The management need to take a hand

[parralight]

Its not the refs fault and IMHO Its not really the players fault.

To- Parra Pete, whilst I respect your views, I just cant understand why you cant see that Brian is ultimately responsible for the team.

1st case in point THORMAN - If you spent all your junior playing career playing half and 5/8 and finally get thrown into the NRL and are slotted at hooker dont you think you might struggle?

2nd case in point - WAGON - hell this point has been done to death but here goes again. During the last game the centres didnt get the ball once during the first half! That is the ball did not get past the 5/8 once! That negates the centres and the winger in set attacking moves.
I personally think Wags is a great player but a 5/8 he aint. Brian continually plays him there despite the plethora of evidence and advice that shows that it is hampering the team. - Its just plain boneheaded and stubborn.

3rd case in point - Will not axe players for substandard performances - You have a range of players in the lower grades who will do anything to get to first grade but despite some very average performances, Brian has not dropped a player due to bad form this year. In 2001 we had the so called baby eels - that is a group of young players who were ready willing and able.

4th case in point - (to a lesser extent) - does not tell the truth and call a spade a spade in the media.
Maybe he does vent in private so this point doesnt really turn me as much as the others.

Parra Pete - I love you dedication to the coach, but you must admit that some of the decisions of Brians this year have been just ... puzzling. And its not just me, its puzzling to the vast majority of the league world.

Perception is everything. You wonder what influence of what Brian is doing at Parra has on the intentions of high rating players who might be tempted to play at parra. The players are well aware that Brian plays favourites at the club.

My humble opinion is this -

It is well known that the three most important players in any side are the players that receive the ball the most. They are the two halves and the hooker. Therefore Parra needs to get three players established in these positions and build the team around them.
AND they have to be players that are well established in these positions, have played there all their lives and know the little tricks of where to run and where to position themselves etc.

Hooker - we have John Morris - For god sake leave him there
Half
5/8
FIND TWO PLAYERS WHO ARE ESTABLISHED HALVES AND LEAVE THEM THERE !!!!!!

All the other positions are secondary.

If Brian cant do this - its up to Fitz to step in and take control.

 

[COACH STERLING]

Paralight, you best summed up Brian Smith. He is Puzzling. I think even the most staunch smith followers would except that he is a bit unconventional at times. It is very important that parra find a combination not only in the halves, but all accross the park. Not to many teams are consistent and winning games when they have injury problems let alone chopping and changing with line-ups. I think there is room for Witt,Thorman,Morris and Dykes in the one team.

 

[strider]

Brian Smith is ultimately responsible for alot of things - I agree 100% and I agree that there are some puzzling decisions at times.....HOWEVER, one thing that Brian Smith has no control over, is what a player does when he steps onto the field - the players dedication, effort, attitude can only partially be controlled by another person.

As for your points:

1) Thorman: I believe just about any half can play the role of hooker in modern rugby league. It is no longer about putting your head in a scrum. Thorman was named at hooker - writing on paper means nothing when you get on the field. Halves and hookers should both be capable of playing dummy half and first recevier. Plenty of players have switched between the 2 roles successfully: Gower, PJ Marsh, Berrigan. ALSO, I don't believe Thorman struggled at all - I am baffled why he never returned in the second half tho.

2) Wagon at 5/8: is the centres not getting the ball ALWAYS a direct result of Wagon being in between the first receiver and the centres? There are and were plenty of other players out there who get it instead. There are 2 sides of the field, Wagon isn't on both - if he stops a backline movement its only on one side of the field. I am not saying he should be 5/8 (but really an extra forward), but I don't believe he is the sole reason our backline sees little ball - he gets in the road sometimes, but he's not the only one.

3) Players getting demoted: I don't believe players should be going up and down between the grades very often - a team cannot settle if that is the case - we have not been able to settle a good 17 for a long time because of far too many injuries. However, I agree that maybe it may motivate some players more if they believe they may be dropped and also that young guys from lower grades can carry more motivation (which I believe is one of our main problems - attitude). BTW, Wise was demoted.

