Who will be the coach in 2018?

[Old Timer]

CD
Very good post and as you highlighted we should always expect the unexpected
Pretty sure Smith has stated no and wants to stay in England and suspect it would take mega $$$$ to get home to change that.
Certainly a quality coach with the ability to engage at all levels especially the fans would be a great relief.

 

[Ray McKigney]

It'll be Young or Hornby and or both.

 

[Gareth67]

It'll be Young or Hornby and or both.

If that is the case , I will have to start using my cut-throat razor again .

 

[Old Timer]

It'll be Young or Hornby and or both.

The board and all the members of this forum are always looking for guidance and pearls of wisdom.

Ray we sweat on your every post and after you had convinced of the errors of our ways, at the very next opportunity you have dropped Mary like a hot spud.

We your disciples are all devastated.

So in fact after all, you are really just like us with the only difference being we gave him the Sorbent treatment, wiped him like a dirty arse and then flushed him.

 

[Ray McKigney]

The board and all the members of this forum are always looking for guidance and pearls of wisdom.

Ray we sweat on your every post and after you had convinced of the errors of our ways, at the very next opportunity you have dropped Mary like a hot spud.

We your disciples are all devastated.

So in fact after all, you are really just like us with the only difference being we gave him the Sorbent treatment, wiped him like a dirty arse and then flushed him.

The fans have been driving everyone successful out of the club for years. You love a witch hunt.

See Price, Brown, Soward, both Morris, Bennett etc...

and it'll probably happen with Mary if you get your way. It's easy to predict. As much as Mary should be the coach, I'm a realist.

 

[GC Dragon]

However if given an option and after long deliberation my preferences would be either JD or Kevin Walters.

They would be my pick as well . JD first pick after a season with Hunt then return with him . He works well with Matt Head and agree with what has been said that he knows our young blokes well .

 

[blacksafake]

With the Dragons & Doust, you can expect the unexpected. Usually very guarded in the big decision making i.e Bennett, Widdop and now Hunt signing. So I don't expect the rumours of Hasler or Cleary to eventuate as it could be a smokescreen plus Hasler would demand huge $$$. I feel there will be a curve ball coaching appointment with someone like Kevin Walters or Tony Smith. Both former players that have played in teams alongside Mark Coyne.....whom is involved in a consultancy capacity. Both Walters and Smith engage well thru the media and our club will need all the help they can get to rebuild support with sponsors and members.

I can live with this

 

[Dragsters]

I think it will be Mary

However if given an option and after long deliberation my preferences would be either JD or Kevin Walters.
JD has a great attacking mentality
KW has a great team work and disciplinary mentality.
Both men capable of making hard decisions.

Whilst there are many proven coaches like Hasler, Cleary etc they are somewhat orientated to a particular style or mentality.
They seem to attract like minded players and support people and there is some inflexibility in that IMO.

In fact our club has the very same issue of "like minded" individuals but they are just aren't as good at it as others are because our like minded individuals are dumb.

We have a young developing side and it needs to form its own style and culture to some extent and needs a calm but flexible influence over it to help steer it in the right direction.
A fresh side with a coach with fresh and invigorating ideas and a good team behind him should bear good fruit.

Did Harry Bath leave the manual in the sheds at KJO?
If he did let's hope someone finds it !!!!!!

Agreed OT.

As I voted, I think they will find a way to keep Mary on.

I too would prefer either JD or Walters,
particularly now in light of the fact that we have a quality half with Hunt, for a minimum 5 years.

For me, that means that we can aim for long term success, with a fresh approach that either of of these options would bring.

Bath's coaching manual would only help anyone.

 

[Jubileeboy]

As Coffs Dragon very wisely alluded to, the Hasler talk could very well be a smokescreen. Des may be thinking he's a shoe-in, demanding top dollar and we may very well have someone else all lined up, in order to see Haslers opportunity and dollar value diminish? We may then jag him for a decent price?
If not, I see Walters as a strong candidate seeing he has a strong relationship with Hunt.
But.... It would not surprise me to see another current NRL coach poached.
The off season antics for 2017 will be well worth watching, that's for sure

 

[Dragsters]

St George Illawarra Dragons Paul McGregor focused on own future in 2017, not Ben Hunt’s arrival

AAP
January 25, 2017 1:43pm

PAUL McGregor hasn’t given up on Ben Hunt arriving at St George Illawarra a year early.
But the coach’s priority is leading the Dragons out of the NRL finals wilderness in 2017 with his job on the line.
McGregor said the ball is in Brisbane’s court to release the halfback this year after the Dragons signed him on a lucrative five-year contract from 2018.
“You’d have to talk to (Brisbane coach) Wayne (Bennett), mate,” McGregor told Sky Sports Radio on Wednesday when asked if Hunt could wear the Red V this year.

