#robbiemears
We're all so reactive on this forum, myself included. One minute it's awesome Kosi is in the team - he's passionate and a welcome reprieve from the Fusitua/Ken show; next minute he's useless and should be thrown on the scrapheap. One minute the Warriors are making progress and all seems rosy, next we're going backwards and there's no hope.
I think we should all apply a little perspective to the recent losses and the overall position of the club. It's easy to say everything is hopeless after a series of bad losses, it's much more challenging to take the long view and say we're slowly building to something better.
I think the side look far more impressive this year than last. That may not be reflected on the ladder, and it may not be readily apparent every time they crack under pressure. But to me at least, they seem better drilled, more professional and more passionate: there's finally some real emotion when they lose.
I can watch this team, and to the extent that it's possible when they're losing so frequently, enjoy what I see. I get a little nervous again on game day. Under SK, that enjoyment, that vested interest was being rapidly drained away.
Remember, this is a team that has had losing baked into the DNA. The club has been a mess for so many years. It will take far longer than half a season for Brownie, POS and Gus to turn the ship around. But there have been numerous positive changes in recent months, and players are actually wanting to come here again. The mighty ship is slowly beginning to right itself...
As for Brownie, well, let's face it: some coaches are willing to take on shit propositions and take the hit to their reputation. Brownie is clearly one of them. He's astute enough to realise that head coaching roles are like hen's teeth, so when one comes along, you may as well grab it. Especially when there's a dearth of opportunities and a surplus of options.
Brownie took the Knights gig on knowing he was facing a monumental task rebuilding a crumbling club in a one club footy mad city. So what did he do? He attracted top shelf players, and blooded some future superstars. It was a thankless task, but the fact he could get players there, despite the on-field failings, speaks to his status amongst the wider playing group.
With the Warriors, he's done much the same. He's arrived at a club where the culture was battered, the roster was a mess, the salary cap was poorly managed. And you can see, quite clearly, that he's attempting to turn things around.
On top of all the issues he inherited, he's been hammered with injuries, he's had key players missing games for 'unspecified personal reasons', and he's playing the entire season away from the club's traditional home base. It's been a massive challenge.
Like many on here, I'm not convinced that Brownie is the longterm future of this club. But I'm also not convinced that he's not. Time will tell. But in the short term, between the impressive recruitment, the bold focus on blooding the next generation, and the incremental improvements on the field, I think things are looking more positive than they might appear on the ladder.
There's a sense that Brownie and POS know what the club needs to do, who they need to sign, and they're going about it in a very calculated and systematic way.
For all those that say dump Brownie and get a Super coach in, honestly, there is zero chance of that eventuating. There's a reason why the very top coaches rarely change clubs: they're acutely aware of how difficult it is to start again and perhaps even more conscious of their impressive win-loss records. The last thing a Bellamy or a Robinson would want is to tarnish their reputations by taking on a massive rebuild like the Warriors.
Keep in mind too that in the latest 2021 NRL Players Survey, Nathan Brown was voted the 5th best coach in the game - by the players themselves. He was only 1% off Trent Robinson, and beat Hasler and Ricky amongst others. The players rate him, and that's half the battle.
Also, for those speculating that there may be some plotting behind the scenes, bear in mind that POS and Brownie are VERY close mates; as are Gus and Brownie. I'd be most surprised if any of those machinations are in play.
I believed at the time of his appointment that Brownie was the best option available and still believe that today (though Flanagan would be next in line). We need to give him time to implement the drastic changes that are needed at all levels of the club. Yes, there will be plenty of pain along the way and perhaps realistically we're still a year or two away from being a genuine top eight contender. But I have faith in Gus, and confidence in POS, and all signs indicate that Robbo is impatient enough to invest for success.
So we've lost a bunch of games in a row, the finals are looking remote. But if we take a more realistic long view, it's very evident that changes are underway. Let's take a collective deep breath, reset expectations and get excited about next year when more of the fruits of this transformation will start to manifest.
I think we should all apply a little perspective to the recent losses and the overall position of the club. It's easy to say everything is hopeless after a series of bad losses, it's much more challenging to take the long view and say we're slowly building to something better.
I think the side look far more impressive this year than last. That may not be reflected on the ladder, and it may not be readily apparent every time they crack under pressure. But to me at least, they seem better drilled, more professional and more passionate: there's finally some real emotion when they lose.
I can watch this team, and to the extent that it's possible when they're losing so frequently, enjoy what I see. I get a little nervous again on game day. Under SK, that enjoyment, that vested interest was being rapidly drained away.
Remember, this is a team that has had losing baked into the DNA. The club has been a mess for so many years. It will take far longer than half a season for Brownie, POS and Gus to turn the ship around. But there have been numerous positive changes in recent months, and players are actually wanting to come here again. The mighty ship is slowly beginning to right itself...
As for Brownie, well, let's face it: some coaches are willing to take on shit propositions and take the hit to their reputation. Brownie is clearly one of them. He's astute enough to realise that head coaching roles are like hen's teeth, so when one comes along, you may as well grab it. Especially when there's a dearth of opportunities and a surplus of options.
Brownie took the Knights gig on knowing he was facing a monumental task rebuilding a crumbling club in a one club footy mad city. So what did he do? He attracted top shelf players, and blooded some future superstars. It was a thankless task, but the fact he could get players there, despite the on-field failings, speaks to his status amongst the wider playing group.
With the Warriors, he's done much the same. He's arrived at a club where the culture was battered, the roster was a mess, the salary cap was poorly managed. And you can see, quite clearly, that he's attempting to turn things around.
On top of all the issues he inherited, he's been hammered with injuries, he's had key players missing games for 'unspecified personal reasons', and he's playing the entire season away from the club's traditional home base. It's been a massive challenge.
Like many on here, I'm not convinced that Brownie is the longterm future of this club. But I'm also not convinced that he's not. Time will tell. But in the short term, between the impressive recruitment, the bold focus on blooding the next generation, and the incremental improvements on the field, I think things are looking more positive than they might appear on the ladder.
There's a sense that Brownie and POS know what the club needs to do, who they need to sign, and they're going about it in a very calculated and systematic way.
For all those that say dump Brownie and get a Super coach in, honestly, there is zero chance of that eventuating. There's a reason why the very top coaches rarely change clubs: they're acutely aware of how difficult it is to start again and perhaps even more conscious of their impressive win-loss records. The last thing a Bellamy or a Robinson would want is to tarnish their reputations by taking on a massive rebuild like the Warriors.
Keep in mind too that in the latest 2021 NRL Players Survey, Nathan Brown was voted the 5th best coach in the game - by the players themselves. He was only 1% off Trent Robinson, and beat Hasler and Ricky amongst others. The players rate him, and that's half the battle.
Also, for those speculating that there may be some plotting behind the scenes, bear in mind that POS and Brownie are VERY close mates; as are Gus and Brownie. I'd be most surprised if any of those machinations are in play.
I believed at the time of his appointment that Brownie was the best option available and still believe that today (though Flanagan would be next in line). We need to give him time to implement the drastic changes that are needed at all levels of the club. Yes, there will be plenty of pain along the way and perhaps realistically we're still a year or two away from being a genuine top eight contender. But I have faith in Gus, and confidence in POS, and all signs indicate that Robbo is impatient enough to invest for success.
So we've lost a bunch of games in a row, the finals are looking remote. But if we take a more realistic long view, it's very evident that changes are underway. Let's take a collective deep breath, reset expectations and get excited about next year when more of the fruits of this transformation will start to manifest.
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