4) Brian venting: we don't know what goes on behind closed doors, so no one can speculate on this. Some coaches/people believe in the psycology of public put downs, others don't. And different players will respond differently - some will take well to it, others won't. I don't know what is the best approach or even what goes on at training etc???


3 players who touch the ball most at Parra....Morris, Dykes, and ???Hindy....not Waggy, he might be named 5/8, but its not like he's playing the pivot role. Do we need a 3rd guy? I don't know - it might be worth a go, however our try scoring ability isn't that bad.


In wrapping up - I do not believe Smithy is blameless for poor performances, he obviously has a big role in our team. But I refuse to put all the blame on him.

 

[Twizzle]

I agree in principal Parralinght, but you lost me on the bottom line.

Fitzy wont step in on selection issues, but he could give BS a golden handshake.

Or even better still, hold him accountable.

 

[The Engineers Room]

Thorman played well. It is not his fault the first 20 minutes went so badly. His attack was creative and defence was very strong.

 

[parra pete]

What did you EXPECT Thorman to do? I thought he played very well...
There is no such position as hooker any more.. It is now dummy half. A half five eight is suited to the position. Not thrown in at the deep end, just packing into what is called a scrum.
Think Eric Grothe is everyone's GOLDEN child at the moment BUT He was woeful in the first half against Cowboys and IN MY OPINION cost Parra the game with his handling and defensive errors..resulting in the first two tries.

 

[JessEel]

guru may have had a shocker in your opinion, but he's been bloody good every other game, you can't call for his blood after one game when there have been others playing bad more often................

 

[WA Eel]

The guru has been superb in attack, but then he's also been prone to the more than occasional brain explosion. In addition, I think he runs sideways a bit too much, especially from dummy half and near his own tryline.

Having said that, you can't dispute that he's been one of our better players this year. However, if he can improve on the other areas of his game, he'd be an even better player.

 

[parra pete]

He HAS been one of the best , fantastic as a matter of fact. But he DOES have problems...very scary at times...Not safe under bombs, and positional play a big worry.
It is not fashionable to critcise him though. Easier to pay out on Sideshow Bob who plays with PASSION week in week out. You can't knock passion. Give 100% that is ALL anyone can ask, and Bob certainly gives that...

 

[parra pete]

He HAS been one of the best , fantastic as a matter of fact. But he DOES have problems...very scary at times...Not safe under bombs, and positional play a big worry.
It is not fashionable to critcise him though. Easier to pay out on Sideshow Bob who plays with PASSION week in week out. You can't knock passion. Give 100% that is ALL anyone can ask, and Bob certainly gives that...

 

[Eelementary]

HOWEVER, one thing that Brian Smith has no control over, is what a player does when he steps onto the field - the players dedication, effort, attitude can only partially be controlled by another person.

I disagree.

Whilst theoretically the coach cannot control the players' dedication, passion and error rate, he can take a stance against them.

He should drop players not performing; drop players with no passion; fine or drop players who make too many errors; and fine or drop players who give away dumb penalties on a regular basis.


It is part of the coach's job to instil spirit and passion as well as skill and gameplans into the players.

And, quite frankly, he has not done a great job thus far:

* SPIRIT - there is SOME spirit left; as evidenced by our comebacks against MAnly, Newcastle and the Cowboys; just not enough; spirit needs to be there for 80 minutes

* PASSION - barring a handful of players, there is none

* SKILL - minimal; dropped balls, forward passes, wasted attacking movements; all directed by the coach and his staff

* GAMEPLANS - shocking; two locks and no playmakers other than a halfback and hooker is really taking its toll; we have two creative players and no guiding players

 

[Eelementary]

He HAS been one of the best , fantastic as a matter of fact. But he DOES have problems...very scary at times...Not safe under bombs, and positional play a big worry.
It is not fashionable to critcise him though. Easier to pay out on Sideshow Bob who plays with PASSION week in week out. You can't knock passion. Give 100% that is ALL anyone can ask, and Bob certainly gives that...

