The underlying reason for Roosters' collapse: the loss of Trent Robinson

[AlbertRosenfeld]

Last year Trent Robinson was Brian Smith's assistant coach, and he was a very hands on influence over the players. They respected him enoormously.

Last November TR moved to France to coach the Catalans Dragons in Super League. Robinson was handed a team that had run dead last under a former international five eighth but an incompetent coach (sound familiar?) named Kevin Walters. Robinson took with him two forwards Lopini Paea and Jason Baiteiri from the Roosters, a utility back who is an ex-Newcastle junior, named Ben Farrar, from Manly, as well as Farrar's mate from Newcastle reserves, scrum half Scott Dureau.

The news is that, after a bad slow start, with the players struggling to adjust to Robinson's new coaching, the Catalans started to gel in round 8 (sound familiar?). Scott Dureau has turned into a master scrum half, ranked no 1 in the league. Now Catalans have gone from last to fifth, equal on points but behind on for and against, with St Helens. Since the team started to fire on all cylinders it has beaten last years champions (now second placed) Wigan both home and away, and current leaders Warrington away. Robinson is regarded as the rookie coach of the year in Super League. The Catalans are playing exactly the open expansive game that the Roosters played in 2010. They are the most popular team among neutral fans in Britain.

I am afraid that Trent Robinson may have been the real reason that the Roosters did so well last year. Without his guiding hand, the club cannot perform under Brian Smith.

 

[STG 002]

interesting. never heard of him though.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

interesting. never heard of him though.

Ask the Roosters players about him. They will tell you how good he was.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Agree 100%.

Edit

Cherry Mescia aswell

 

[Choppies]

That and our mighty can do no wrong captain bitching to the media about his contract which unsettled the team from the get go.
Now Captain Amazing is playing like crap and is being rewarded with a new 2 year deal.

 

[Monk]

everything adds up i guess...

the big thing is to stop complaining about all the problems and start thinking of solutions.

 

[Drew-Sta]

Interesting, there's merit in the theory.

BTW, Dereau was a gun. Glad to see him carving up.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

I forgot to mention that Robinson got the club also to buy center Darrel Millard formerly Wakefield and previously from Canterbury Bulldogs, and Beaver Menzies (in headgear) . At age 37 Beaver is carving them up.


Now spend five minutes to watch the Catalans Dragons (in the white) crushing Castleford (tan) with the same kind of beautiful attacking play that the Roosters were playing in 2010.


First Catalans try is scored by Beaver. Second is by Lopini Paea. But the highlight is the third Catalan try of the first half (end to end and side to side) where Millard makes a 50 yard run down the left before passing to his left winger Vaccari inside, and the ball spins to the right through many hands till the try is scored by right winger Damien Blanch. Vintage Roosters 2010.


Watch also two other Catalan tries in the second half where the ball spins out wide through many hands, and the centre Millard gets a break down the left flank, streaks away and draws the last defender before passing to winger Freddie Vaccari who scores.


Click on full screen in the lower right corner:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90aQxkp74iA

 

[H.H]

I forgot to mention that Robinson got the club also to buy center Darrel Millard formerly Wakefield and previously from Canterbury Bulldogs, and Beaver Menzies (in headgear) . At age 37 Beaver is carving them up.


Now spend five minutes to watch the Catalans Dragons (in the white) crushing Castleford (tan) with the same kind of beautiful attacking play that the Roosters were playing in 2010.


First Catalans try is scored by Beaver. Second is by Lopini Paea. But the highlight is the third Catalan try of the first half (end to end and side to side) where Millard makes a 50 yard run down the left before passing to his left winger Vaccari inside, and the ball spins to the right through many hands till the try is scored by right winger Damien Blanch. Vintage Roosters 2010.


Watch also two other Catalan tries in the second half where the ball spins out wide through many hands, and the centre Millard gets a break down the left flank, streaks away and draws the last defender before passing to winger Freddie Vaccari who scores.


Click on full screen in the lower right corner:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90aQxkp74iA

Eeerily similar to the way we played last year isn't it?

Very telling....the crispness of the passing and the speed with which they play.

Makes me kind of depressed.

TT mentioned Mescia too.....by all reports he had a massive influence on what was achieved last year.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Not much you can do with Robinson though you can't get in the way of furthering his career but dumping Mescia for some bum from AFL is terrible

 

[Lambretta]

Not much you can do with Robinson though you can't get in the way of furthering his career but dumping Mescia for some bum from AFL is terrible

Not get in the way of, more offer enhancements.

Give Robinson a large salary to retain him and talk him into the coaching role at the end of Smiths reign.

We're very poor at letting good assistants go. You only have to look at our form once Cartwright left halfway through 2005.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

The fact is that assistant coaches are crucial elements in the coaching system. Head coaches rely on their assistants for various aspects of training. Trent Robinson obviously performed a function for Brian Smith that Robinson's replacement has been unable to replicate.

BTW Catalans full back Clint Greenshields (ex St. George) and Beaver Menzies have signed up for another year 2012 with the Catalans. Greenshields, who has been there four years already, refers to Robinson as "awesome."

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Good point Albert re: assistants, tell Phil Rothfield that though!

@Lambretta, don't forget about Ivan Cleary aswell then we got Stuart's mate :roll: iirc TR wasn't even first choice for Catalans so you can hardly expect him to stay on as an assistant. Hopefully one day he will return as head coach

 

[Mong]

Rubbish..

Massive over achievement last year, back to reality this year.

Parra did it the season before..

I am surprised at the surprise about what is happening.

 

[Monk]

How can you call playing good football 'over acheiving'?
If we played like this last year we would have finished near the bottom of the later, obviously somethings changed.

 

[Mong]

Easy. In sport it's not uncommon for a team or an individual to exceed a level where there actual ability or skill level dictates they should be.

After a while they revert back to a level where their skill set indicates they should be.

It has happened over the last 12 months with the roosters and it happened in a similar fashion with parra the year before.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Mong, you know very little about anything and it gets embarrassing to read at times. We were 2 points from finishing second and essentialy we finished equal third and only finished 6th on points difference. We defeated 4,3 and 2 in the finals series. Over-achieving is a phrase used by idiots who refuse to acknowledge a team performed well in any particular season.

P.S

Admit that Carney had nothing to do with Soward's release :lol:

 

[Mong]

Proof is in the pudding TT..

Look at this year..

By the way, proof is in the pudding is a figure of speech.. It does not mean you will find anything in a pudding about it, nor do I have a pudding.

Just thought I would clear that up before you embarked on another boring repetitive tangent when you run out of ideas.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Look at last year, it's a clear case of under-achieving as evidence by 2008 :crazy: Your lack of acknowledgement that deserved our gf spot and played extremely well in 2010 shows your over achieving comment is nothing more than your usual borish troll attempt to get peopled riled up.

You wouldn't know shit from shoe polish Mong and until you admit your mistake I'll continue to
ask: What does signing Carney have to do with releasing Soward?

 

[Mong]

It's ok to say your team just isn't good enough.. It's clear they are not, then again you admit yourself you are slow so it may be a little hard for you to grasp..

Maybe with some decent recruiting they may improve for you next season.

Maybe..