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Hahaha sort of, I was all over the place really but I did say I would wait until 2012 to re-sign him if he got to a GF, which he did. And I was very reluctant about Bluey for exactly the right reasons. I know I would never have punted Ivan without a proven better option.Man, you were hating on Uncle Ives!
Urgh, Bluey. I remember spending a good half of the 2012 season posting derpy pics of Bluey in here pretty much every opportunity I got...
We played reallly positively in the early part of that season but from what I remember gave up starts and didn’t get the results- then by mid season the confidence was dropping off and we were regularly imploding after getting good leads.
SJ was terrible when he commentated the Kiwis game last year.
I will say that I believe Bluey got an absolutely raw deal from the players in that side. As you say, we actually played pretty well - round 1 we matched Manly (the premiers), Round 2 battered Parra, we were actually in the 8 as late as round 19. Lost three close games to Brisbane, Newcastle and Manly, then gave up and started getting belted by 40+
I actually wonder if lack of a suitable assistant might have been part of Bluey’s problem. I’ve seen a lot of a discussion in the past about what makes a good head coach vs a good assistant, and wonder if Iro was bringing much to the table in that respect at the time.
The players had horrendous attitudes around those times, I remember a game where the Warriors got absolutely smashed at Mt Smart in the final few rounds of the season, could see players putting no effort in, and in a subsequent interview Johnson made comments about how they knew the coach was gone and they weren’t playing for him, was an unbelievable comment and backed up an effort I saw where he just hung an arm out and didn’t even bother chasing the subsequent break
Considering Johnson was only a year into his career at that point I question why he was even being interviewed, and what the senior players were doing in terms of leadership. I know Maloney clocked out pretty quickly that season.
I think that's a major issue for Webster now, too. And any coach who lacks experience. Bluey was thrust into that role too early, having no week-to-week involvement in the NRL. And yeah, absolutely he could have benefited from a strong assistant or two who knew the competition. Iro wasn't that, he was more likely to white-ant you, similar to how David Kidwell did to Jason Taylor at the Tigers when the S hit the fan
I can’t quite remember the year of that interview but he was deeper into his career than that, maybe it was McFadden tenure ?
I think Cleary is a great coach, he clearly proved that in taking us to a lot of finals, only failing due to Sonny Fai's passing and a salary cap penalty he inherited. And he's been ultra consistent at Penrith, too. He's got a clear style, I think he needs the right cattle - he definitely needs time to mould his environment to include the players that fit.
Cleary is a fine coach, and he's part of the best dynasty since St George atm
Ah ok, I assumed you meant it was under Bluey. That whole period until Kearney with the revolving door of coaching was terrible for culture and morale.
Love a debate...look at someone like Nick Meaney. I shouldn't have said star, I should have said bonafide NRL quality. Meaney would be a middle of the road, maybe in and out NRL player anywhere else but at the Storm he's a jet who can play anywhere in the back 5. Jahrome Hughes was a 22-year-old who hadn't gone anywhere quickly. Then there's the guys who Bellamy doesn't necessarily make better footballers, but they just fit in so well around the stars and the structure...then go to other clubs and look bog average because they always were (Lowrie, Nielsen, some would argue Hynes, etc)
Agree 100 - Hughes shared a lot of similarities with Cronk I think - young, talented (different player to Cronk), utility value (which probably helped them learn the game better), who have been developed/manufactured/grown into elite halfbacks...I guess in some respects the opposites of Luke Brooks/Shaun Johnson who both have huge talent identified early, but ultimately underachieved - nobody could suggest Hughes and Cronk should have done more with their talents - and Bellamy's system must be huge there