Mate, I agree 100%.

I ADORE Grothe, and hope he never goes anywhere. But his first half was bad. Then again, the entire team's was.

And Petersen may not be great (I reckon he has good speed, agility and try scoring ability), but he gives it 100% every week and SHOWS you he wants to be there week in week out for us.

You gotta love the guy for his passion alone.

 

[parralight]

I never bagged THORMAN. I think his game was quite good but he was out of position.

Strider - you had some good points.

Parra pete - Its more than being interchangable and it does matter if you are playing hooker or half - it matters between the ears... Hooker and half may do the same thing on the field but a player must feel comfortable with little things like where he is positione don the field etc... (and Im NOt talking about the number of his back)

BTW - I seemed to recall that Wise was actually injured then started again in the Premier league.

 

[fish eel]

just packing into what is called a scrum.

Our hookers hardly even do that!

Cayless often packs in at what used to called 'hooker'.

 

[strider]

HOWEVER, one thing that Brian Smith has no control over, is what a player does when he steps onto the field - the players dedication, effort, attitude can only partially be controlled by another person.

I disagree.

Whilst theoretically the coach cannot control the players' dedication, passion and error rate, he can take a stance against them.

He should drop players not performing; drop players with no passion; fine or drop players who make too many errors; and fine or drop players who give away dumb penalties on a regular basis.

Yeah, thats why I said "partially"...a coach can train, gee up a player all he wants, but if the player switches off when he walks on the field, its out of his hands.....I agree the coach has to be accountable too cos it is his job to find the best way to motivate each player.

As for fining players for bad performances....don't go there - ppl complain that no one wants to come to our club - well if they think they will lose money for dropping a few balls, they definitely won't come.

BTW - I seemed to recall that Wise was actually injured then started again in the Premier league.

Yes, Wise was initially injured for 1 game....but he has never come back to 1st grade - hence he has been dropped.....everyone was bagging Smithy for playing him and putting Peterson at centre - he gave it a couple of games, it didn't work out and he hasn't done it again for 5 weeks.....I believe that is dropping a player on form.

 

[The Engineers Room]

Grothe has scored a few tries but is mistake prone and should wise up to those terrible off loads.

And for god's sake someone please teach him how to step!

 

[fish eel]

Grothe has scored a few tries but is mistake prone and should wise up to those terrible off loads.

In Grothes defence....I think those off loads, particuarly over the last two weeks have come from trying to hard when we have been struggling.

 

[The Engineers Room]

Grothe has scored a few tries but is mistake prone and should wise up to those terrible off loads.

In Grothes defence....I think those off loads, particuarly over the last two weeks have come from trying to hard when we have been struggling.

Yeah true. But he should know not to do it by now.

 

[Pazza]

And for god's sake someone please teach him how to step!

Why should Grothe step around players when he is having great success running over the top of them?

 

[eelandia]

He HAS been one of the best , fantastic as a matter of fact. But he DOES have problems...very scary at times...Not safe under bombs, and positional play a big worry.
It is not fashionable to critcise him though. Easier to pay out on Sideshow Bob who plays with PASSION week in week out. You can't knock passion. Give 100% that is ALL anyone can ask, and Bob certainly gives that...

Mate, I agree 100%.

I ADORE Grothe, and hope he never goes anywhere. But his first half was bad. Then again, the entire team's was.

And Petersen may not be great (I reckon he has good speed, agility and try scoring ability), but he gives it 100% every week and SHOWS you he wants to be there week in week out for us.

You gotta love the guy for his passion alone.

This best summs up Parra's game: On one occasion on Saturday night Peterson caught a ball on the full on the 10m line as he was running backwards and instead of trying to stop straight away, he ran it back into the in goal only to be tackled. No urgency whatsoever.