Coaching, management, mentoring and leading is ALWAYS about getting the absolute most out of your players/workers/staff. Our squad is basically made up of the following:
* Current rep level players (Val and Sua)
* Good serviceable NRL level players (Liddle, ChristanT)
* Young guns that are still pups (TCouch, RCouch, HStewart, Dylan Egan, LKT, LPT, VFafita, Tsougranis)
* Union convert in embryo stage of NRL (Lawson)
* Old ex-representative players in their twilight (Klemmer, Cook, Gutho, C Allen, JDB)
* Journeyman who have never reached their potential (Suli, KFlann, Guler, Ilias)
* Players that arent NRL level and only to see 1st Grade if injuries ravage us (Lawrie, M Molo, RFM, BMM)
* Players that promised the world potentially but just can't get there (Sloan, Sione Finau, Luciano)
Obviously players can fit into a number of these categories, but I have placed them in the ones that IMHO they fit best.
This squad has over-achieved. Credit for this must go to firstly, the players themselves for having the desire to play above your ceiling and secondly to the Coaches/Leaders for being able to extract that extra bit out of the individual player. This extra bit, when accumulated together via the TEAM performance adds up to a team playing WAY above the expectations of any "expert" or fan.
We all get frustrated when we see our players do DUMB shit or not be able to execute a fundamental skill or not be quick enough to close a gap, or not be able to score a miracle Xavier Coates type of try, or tap on a slick pass to your winger. But the reality is that our players are just that LITTTLE BIT to young/green, to old, to slow, to immobile, to dumb, to small, to regimented, too unskilled, too weak, too lacking in confidence. The squad lack of quality is not a myth, it is a FACT.
In all our games the commentators, fans, posters on this forum, experts give us no chance in every game and then we push the Raiders, Dogs, Roosters, Warriors,Sharks, etc, beat the Eagles, Storm, Broncos, etc and everyone is in disbelief that not only did we not concede a 50 burger, but nearly won and in a handful of those losses, were actually the better team and lost. Being too young, slow, unskilled, dumb, immobile, etc, is why we lose the close games. Our effort, desire, etc gets us to the point where we are in it up to our eyeballs, but then our lack of ability means we lose most of the close games. Intelligence, speed, athleticism, natural talent are all God given and cannot be coached. All these can be increased by really small margins by training, repetition, etc but the increase to God given talents can only be improved by negligible amounts. Eg, if a player is inherently a slow runner, doing sprints will help to increase that players speed, but not enough that he can run down the FOX.
When compounded by the unbelievable injury list and that with each long term injury you are now asking a player who technically is younger, dumber, less skilled, less experienced, has less ability to come in and play at the level of the player that just got injured, and multiply that by 7 or 8 injured players and you can see why we just don't have the cattle to win these close games. Heck. It's a miracle we are still competing
