Sack Flanagan

[Kit Kat]

I admire what Ryles' is doing at the Eels, with the decision to drop Dylan Brown from the #6 position and invest into the future. We're investing into mediocracy by keeping our current halves pairing. Why would we resist the urge to change our halves when we fully know it's not working

 

[possm]

I admire what Ryles' is doing at the Eels, with the decision to drop Dylan Brown from the #6 position and invest into the future. We're investing into mediocracy by keeping our current halves pairing. Why would we resist the urge to change our halves when we fully know it's not working

Why, because it would mean dropping Kyle.
We know Atkinson is a 6, so, why haven't we signed a halfback for 2026?

On that note, given that we haven't signed a 7, maybe promote Reed and see how he goes.

 

[sammymills]

Atkinson can play 7 or 6. For all those naysayers about him i know sharks arent playing him out of spite but i remember last year when majority of their supporter base were calling for hynes to be sacked and atkinson to take his spot permanently. The bloke pretty much single handedly beat a full strength melbourne side in melbourne with Cam Mcinnes as his halves partner, it was something to watch. Hoping he will fix up a lot of our game management issues.

 

[sammymills]

Also for the life of me dont understand how Flanno is stuck with dead wood players like Blake (i know he tries hard) and Sloan. Other clubs just seem to be able to cut these blokes and move on but we hold on to them until their contracts expire, which is another unique atribute to our organisation.

 

[hewi]

Also for the life of me dont understand how Flanno is stuck with dead wood players like Blake (i know he tries hard) and Sloan. Other clubs just seem to be able to cut these blokes and move on but we hold on to them until their contracts expire, which is another unique atribute to our organisation.

I don’t think the club hangs onto them because they want to , I think it’s more a case of nobody else wants them

 

[Old Timer]

I don’t consider whining & never acknowledging anything the club does from some ”supporters “ as being tough. Far from it . There are a few on here I wouldn’t like to be in the trenches with !

Yes that is true for a few but they weren’t the ones I was referring to.

Old die hards are now saying they’ve had enough and that really counts for something IMO.

It just takes a couple of losses then the Old Whiner trots out his anti Flanno agenda again. Predictable.

A couple of losses lol.

His win / loss ration is poor and about to get a whole to worse.

Close losses still amount to losses or are you the kind that would be happy to lose every game by a point in extra time and crow about only having a differential of less than 25 every season.

So many said Flanno will fix this fix that after all he is premiership winner blah, blah, bloody blah. FMD he had plenty to say himself and he has come up well short and is starting to make piss poor excuses whilst doubling down on poor selections.

If Hook was a dinosaur then SF is a Dodo.

 

[since77]

Also for the life of me dont understand how Flanno is stuck with dead wood players like Blake (i know he tries hard) and Sloan. Other clubs just seem to be able to cut these blokes and move on but we hold on to them until their contracts expire, which is another unique atribute to our organisation.

Lawrie is literally unsellable. Worst front rower in the NRL. Blame the morons who resigned the world‘s greatest plodder on Griffin’s watch. Not Flanno’s fault.
Sloan has been “on the market“ for about 2 weeks. Someone will take a punt on him either in England or here.
Weird choices to blame Flanno for being stuck with. One is unsellable, the other has only just been placed in the showroom window…..

 

[maestro1]

The whole narrative around coaches ‘getting the squad the coach wants’ in the game is absolute dribble! They sign up to implement change from the get go. If you can’t demonstrate change with the squad you’ve got then don’t take the assignment in the first place. Understand that transition periods and building is real but it’s way overplayed (across the clubs) to rationalise sub performance imo. If you wait till a coach finally ‘got the side’ he wanted, then half the bloody forum could qualify as a first grade coach, because you’d have such a strong squad.

I challenge any coach (Bellamy and Bennett included) to do more with this current squad. No Alpha Front rowers and no decent game managing halves (LKT is still to young). Adding to the poor squad are long term injuries or unavailabilities to the better squad members......... (TCouchman, RCouchman, Hame Sele, Dylan Egan, Nathan Lawson).

 

[Kit Kat]

I reckon Bennett & Bellamy will ensure he has the 'right' team on the field. I'd rather lose by having the right players in the right position, those who are in form, giving it their all than pick a team whose players in critical positions are not standing up to the task.

 

[maestro1]

I reckon Bennett & Bellamy will ensure he has the 'right' team on the field. I'd rather lose by having the right players in the right position, those who are in form, giving it their all than pick a team whose players in critical positions are not standing up to the task.

Does anybody honestly think that Bennett or Bellamy would have done any better with this squad? Honest question....

 

[Inisai Toga]

I challenge any coach (Bellamy and Bennett included) to do more with this current squad. No Alpha Front rowers and no decent game managing halves (LKT is still to young). Adding to the poor squad are long term injuries or unavailabilities to the better squad members......... (TCouchman, RCouchman, Hame Sele, Dylan Egan, Nathan Lawson).

