Jason Taylor isn’t to blame for Rabbitohs dip
Roar Guru
By Alan Nicolea, 5 Jul 2009 Alan Nicolea is a Roar Guru
In the aftermath of Saturday night’s 54-20 thrashing at the hands of the Wests Tigers, Rabbitohs coach Jason Taylor looks to be under increasing pressure to keep his head coaching position at a club that has now lost its past five games.
After setting the world on fire with their round one demolition of great rivals the Sydney Roosters, the Rabbitohs have since failed to replicate the form that had many pundits believing the Redfern based club would challenge for the top eight.
Instead, the Rabbitohs now find themselves trying to recover from their biggest loss of the season, at home, against a Tigers outfit which is below them on the NRL ladder.
Prior to their match against the Tigers, South Sydney coach Jason Taylor was reportedly at odds with his players, in the midst of the strong anti-alcohol laws currently enforced at the Redfern club.
This includes the team not drinking alcohol when playing an away game, and also being breath tested when the players come to training.
The reports from the media suggest that most Rabbitohs players feel this is an over the top reaction in a bid to rescue a faltering 2009 season.
Whatever the reason behind the strict alcohol policy, it certainly did not have the desired effect against the Tigers at ANZ stadium.
In front of their home fans, the Rabbitohs were a sombre outfit from start to finish against a brilliant Tigers side that made do with the world class performance of captain Robbie Farah.
The Tigers were very much assisted throughout the match thanks to the Rabbitohs inability to convert pressure into points, not to mention their constant turnovers when in possession.
Although Luke Capwell scored a hat-trick for the Rabbitohs, the performance from his team-mates ensured it would be a match, both he and his club, will hope to forget in a hurry.
No doubt it was a loss that has now placed coach Jason Taylor’s head coaching position under severe threat, despite leading the club to its first finals appearance, since 1989, just two years earlier.
But why should he be made the scapegoat for a horrific performance where its ultimately up to the players to perform to the standard necessary to attain a win.
A coach can only do so much to galvanise his side to play what is in front of them.
Indeed Taylor never coached the Rabbitohs to concede ten tries against a Tigers unit that had been written off as a finals contender.
He never coached the likes of Roy Asotasi, John Sutton, Issac Luke, Chris Sandow and Colin Best to perform so meekly in a game that had a lot riding on it in terms of a potential finals spot.
Had the Rabbitohs defeated the Tigers, they would find themselves just one point outside the top eight, pending the result of the Manly – Bulldogs clash and the Panthers – Eels encounter.
But with a 34 point loss now in their conscience, it seems most Rabbitohs players must now get out of the burrow they have dug themselves in, and accept full responsibility for their actions, and not cast an aura of dissension against a coach that has really given his all for the red and green.
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Tom Alexander. said | July 5th 2009 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
John Lang will probably take over next year they need his coaching experiance to take them up another level who knows he might recreate another panthers miracle when he took them from the wooden spoon to grand final winners after Cronulla foolishly got rid of him the year before.
Brett McKay said | July 5th 2009 @ 3:30pm | Report comment
Tom, a good mate of mine (also a Roosters tragic Alan) has made this comment too, that Lang will take over, and so I put to you the same question I put to him: Why??
The Rabbits were woeful in defence last night, hardly the hallmark of a side with Gordon Tallis as its defence coach. Was Gordy on holiday this week??
I’m with Alan on this, Jason Taylor didn’t coach them to leak tries in defence, nor to give up in attack. The players have to wear this one..
Alan Nicolea said | July 5th 2009 @ 5:51pm | Report comment
Brett
Good on ya mate. Indeed Taylor for me is a good coach that has done terrifically well at such a club that has severley struggled over the years. He is probably their greatest ever coach throughout the early nineties and in the new millenium that’s for sure. You make a good point about Tallis aswell. He was as hard as they came both with and without the ball. For some reason, that spirit has not transcended onto to the field for the Rabbitohs. Sacking their coach will not get them anywhere.
By the way, Is Wesser still injured?
Beardan said | July 5th 2009 @ 7:38pm | Report comment
Look its really not the greatest revelation that Taylor didnt coach them to defend badly. But he simply isnt getting the best out of his players. They are sending a clear message of ‘if things dont change, we wont tackle’. Its all too simple to say that Taylor is not at fault. You are failing to look at the bigger picture.
Beardan
sheek said | July 5th 2009 @ 8:09pm | Report comment
Well…..