McGregor lauded Hunt, who this week accepted an offer worth a reported $6 million from the Dragons to end his nine-year career at Red Hill.
But McGregor admitted he may not have a chance to work with the 26-year-old with his contract running out at this season’s end and no guarantee of an extension.

The NRL contract conundrum
“He’s a high quality player and shown really strong character,” McGregor said.
“To leave family and friends to take up a new venture shows what kind of person he is.
“Ben’s got a year to play in Brissie and my focus and energy is entirely on the support of my 2017 squad.
“My best interests right now is for the 2017 team because that’s who I’m coaching.”

With Benji Marshall’s exit in 2016, Drew Hutchison was set to partner skipper Gareth Widdop in the Dragons’ halves this year until he suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season training.
McGregor said experienced former Canberra playmaker Josh McCrone, Jai Field, Shaun Nona and Kurt Mann were competing for the No. 7 jersey.
The coach signalled on-field tactical changes after 11th-placed Dragons struggled in attack last year, finishing with the third least points scored (341).

“The main thing is a lot more simplicity ... a nice power game with the freedom to play what’s in front of us,” he said.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...l/news-story/fe9c9c27223b71c6fa2cc5ac5e164a83

We'll, there it is!

If 2017 is to harbour any shred of hope for a turnaround for the mighty red v then Mary must be held to account on this statement...


“The main thing is a lot more simplicity ... a nice power game with the freedom to play what’s in front of us,” he said.

If he is serious, then this can only happen if he grows a pair of selection balls and picks the players in key positions, that have the vision to not only see what's in front of them, but also the skills to capitalise and convert it into points on a regular basis.

For me this means Leilua, Dufty, Mann, Nona and Milne must all feature as these players are our most capable of this.

 

[grouch]

Totally disagree. Hunt wants to play for QLD and Australia, there is no way he would jeopardise that opportunity.
Cleary for me

If the price is right, he'd absolutely jeopardise it. Besides, I think there are enough good halves around that Hunt could have missed out on those rep spots even if he stayed with Brisbane.

Anyway, look at the "McGregor interview on BSB" thread. The tide of fan opinion is already swinging around in favour of McGregor. It's not a stretch at all to suggest that one or 2 wins in the first month of the year will see the club leap in and extend his contract - to a chorus of approval in here.

 

[Coffs dragon]

▲▲ the trackhead of a coach would have to display a 180○ turnaround to warrant any possible consideration. His use of the interchange bench rotation alone was just diabolical along with selections that were simply....strange. I can't see a leopard change his spots, unless he's skinned. Pass on Mary please...

 

[possm]

I believe that two things influenced Hunt's decision to join the Dragons:
1. The long term lucrative contract.
2. The confidential advice he received regarding the head coach for 2018,

 

[Old Timer]

Hi Des Dousty here.
Yeah hi Pete what's doing.
Well we squared away the deal on Hunt.
Great Pete, I was really happy to see that what else is doing?
Well we kept Host, Dufty, Leilua as we see them as the future.
Yep that's great too and they will sure learn a lot over the next couple of years, anything else I should know about?
Yeah thought you might like to know we offloaded Duges and Gaz.
Oh, I see and which 2 internationals have you got coming to replace the 2 internationals we just offloaded?
Ah, nobody Des, we are working on that and as you know we just missed on Keary, Jimmy the jet and a few others, so we do get close to signing a few and of course we have kept Lafai on the books, you remember him don't you Des?
Click
Hello anyone there, hello, bloody Telstra always dropping out.

 

[VodkaSaint]

Hasler will sign and cause a melt down on this forum, what a party that will be

 

[St Georgio]

Hasler will sign and cause a melt down on this forum, what a party that will be

Your shout all night long

 

[Gareth67]

There is still a lot of bad blood over in that neck of the woods . Des has step on too many toes , and those toes belong to the people who have been running the show for many years at the Bulldogs . Ouch !

Nor can I forget the way that he got straight in his car , after delivering his sales-pitch to the board and drove off just like one of them city-slicker hoons , that throw bottles at us country folk when we wave at them .

Personally, , I would love to see him here at the Dragons , however I get the feeling that where ever he ends up in 2018 , he won't have to worry about half crazed blue and white dogs snapping at him , at the front gate of the club .

 

[blacksafake]

Hasler will sign and cause a melt down on this forum, what a party that will be

I'd love to see that

 

[RedVDragon]

Craig Coleman has shown interest.

 

[possm]

I believe Cleary will be Hasler's replacement at the Bulldogs. The Club has a large Lebanese fan base and it is no coincidence that Cleary is coaching Lebanon in the World Cup.