Current squad and a better coach

[Baseball Furies]

We looked better last year (well during the second half anyway) with practically the same team, aside from the Morris twins. This year we've gone backwards in every way shape and form on the field, it's painfully obvious that pay is clueless, when the attack isn't working what does he do.....nothing, when we're so inept at doing anything during a game what does he say "I thought the boys tried hard, we just didn't complete, but that's footy"

Yeah, that's exactly what we need from a head coach

Absolutely agree Pay is clueless but Morris/Morris and Klemmer are pretty big “ins” to any squad and made a very big difference last year...

 

[Smirrors]

Absolutely agree Pay is clueless but Morris/Morris and Klemmer are pretty big “ins” to any squad and made a very big difference last year...

Exactly. People expecting Pay to polish a turd. Its gonna be a turd at the end of the day. Get rid of the shit in the next year or two and build. Issue is I dont think Pay is a caretaker type either.

 

[Howie B]

Totally agree, someone asked why didn’t we go for Bennett last year, but guys like Bennett and Bellamy would run a mile from our squad.

Bennett only goes where he has a great crop of players coming through, coupled with some great existing players to help win premierships in the short-term.

It didn’t work at the Knights but that was complex (Tinkler) but Broncos > Dragons and now Souths looking strong.

He doesn’t waste time with a shit roster like ours.

Seriously, if either of these guys had the ability to use the whole salary cap on a new Top 30 at the Bulldogs, clear the decks or keep some players, they might be able to scrape a handful of guys they’d maybe keep - or they’d probably just start again.

Seriously though, take the Dogs glasses off and you might keep Reimis (although the last few weeks he has been shit), Ogden, CHN?

Anyone else you’d keep?

Don’t get me wrong the gameplan was fucking woeful and Pay is doing some seriously dumb shit but the lack of quality doesn’t help.

It’s all going against us at present...

Yep correct. No decent coach will come near us until 2021 when the cap mess is close to getting resolved. I dont think its any surprise thats when Pay is off contract.

The selections and style of play are frustrating though. CHN pretty much won us the game against the cowboys single handed as a right edge backrower but he has since been shifted to the left. Its so farkin obvious our best back row is Martin on the left, CHN on the right and Jacko at lock (and getting rested during the game).

Also last year Holland and Smith developed a really good combination on that right edge yet this year he switched Holland to the left. Hopate should be on the left. He does fuck all in attack anyway on the right so at least give Holland and Smith another crack on that side.

Its decisions like these that make me wonder about Pay. Yes, he has an ordinary roster but that makes selection decisions even more important and he seems to get them wrong more often than not

 

[bradyk]

yes they would, but I don't think we'd finish top 8 regardless with the squad we have. not really fair to compare pay to 2 super coaches. we're still playing 1-2m under the salary cap (not including top ups, etc). look at all the names we've lost then the players we've brought in, never equal and usually not replaced at all leaving a massive hole. if pay gets a say in who we're signing (personally haven't liked any signings, including harawira-naera) i think we have to let him have 1 season with the roster in 2021, doesn't really make sense to let someone else build a roster then a completely different coach come in, look at panthers for e.g.

 

[_G-Dog_]

They wont release Pay after just re-signing him.. Ben Anderson doesnt want to take over just yet..

 

[c-b-b]

Yes a better coach would. And also less involvement from certain people on the board might help too.

 

[Mr Invisible]

Bennett and Bellamy only go to coach squads that are illegally assembled or already capable.

Bennett flopped at the Knights, and soon as Cam Smith retires, Bellamy will get found out for the cheat he is.

 

[Bob dog]

The current squad is capable, the Storm defense was stout ours was not.

 

[Raysie]

You just can't expect a rookie coach and squad to get results. As much as I and the team respect Dean Pay, could you imagine what Wayne Bennett could've done for this young side?

Dean Pay could've stayed on as Assistant Coach and then eventually take over when the squad has more runs on the board.

 

[Valley Viking]

Put simply, the club don't care about wins and losses. It's not a priority for them. They care more about furthering their own careers and boosting their profile than anything.

Ridiculous comment, wouldn’t winning more games further their career instead of losing games and having people like you question their motives. The easiest thing for this administration to have done is to backend a few more contracts, hold on to players like Mbye, Woods and maybe win a few more games than we have done. Doing this would probably have them in a safer position come election time, instead they have made some tough decisions, cutting players, installing programs and initiatives that will only come into fruition a few years down the track. This to me doesn’t show people trying to further their own careers or trying to boost their profile but of people who actually care about the club.

 

[Smirrors]

Dean Pay could've stayed on as Assistant Coach and then eventually take over when the squad has more runs on the board.

And thank goodness we are finding out what his coaching capability is now rather than when it matters. After everything you have seen over the last two years, do you really think he is premiership level coach?

 

[B-Train]

Ridiculous comment, wouldn’t winning more games further their career instead of losing games and having people like you question their motives. The easiest thing for this administration to have done is to backend a few more contracts, hold on to players like Mbye, Woods and maybe win a few more games than we have done. Doing this would probably have them in a safer position come election time, instead they have made some tough decisions, cutting players, installing programs and initiatives that will only come into fruition a few years down the track. This to me doesn’t show people trying to further their own careers or trying to boost their profile but of people who actually care about the club.

So after clearing cap space, they're not signing anyone, not saying or doing anything and keeping Pay who should be fired in the best interests of the club?

Other clubs laugh at what a rabble we've become and it's only getting worse. And you expect us to thank the Andersons for doing such a great job when we're the worst team in the comp just because they're good people and "care about the club"?

