WHAT DO THE FANS REALLY WANT?

[Dennis Papaioannou]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

 

[Nanadragon]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

What I really want Dennis, is McGregor to be shown the exit door.

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Q - What Do The Fans Wants ?

A - McGregor sacked! ( no if's, no but's ... gone!)

 

[muzby]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

2 word summary for the time poor:

Sack McGregor

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

Last nights game was an indication of everything we lacked. Easts showed in the first half some exuberant backline play, scored some spectacular tries and had a couple of near misses. Souths showed grit tenacity and determination to stay in the contest. Both teams showed a willingness in defence with players from both sides prepared to put their bodies on the line.

Our mob show none of that. We are a pale imitation of a footy team.

 

[possm]

Mary to be sacked ASAP; hopefully this week.

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Aspiration to be the best in everything and pursuing that goal ruthlessly and relentlessly, coupled with the ability to change when required, then aspiring to be the best in everything again and pursuing that ruthlessly and relentlessly.

 

[Dragons 09]

I just want a real coach, but McGregor is going nowhere. Therefore, I want lap dances at half time from the Flames to ease the pain.

 

[muzby]

Muzby for PM

 

[hazzbeen]

Muzby for PM

Mate can you coach ..... ?

 

[giboz71]

Watching my team and its players with evidence it is actually coached would be a nice start?

Hasn't been the case for a very long time now.

 

[Outlaw Pete]

McReece Robinson sacked on Saturday night.

 

[Walpole]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

Great post Dennis.

I want to see tough, aggressive forwards (like the 2010 pack or the days of Rocket, Albert, Pat Jarvis, Robert Stone and co). They don't have to be giants, just blokes who put fear in the opposition. You only have to look at Cam Murray or Radley to see those players still exist.

And backs pretty much like those you mentioned - top quality centres who can set up their outside men and then great finishers like Walford, Blacklock and Brett Morris. And what we'd give for a fullback like Brian Johnson these days.

All thrown together, of course, with a coach who can speak in complete sentences, has an understanding of the young men in his charge and a genuine ability for game planning and getting the best out of their individual talents.

Not too much to ask...

 

[Slippery Morris]

I just want to see the team putting in and more importantly which is what we have seen all season, players that don't put in getting dropped. Saints have a great junior base and I remember in the past if the guy with experience is not putting in a junior will come in and take the opportunity with both hands and show is he is good enough for NRL. If not, the guy that gets dropped might come in hungrier than ever not to be dropped again.Now all we see is player like Lafai, Latimore etc playing like busteds and appearing on the team sheet each week whilst we see players like Garrick and Herbet excel in the other teams. Why, because they were not given a go due to Super coach sticking with these duds. Latimore is only in because the players love having him around. If you check out Instagram he is a player favourite. He must be fun to have around but that is no excuse to put him in the starting 13. Like the good old days when you play sport and no matter how good you are, it's who you know that will get picked which is clearly what we see. Lomax has a blinder in the finals last season only to get dropped for Lafai and Aitken. That is the perfect example right there. Nothing to do with JDB or Widdop injury just poor selections and non-reward for playing well.

Another thing is, If they are putting in and you can see the results are not good, then change their game plan. The game plan looks exactly the same as what it was last year. There is no change whatsoever. Seriously if he has not worked it out that every other team knows how predictable Saints are then he is not a good coach. Mary just thinks putting in a new player may change things but it doesn't because the opposition knows what to expect just from a different player. One thing I loved about Browny was he had a game plan for every team. He actually analysed the opposition and tried to surprise them on the daye.g Storm. years ago when he was at Saints he took it upon himself to bash them in a game which nearly worked and every team copied him after that.I think Storm beat Saints but lost a few after. Poor Nighty copped a blindsided hit by Billy girl that game hence my hate for the dirty pri$k.

 

[jeffdragon]

A team who tries their guts out.
Doesn't give up.
Doesn't lose games like the Souths loss,.in the last few seconds.
A team that has pride in the red v.
And a team that plays what's in front of them.
AND A NEW COACH.

 

[jak]

Q - What Do The Fans Wants ?

A - McGregor sacked! ( no if's, no but's ... gone!)

stop yelling

 

[Dragon David]

I was thinking overnight that maybe it's possible to simplify what the issues are with respect to the malaise we are experiencing.
In the end the conclusion I came to revolves around what do league fans really care about and admire about their team.
2 things stood out:
(a) Style of football our team plays - at the end of the day, RL is a spectator sport and in our case, a big part of our weekend pastime.
Following St. George was always such a highlight of my weekend. Even when we weren't doing that well, we still tried to play an exciting brand of football.
I used to love our backlines that featured slashing centre pairings and try scoring wingers.
Fullbacks (Brian Johnson springs to mind) that just knew when to chime in to the backline and were great one on one tacklers.
Beattie and Johnston, Gasnier and Cooper more recently.
Wingers like Blacklock, Walford.
Win lose or draw, it was the club philosophy to give the fans a great brand of football to watch.
Nowadays we get served up a bunch of bash and barge, stereotyped rubbish that is honestly hard to endure let alone get excited about.
We look like and play like a dumb football team that is just making up the numbers.
No direction, no leadership, no ambition and no passion.
(b) Grit and never say die attitude.
If you know your team will never, ever give up no matter what the game situation is, as a fan you sleep easy at night even if you lose.
All league fans love gritty competitive players and teams.
The Cowboys run to the 2017 GF after we gifted them 8th position was astounding.
I admired them for that "never say die" push in the face of adversity without Thurston and having to cope with a bunch of injuries.
Even Souths last night showed incredible fight and determination to hang on and beat Easts.
Manly's siege mentality is something that has worked for them and something McGregor could have fostered a lot more instead of making excuses about JDB and Widdop's injury all the time.
So we currently do not show any grit or determination.
Once we lose the arm wrestle we capitulate. Opposition coaches can actually rely on that to happen and they devise tactics accordingly.
Players and club friendly journos coming out of the woodwork trying to convince the public that it's just bad luck have no personal integrity because empty excuses cannot fix what has happened to St. George.

These two things are the crux of what fans like to see.
After that, the rest doesn't matter.

Well put Dennis. Everything you said is true in my opinion. The never say die/never give up attitude has been lacking with our players consistently over the years. Generally people have great attitudes if something of value is dangled in front of them. The players' payments should be such that they be paid a reasonable market rate and if they play with the never say die attitude for at least most of the games, they get paid some sort of incentive payment which of course is part of the salary cap if you know what I mean.
Our style of football played has not been exciting for a while, maybe a few games here and there. Even if we lose, if they played an exciting brand of football, you generally would look forward to watching them. We need several x factor players to provide the excitement. We currently are playing boring one out passes and the kick on the fifth tackle. They need players who can offload regularly and fit and fast players there to back up and make the exciting breaks.
We can only dream. I loved it when Steve "Slippery" Morris use to back up as a half and take late tackle passes from our forwards and score between the posts. Great to see!
Cheers

 

[Wittenberg]

Brian Johnston, “who cares”

 

[muzby]

Brian Johnston, “who cares”

Brian Johnson: “Who made who?”

 

[2010]

At one time I never missed a home game at Kogarah. Get to the leagues club around 11 had a few bucks in the pokies and a bourbon or two.
Got over to Kogarah, got the rugby league week, two hot dogs which had been simmering since the last home game.
I loved to watch all three grades, i was in hog heaven.
Seems so long ago but I always looked forward to seeing the team play.