What if Kearney turns it around and by the end of the year we finish outside the 8, do we still punt him and find a replacement?
In the event that we are steam-rolling teams (or in general, just playing good footy) in the latter parts of this year and we miss out on the 8, Kearney should see out his third year to determine whether he has finally got the team running smoothly or if the form was just a dead-cat bounce.
The arguments from both sides have merit. Firstly, our club does need some stability and Kearney does have an established long term plan. We are not privy to most of the details of this plan, so it is a matter of trusting in Kearney...which right now is a tough one. He has shown himself to be an astute manager of club resources from Harold Matts and up and has brought in Peter Nolan to establish a system that does not simply retain our best juniors but will have them ready to play first grade somewhere between 18 to 20 years of age.
The worst thing we could do is sack him and replace him with another rookie or mediocre first grade coach...the likes of which, unfortunately, are prevalent in the NRL. That said, we do need to see results and thus far on the field it has been pretty abysmal. We did punch above our weight in 2011 but the competitive platform that we seemed to lay last year has not so much eroded away as completely collapsed this year.
Kearney has made a bold decision to drop Burt and promote Cheyse Blair and Ken Sio. This is a decision that I am 100% happy with as not only does it invest in future seasons but they have both proven themselves to be capable first graders...at the very least to the extent that I doubt any one could seriously argue that Burty would be offering a genuine upgrade over them.
Roberts has proven himself to be a good acquisition and despite a few mistakes, he has never stopped trying and has given us a genuine option besides Hayne down the left flank as well as bringing us a decent kicking game. We haven't seen an immediate return on investment from Willie Tonga and Chris Sandow but it is far too early to write either off as bad buys. Blair also counts as a positive in the recruitment department but alas alot of the depth Kearney recruited in the off-season in Tautai, Penese and Smith have failed to apply pressure on an ailing first grade side.
There are a few immediate problems. The first is our troublesome second centre slot, which neither Esi Tonga nor Ryan Morgan seem capable to filling, the second is Kearney's use of and rotation policy involving Casey Maguire and finally there is the largest problem in the very nature of our game-day structures. There are some fairly fundamental problems with both our offence and defence, which has seen us get absolutely belted on some occasions and cost us a few games that were ripe for the taking on others.
Finally, recruitment becomes tougher for Kearney with every sub-standard performance we put in. Whether we actually wanted them or not our club has been linked with a few major signings that have come and gone this season and we are still without anyone of note for 2013. There have been mixed reports of how much we have to spend next year and most of the forum news is of people we aren't looking to sign. I am not fussed that we are not constantly fed leaks of who we are signing but the player market is drying up fairly quickly and as of yet our signings total zero.
TLDR
Kearney should see out his contract, especially if the season ends with good form that carries through to the start of 2013 and beyond. That said, if things aren't as rosy, the club should definitely place out quiet feelers to potentially nab someone like Bellamy (or Hasler/Bennet in the event the opportunity arises). We can not sack Kearney and replace him with another middle of the line coach.
Hopefully the team will recharge, heal up and do some soul searching over the week off and put our season back on track against the Tigers.