If they truly cared about the club, they'd find the performances of this season and the direction of the club unacceptable and sickening like the fans do and show some urgency to address the issues, instead of pretending nothing is wrong.

 

[GoTheDoggies]

The current squad is garbage.

The sad reality now is that Des & Dib had a better roster assembled 2018 & 2019 but it was blown apart by Anderson & yes man Pay.

Now we can't attract top players because we treated our contracted players poorly.

All of our forwards have gone backwards under Pay.

 

[The_Chimpster]

Absolutely agree Pay is clueless but Morris/Morris and Klemmer are pretty big “ins” to any squad and made a very big difference last year...

We were still awful even with klemmer and the twins, by round 20 we had won 5 games but at least we weren't towled up most weeks

 

[CBDoggies]

Pay is now into his second year and the players he has coached from last year have actually gone backwards aka our captain.

Would another coach bring more self confidence and better the players. I’m 110% sure it will. Even if wins wouldn’t be much diff under a coach I believe some average players we have would be playing a lot better. Even Napa has gone backwards... not one player is standing out on a consistent basis and it all comes back to the coach.

 

[Valley Viking]

So after clearing cap space, they're not signing anyone, not saying or doing anything and keeping Pay who should be fired in the best interests of the club?

Other clubs laugh at what a rabble we've become and it's only getting worse. And you expect us to thank the Andersons for doing such a great job when we're the worst team in the comp just because they're good people and "care about the club"?

If they truly cared about the club, they'd find the performances of this season and the direction of the club unacceptable and sickening like the fans do and show some urgency to address the issues, instead of pretending nothing is wrong.

They have been pretty clear from the start and have said on multiple occasions that we were going to struggle this year and probably next year as well.

It’s “Tin Foil Hat” and previous board supporters that really push this agenda through that we are not in such a bad cap position or that this squad isn’t full of reserve graders and that we should be higher than we are in the table. We have easily the worst squad in the NRL.

I have been a supporter since I was 4 years old and it’s the worst I have seen it, I get so fucking angry watching games now. Why would you not think that the current board who have supported and have been directly involved with the club for probably 50+ years be not as angry as you or me.

Pay will be gone at the end of the year, they have given him enough chances to come good. The board can see what we see and Pay’s tactics and selections have his days numbered. I think you’ll see some big moves in the second half of this season and early next season. If you look at things without the fog of anger and without biased you’ll see we are heading in the right direction.

 

[B-Train]

They have been pretty clear from the start and have said on multiple occasions that we were going to struggle this year and probably next year as well.

It’s “Tin Foil Hat” and previous board supporters that really push this agenda through that we are not in such a bad cap position or that this squad isn’t full of reserve graders and that we should be higher than we are in the table. We have easily the worst squad in the NRL.

I have been a supporter since I was 4 years old and it’s the worst I have seen it, I get so fucking angry watching games now. Why would you not think that the current board who have supported and have been directly involved with the club for probably 50+ years be not as angry as you or me.

Pay will be gone at the end of the year, they have given him enough chances to come good. The board can see what we see and Pay’s tactics and selections have his days numbered. I think you’ll see some big moves in the second half of this season and early next season. If you look at things without the fog of anger and without biased you’ll see we are heading in the right direction.

I admit right now there is a lot of emotion flying about from a lot of us, myself included. And I understand that they had to release those players to create cap space for the future. I don't have any preference for any regime, just whoever does the best job.

I hope you're right that Pay will be gone by the end of the year. Likewise, I've been spoilt that in my 36 years, we've been predominantly successful for many of those years.

I know the Andersons love the club and are good people, but the concern is, are they the ones to get us out of this mess or will they make things worse? Right now the fate of the club for the next few years hangs on a knives edge and any wrong decisions could set the club back further.

As I keep stressing, I want them to show urgency and to appreciate that things can't continue on like this for much longer. That doesn't mean making irrational decisions, but it also doesn't mean that they can ride it out for a few more years. We can't get any more rock bottom than this and the rebuild reasoning can't be used anymore as that's what the last year and a half have been...

We all want the same thing, we're all passionate and loyal and hopefully our fears are eased soon, but the pressure is on them to prove that they're the right people to turn the club around. Anyway, thanks for your post and for keeping things civil and insightful.

 

[Kelpie03]

I am confident that at the back end of this season our young team will gel and see some improvement just like last season, "fingers crossed".
Many panic decisions have been made in the area of recruitment by the previous board which are now causing big problems, and perhaps signing Napa has also been a panic decision, but attacking the Anderson's is grossly unfair, their are many reasons why our club has a problem attracting and keeping players, and it is not always the fault of the board or the on field results.
Although she was not the best CEO our club has had, Ms Castles was spot on when she explained the reasons why our club has difficulty signing players at a fan forum not long before she left the job.
What a pity that some kennelers weren't there, and some who were there have very short memories.

 

[GDR]

I am confident that at the back end of this season our young team will gel and see some improvement just like last season, "fingers crossed".
Many panic decisions have been made in the area of recruitment by the previous board which are now causing big problems, and perhaps signing Napa has also been a panic decision, but attacking the Anderson's is grossly unfair, their are many reasons why our club has a problem attracting and keeping players, and it is not always the fault of the board or the on field results.
Although she was not the best CEO our club has had, Ms Castles was spot on when she explained the reasons why our club has difficulty signing players at a fan forum not long before she left the job.
What a pity that some kennelers weren't there, and some who were there have very short memories.

can you remid us of what raelene said?

 

[vegny]

can you remid us of what raelene said?

We would win 2 premierships before 2020. Before that, something about african refugees.