Vlasnik
Kennel Legend
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wonder what odds you would have been given pre-season on both Des Hasler and Michael Maguire being ousted from their club roles at the end of the 2017 campaign?
Although there had been talk, it was still a shock to see both the Souths premiership-winning coach Maguire, and two time Grand Finalist with the Dogs in Hasler, join the unemployment line, albeit following horror seasons.
Truth be told, for the Dogs, I think the move will benefit both club and (former) coach, with the Belmore based side in desperate need of some new ideas and fresh faces at all levels of the organisation. The instalment of Dean Pay as head coach is a brilliant appointment and if given proper support, there’s no reason his coaching career won’t shine.
Across town at Redfern, the move to oust the man who ended a 43-year title drought for the famous red and green was a little bit riskier. True, they had declined year on year since their 2014 heroics, but following that fateful Sunday, my belief was Maguire had a job for life.
Both sets of fans seem to rejoice at the news that their clubs had implemented coaching shake-ups, with Dogs fans especially vocal throughout the season.
Following the very public coaching changes, the question that needs to be asked is: how will Madge and Des be remembered by fans of their respective clubs?
Des Hasler
Successes: 2012, 2014 Grand Finals
Failures: Missed 2017 finals series, unable to revive two-years of faltering attack
Notable Signings: Brett Morris, Kieran Foran, Aaron Woods
Biggest Losses: Michael Ennis, Marty Taupau, Dale Finucane, Damien Cook, Josh Reynolds, James Graham
On the surface of it, Des Hasler only failed to play finals footy once during his time at the Dogs, whilst taking the side to two deciders. Although they ultimately fell short on both occasions, other clubs would cut off their collective left legs to ensure that kind of record in finals.
Digging a little deeper, ultimately Hasler failed to deliver the premiership success he promised after his massive move across from rivals Manly.
His game plan, at first, was revolutionary. No one could quite work out how to stop his big men playing as halfbacks, and there was a time there where the Dogs may have been the most exciting side in the game to watch as a neutral.
Fast forward a few seasons and it was genuinely a toss-up whether to watch the Dogs or go to the dark side and watch another code of footy. They were that awful.
Curtis Rona and Josh Reynolds were literally running the ball on the fifth tackle, choosing to hand the ball over rather than risk kicking it dead and handing over a seven-tackle set in return.
Hasler has left the Dogs with a roster capable of big things. Foran and Woods are huge ins, while Klemmer, Jackson, Mbye, Morris, Morris, and Tolman round out a formidable nucleus of players to build a squad around.
However, it is the recruitment decisions in regards to players he let go that may haunt him long term. Ennis, Taupau, Finucane, and Cook are all genuine match winners. Ennis and Cook were shifted to accommodate a player Hasler has no idea how to use in Lichaa. Lichaa’s re-signing came only after Hasler’s axing.
The money spent on Aaron Woods will cause discussion for many years to come and places unimaginable pressure on the big man. Foran has struggled with offseason priorities and injury for two seasons now, and it was believed reuniting with Hasler would provide him with the environment needed to return to his best footy.
Moving on captain James Graham was massive, but removing the heart of the club in Reynolds earlier in the season all but sealed his fate. On paper, a swap for Foran seems great business, but Reynolds importance to the club goes much, much deeper.
For mine, the grand final appearances seem a world away. The club’s awful attack of the past two seasons is what I equate with the club right now. Judging by social media, there aren’t too many Dogs fans crying too many tears for their former mentor.
Michael Maguire
Successes: 2014 Premiership, 2015 World Club Challenge, 2015 9’s Champions
Failures: Failed to make 2016, 2017 finals series, put too much stock in Burgess brothers
Notable Signings: Dane Gagai, Robbie Farah, Sam Burgess, Cody Walker, Angus Crichton
Biggest Losses: Dylan Walker, Luke Keary, Nathan Brown, Ben Te’o, Apisai Koroisau
Obviously, the stand out here is the 2014 Premiership. I doubt any Souths fan will ever forget the scenes on that beautiful Sunday afternoon. The Greg Inglis goanna celebration will be on highlight reels for as long as the game exists.
Also memorable will be the fact that at one time the Bunnies held the three major trophies: the NRL Premiership, the World Club Challenge trophy, and the 9’s trophy.
Less memorable however is the way their barnstorming title defence petered out into little more than a whimper, as they were bashed and dumped out in round one of the 2015 finals series. They followed that up by failing to make the finals in either 2016 and 2017, and to be honest the odds of them playing in 2018 look slim.
Maguire built the Premiership success around Sam Burgess, who was by far and away the best forward in the world at that stage and produced arguably the greatest single season by a big man in recent history.
Burgess left to chase a dream in the other code leaving the title defence on the back foot from the get-go. Although it was soon announced that Burgess would return to Souths in 2016 reigniting dreams of a return to the promised land.
Maguire’s coaching future would ultimately live or die by the decisions made in moving players on to accommodate the returning Burgess. Simply put, he had to do it otherwise the Bunnies hero would have been snapped up elsewhere, but the sacrifices made in doing so may have cost him his position.
Dylan Walker was moved on after an off-field incident, although the move was seen as a way to move on a high priced player. Also exiting were Issac Luke, Glenn Stewart and Chris McQueen.
Although there’s a chance those players would have left regardless, to lose four rep players in one hit was a huge gap no matter what the reasoning.
Will Souths fans accept the relative failures of 2016 and 2017, as well as a sad end to the 2015 season in order to enjoy the 2014 premiership success?
Every day of the week!
Madge should rightfully be remembered as the man who broke the premiership drought and should be awarded life membership despite the two and a bit seasons of levelling out.
I’m surprised he’s not there heading into 2018, but to be honest, the time was right for a change up top.
https://www.zerotackle.com/will-maguire-hasler-remembered-29415/
