruous for mine.

Daniel Atkinson: A lot of hype around this signing but will he alone fix our immediate halves issues?

Klemmer: Our next 4 games will tell if this is good or not but only 1 year thus far so a tick.

Lack of young SOO quality players despite many changing clubs: Highly concerning considering all the hype around S F as a coach.

Each year we wait for Santa to bring us a couple of stars to put at the top of our tree but invariably we get little more than stocking fillers some of which we pay too much for and that still seems to be the case.

For mine no extension talks for S F until much much later in the year if not the end of the season.

If he wants to do it early or he walks then let him walk.

If no real and sustained improvement is evident we tell him that we won’t be extending him and recommence our search.

i suppose in the end it’s a question of how many games do we give a premiership winning coach to show us what he can do to improve us and actually get us back in the premiership race?
Click to expand...
He also extended M Molo in April last year and now we're looking to offload him.
 
I

I'm Hornby

Juniors
Messages
725
Old Timer said:
I'm not suggesting we do or we don't but some objectivity needs to be applied to the question.

Results: < 50% win rate

Coaching staff appointments:
Defence still a massive issue and tbh unacceptable

Attack slow, clunky and cumbersome however not without some moments of skill being evident.

Mental strength & game management: Still extremely poor & extremely costly.

The lack of real and sustained improvement in these areas is highly concerning.

Roster:
S F inherited some real duds so not easy to get it right but fair to say we have had 2 full pre-seasons and 1 completed season and now 4 games into this one (including trials which caused some in here to be wax lyrical) so how do Lawrie & Feagai ever get a start in KOE Cup let sline

Recruitment:
2 duds he sent our way from Manly when he was there. 1 offloaded the other still here and not progressing and needs to be moved on asap.

Hunt extension: Extremely poor judgement, should never of happened and just so bad all round.

CT: Lack of pace highly evident but does the bullocking work and close to the line finishing well. Underlines our method / style of playing which is bash and barge and that is well short of premiership winning quality.

Sele: IMO highly overrated, certainly injury prone a poor signing.

Leilua: Not without ability but lacking dedication to make himself better and fix his long standing faults. Looking at his body shape he seems to get a free run.

Eisenhuth: Wouldn't get a gig anywhere else and we played him in the centre's ffs. His 1 year extension curious unless it is all KOE Cup to help the kids.

Gueller: Going ok needs support and all being equal will be a steady player.

Gutho: Someone we needed and will hopefully last 2 years at the back. More ups than downs with his signing but not without risk.

Cook: Suspecting he is past it and tbh his best years were with Reynolds controlling things. Looked somewhat lost at Souths without him and not going so good here either. Highly debatable that he also provides coverage at lock to allow Liddle time on the paddock.

Holmes: He brings much needed experience and speed. More useful to us than say a top team which we are not at this point in time.

Ilias: Needs some time and patience but also needs to show more than he is currently doing.

Kyle Flanagan: The extension was incongruous for mine.

Daniel Atkinson: A lot of hype around this signing but will he alone fix our immediate halves issues?

Klemmer: Our next 4 games will tell if this is good or not but only 1 year thus far so a tick.

Lack of young SOO quality players despite many changing clubs: Highly concerning considering all the hype around S F as a coach.

Each year we wait for Santa to bring us a couple of stars to put at the top of our tree but invariably we get little more than stocking fillers some of which we pay too much for and that still seems to be the case.

For mine no extension talks for S F until much much later in the year if not the end of the season.

If he wants to do it early or he walks then let him walk.

If no real and sustained improvement is evident we tell him that we won’t be extending him and recommence our search.

i suppose in the end it’s a question of how many games do we give a premiership winning coach to show us what he can do to improve us and actually get us back in the premiership race?
Click to expand...
Hi OT,

There is also Several other reasons which justify Flanagan's dismissal:

Allowing our two best players from last season and one of our top juniors to leave the club.

The treatment of Frank Molo which shows he has no control over his coaching staff and insufficient man management skills to ensure inappropriate comments about alcoholism are not made.

Poor bench management, with many players receiving limited game time.

Frequent outbursts in press conferences, including publicly criticizing players like Ilias—behavior unbecoming of a coach.

A lack of direction and urgency in our attack.

Signing a slow, past-his-prime player in Gutherson and prioritizing him at fullback over a promising junior.

Cheers
IH
 
D

dragon thomo

Juniors
Messages
1,258
It's interesting how a lot of experts in the game have said Parra have made a mistake by letting Gutho go.
Also suggesting Sloane is a promising junior as up until his last game had a Pea Heart.
To finish off Frank Molo has done the wrong thing by the club sooking about what someone said last year about alcohol. I believe he wanted out for a better deal and raised this issue months later as a excuse.
Once again the clown is back to whinge about his team when the chips are down.
 
justadragon

justadragon

Bench
Messages
4,149
I'm Hornby said:
Hi OT,

There is also Several other reasons which justify Flanagan's dismissal:

Allowing our two best players from last season and one of our top juniors to leave the club.