Fair enough, but I think they (Bennett and Bellamy may have been more effective in ingraining the behaviours around the 1%’s - Bennett did this instantly (first game against Storm) when he took over; you could see the difference straight up. Ensuring the 1% are met also arguably Bellamy’s ‘signature’ associated with his coaching style irrespective of his squad been given.
It appears Saints however, don’t adjust, often continually repeating the same things week in and week out!
Even factoring in our injuries and ignoring our table position, still would have liked to evidence of more change and adjustments in our game. There are some signs and some green shoots for the future appearing but would’ve liked to have seen a little more at this stage.

…Just support the line of argument that any coach in the NRL when they sign up are paid bloody well to implement change in the tenure they signed up for. Yet, across the clubs, the transition card is played way too often along with the ‘squad they wanted’ narrative.

 

[hook hook]

Does anybody honestly think that Bennett or Bellamy would have done any better with this squad? Honest question....

Nope similar issues at Souths and look at them

 

[I'm Hornby]

Does anybody honestly think that Bennett or Bellamy would have done any better with this squad? Honest question....

You and your strawman arguments.

We don't know how well Bellamy or Bennett would do, it's a complete hypothetical.

What we do know is that the results under Flanagan are very poor and getting worse the longer he is here. It's certainly not something most fair minded supporters will accept or continue to accept.

You're also ignoring the fact that Flanagan has had two years to improve the roster and obviously by your own admission, the quality of the roster is not great, that is his responsibility and something he now has to contend with, it is entirely something he could have rectified this far in.

 

[steerlerbab]

A question is asked about Bennett and Belamy and how would they do with our current roster. Let's answer this by looking at how they are doing and their current roster.

Bennett

Is doing same as us with the squad he has got at South. Lets be fair he is suffering very similar issues to us in terms of his roster:
1. Young/make shift/inexperienced halves
2. Injury toll
3. Ageing has beens (Walker, Latrell and Wighton)
4. Weak forward pack

Belamy

Smart money is on him winning the comp this year.
1. halves (Hughes/Monster - Gold by NRL standards)
2. Melbourne has some injuries like Papenhuyzen. But Belamy has the roster to replace injuries and still get the best out his roster.
3. Decent forward pack

 

[Unsainty79]

in my opinion, Young's appointment as assistant coach would have been a precondition of Flanno's appointment. I say this after seeing the results of backroom deals done for years. So I just don't trust management to do things above board.

The main thing is that Young has done nothing to earn the dead coach position.

What do you mean above board? or backroom deals? You can argue that the dragons have made a succession of poor appointments over a long period; however, that doesn't mean they aren't 'above board'.

The constant rhetoric by many fans that the decisions made by the club contravene legislation or any relevant statutory obligations I find is unhelpful, because it's untrue and waters down the real problem: That the club make poor decisions and have done so for a long time.

Wasn't Craig Young punted from the board and Lancaster was Chair at the time of Flanagan's/DY appointment? Meaning that Win had the balance of power. They went against Doust to appoint him, yet decided to then appoint Young as the assistant coach against the wishes of Flanagan? I can't follow this logic.

In any case, like a number of posters on here have said for years, go and join the Leagues club and vote.

Once you start sacking assistant coaches, the pressure builds and the wheels inevitably fall off. The Club have to stick with Flanagan and co until the end of 26. Flanagan has not helped himself with the promise to make the 8 and that may come back to bite him, but sacking him now would be outright crazy.

 

[I'm Hornby]

Tonight's press conference is not becoming of a dragons coach or captain. Flanagan is clearly under pressure and it is showing.

It's one thing to be frustrated by officiating, it's another to use as an excuse for a poor season and saying it's cost you finals, what a bullshit joke.

The buck stops with the coach as many of us always say. In the past we've been a good hard competitive club who take the good with the bad when it comes to refereeing, seeing a coach blame one decision for all of their inept coaching is not what this once great club is about.

We need a change in leadership and bring in a coach and captain with true leadership qualities ASAP, it will make a big difference.

 

[John moz]

I am over dumb coaching and staff we had the game won till a sloan again lost us the game i will not support this team with a loser in sloan that has lost us a few games this season .

 

[56to66]

We don't have the cattle, we don't have the dirty money, we don't have media influencers like Gus, we have the dumbest rugby league name, they should have been given the boot for not bowing to King Murdoch back in 1998!

 

[John moz]

Sack flanno come on keeps picking loses and again sloan has lost 4 games this season

 

[thebigredv]

If a Cleary, Bellamy, Robinson or Slater were available the sack Flanagan movement would be gaining traction but as there's no one else out there better I just don't see him being moved on.

The biggest issue is in recruitment, for which he is in part responsible for.