Gus is a strange animal, but you cant dispute he is a good operator. He does have a limited shelf life though. His resume as a coach speaks for itself. He did inherit quality teams at the Dogs & Panthers (90,91) but he did a good job of reinventing himself at the Roosters. They were a basket case when he arrived there. Uncle Nick is a brilliant business man, but that doesnt necessarily translate to being good at running an NRL club. He may not have won a comp at the Chooks, but what he did was help turn them into being a very well run club. Politis is obviously an intelligent man & learnt well from what Gus showed him. They have f**k all juniors, but since Gus went there they have consistently targeted the right kids & developed them into NRL players. The sustained success has also allowed them to get quality players to add the icing at the right price because it's now an attractive destination. A far cry from the transit lounge it was before Gus.
Origin he instilled pride in the jersey, he knew long before anyone else in NSW worked it out that QLD spirit was a tangible thing. The results speak for themselves.
His review of the Cowboys is an interesting one. Prior to Gus getting involved they were on the edge of success, but couldnt take the next step. I really dont know exactly what he did there, but JT credits him as to a big part of the reason he went to the next level as a player. After Gus did whatever the hell he did, the Cows had a nice run of success & topped it off with a premiership.
Penrith has always been a sleeping giant with great resources. But for a long time it seemed the board were more interested in building a leagues club empire than a decent footy team. It was almost as if the football team was a necessary evil to allow the licenced clubs to operate. In the late eighties it looked like things might turn around, Sheens started the ball rolling & then Ron Willey added the hard edge we had never had. Gus came in at the end and finally delivered us a premiership. It looked like we had finally awoken until the tragedy of 1992 ripped the heart out of the club & we returned to the abyss. 2003 imo was more good luck than good management, that is in no way meant to diminish what Lang & his team achieved, but it didnt last long. Telling Lang he was gone mid 2006 in favour of Matthew Elliott was typical Penrith.
When Gus arrived we were a hot mess. On field we had nothing, the players ran the team & the leagues club empire was crumbling. This is where the whole 5 year plan bullshit came about. After he had the time to see what he was up against he said it would take half a decade to fix the mess. This is the time he really shone as an administrator. He didn't take over the coaching, he didn't take over the leagues club. He identified the right people and put them in the right jobs. He also had the clout to get the right financial backers on board to help fix the mess. He got rid of the players that were too big for their boots & bought in experienced players with good attitudes. He said up front that this wouldn't be a quick fix, but the rewards will follow. I remember being horrified, Lewis, Jennings etc out the door for Newton, Ciraldo etc. Over time things got better, the kids started to come through, we signed higher quality players in positions we needed them in. Once the academy was built & the pathways put in place was maybe the time to phase him out. The final few years he did a few weird things. I think he is the type of person who has to be busy, once the important stuff was done I think he couldnt resist the temptation to meddle.
I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with the Warriors. I think the way they have set it up is right, if he stays focused on his task & is provided the resources he needs then look out, It could be lets gone warriors time.