The treatment of Frank Molo which shows he has no control over his coaching staff and insufficient man management skills to ensure inappropriate comments about alcoholism are not made.

Poor bench management, with many players receiving limited game time.

Frequent outbursts in press conferences, including publicly criticizing players like Ilias—behavior unbecoming of a coach.

A lack of direction and urgency in our attack.

Signing a slow, past-his-prime player in Gutherson and prioritizing him at fullback over a promising junior.

Cheers
IH
Click to expand...
I have been away for a few months IH and I see some things never change. TBH I think the Dragons are setting the path for SF, if this is his team and they are performing the way they are then its really tarnishing his resume and he only has himself to blame. For now he is the coach and its up to him to turn things around, for better or worse his time to be thoroughly judged will be upon us soon enough. One can only allow him to have the same time others have, the one good thing is at least we are seeing juniors start to come through, everything else is on Flanno.
 
56to66

56to66

Juniors
Messages
767
Just relax boys it was only one game, i personally don't think anyone else can do the job than flanno, however, the modern game you're only as good as the coaching staff around you, i know for a fact there are better assistance out there. Last year the team was in the box seat to make the eight after beating the storm, only to capitulate when it mattered.
 
56to66

56to66

Juniors
Messages
767
I had a big fight with someone here last year about extending Flannos contract, I think the other guy was correct in saying we should hold off, he signed a 3 years contract. I thought the Dragons were making progress after a positive start to last year, but from the end of last year to the beginning of this year nothing has changed from the McGregor and Griffin era, Wayne came a left this club a complete train wreck and still is coaching well at other clubs, like Wayne does so well.
I think, like Hook, the Sand in the Hour glass has came out of the garage from today for Flanno, If Wayne Bennett is still coaching, I believe Brian Smith still has the smarts to turn around this club.
Brian Smith was the ultimate master in rebuilding basket cases.
 
I

I'm Hornby

Juniors
Messages
725
56to66 said:
I had a big fight with someone here last year about extending Flannos contract, I think the other guy was correct in saying we should hold off, he signed a 3 years contract. I thought the Dragons were making progress after a positive start to last year, but from the end of last year to the beginning of this year nothing has changed from the McGregor and Griffin era, Wayne came a left this club a complete train wreck and still is coaching well at other clubs, like Wayne does so well.
I think, like Hook, the Sand in the Hour glass has came out of the garage from today for Flanno, If Wayne Bennett is still coaching, I believe Brian Smith still has the smarts to turn around this club.
Brian Smith was the ultimate master in rebuilding basket cases.
Click to expand...
I appreciate your humility in acknowledging your earlier misjudgment regarding Shane Flanagan’s tenure, a sentiment I share despite our differing timelines of realization.

A small contingent of forum members identified Flanagan’s coaching deficiencies from the outset, and with each passing game, their prescience becomes increasingly evident.

The more I observe Flanagan’s approach, the more I discern the imprint of Paul McGregor—‘Mary’—from Flanagan’s time as an assistant coach at the Dragons. The parallels between the two are striking and troubling:
  • Ineffective bench management: Rotations lack strategy, undermining the team’s endurance.
  • Questionable team selections: Take, for instance, the perplexing decision to enter the last two matches with only one replacement front-rower—a glaring tactical oversight.
  • Inconsistent performance: The team’s inability to deliver week-to-week reliability remains a persistent flaw.
  • Failure to sustain effort: Rarely do we see a full 80-minute display, exposing a lack of conditioning or motivation.
  • Short-sighted recruitment: There’s little evidence of a coherent long-term plan, compounded by subpar signings.
  • Neglect of junior talent: A disregard for the development pipeline, paired with poor man-management, stifles potential.
  • Nepotism: The consistent selection of favorites, notably his son Kyle, smacks of bias over merit.
I hope more of our fanbase—and fellow forum members—will muster the courage you’ve shown to admit their initial support was misplaced and begin questioning Flanagan’s suitability for the role. It’s disheartening, though unsurprising, that some who staunchly defended McGregor until his exit now repeat the pattern with Flanagan.

It falls to us, I believe, to challenge this inconsistency and hold those members accountable for their shifting standards.
As you’ve astutely noted, superior coaching alternatives exist. I remain optimistic that the Dragons will soon pivot to a head coach capable of steering the club toward a brighter, more sustainable future.
 
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