Two things as I see it. Firstly, the Rabbitohs don’t really have the cattle. They have some good players, some smart players, some tough players, some leader players, but not enough of all the above.
Secondly, if you treat men as children, they’ll eventually sulk & act like children. Treat men as men. Why punish the majority because a few might be unable to behave themselves appropriately.
I don’t agree Taylor is a great coach. A good coach yes, but not a great coach. And when was the last time he cracked a smile? Maybe Taylor himself needs to loosen up with a few dozen beers???
In my experience, players don’t play for a club. What I mean is, a club means something different for each player. Each player’s goodwill towards a club is different depending on the personal experiences he goes through while at that club.
Ultimately, they play for each other &/or the coach, if they respect & admire those around them. If a guy doesn’t like his coach or most of his team mates, he’ll basically go through the motions, professional or not.
It’s human nature. It shows on the premiership ladder board, or log, every year.
Alan Nicolea said | July 5th 2009 @ 8:42pm | Report comment
Sheek and Beardan
You make some very valid points. Its funny though, a coach like John Lang seemed to have all the respect in the world after guiding Penrith to a premiership win in 2003 and a preliminiary final in 2004. Despite this, Lang was sacked in 2006 for an apparent lack of respect from his players which culminated in poor season finishes. All this after winning a Grand Final just three years earlier. Have a look at the Eels. They were coached by Brian Smith for a long time yet parted ways with him because the players were growing tired of his prescence. He goes up to Newcastle and galvanises the Newcastle Knights into a premiership force. Michael Hagan left for the Eels however and ended up having problems with his health. Now Daniel Anderson is in charge and little has changed. The Eels are still an inconsistent force. All in all, i reckon its fairly simple to say the coach is at fault, not the other way around. Its ultimately up to the players to turn things around, and if they do not like their coaching staff, maybe they are the ones that should leave the club then.
Tom Alexander. said | July 5th 2009 @ 9:28pm | Report comment
I don’t have a problem with Taylor as a person but i think sometimes it takes a change of coach/ideas to get the best out of some players and even to take them to that next level i mean look at Wayne Bennett i know he is not the be all and end all of coaching and he ‘s not out on the field taking the hits but he must have sparked something in the Dragons for them to be leading the Comp and playing the type of football that they are playing this year as apposed to previous years when they couldn’t get it together Kevin Moore at the Bulldogs is another similar example i also believe the problem Taylor and even Brad Fittler faces is because they are still fairly young and in Fittlers case he actually played alongside some of the players he is now coaching this fact has actually gone against them in that sometimes familiarity can breed contempt where as older coaches like Bennett Beatson and Lang are more like father figuers than mates and beer buddies and by all accounts aren’t afraid to drop a player if he isn’t putting in the effort or has a slack attitude maybe Souths need a hard taskmaster like Lang to tell the players to put away the Amani suits and celebrity attitudes and start playing football again.
Alan Nicolea said | July 5th 2009 @ 10:23pm | Report comment
Tom
But Lang was a hard headed coach at Penrith yet they sacked him immediately when the club started to dive, despite leading them to a premiership. You would think Shaun MacRae was a hard headed coach yet Souths sacked him in exchange for the younger blood of Taylor, which has led the Rabbitohs to their first final series since 1989. Regardless, it is a topic which will always offer up different views. Indeed look at what happened to Chris Anderson at the Roosters. They were performing terribly under a hard head yet he was replaced by Fittler and the chooks ended up making the finals in 2008 for the first time since Freddy’s retirement in 2004.
Skull said | July 6th 2009 @ 8:02am | Report comment
Unfortunately for Taylor, I think the last time he had a few beers to relax he was thrown out of a one day cricket match
sheek said | July 6th 2009 @ 9:25am | Report comment
Alan,
Club boards have a lot to answer for. When they sack coaches, it’s their own hide usually that they are protecting. Not the interests of the club.
I’m not all over the sacking of Richmond Tigers coach Terry Wallace. But it appears he wasn’t helped by a club board too stingy with its money to provide him with the proper assistance in support coaches, & some quality players.
For many clubs, their actions are self-fulfilling prophecies. If you’re not willing to pour money into quality players for example, then you won’t get the success you crave.
Then there’s that old chestnut of a club binding to together to reach a goal, & then falling apart after the goal is reached. Which probably best explains what happened to John Lang at Penrith. Many of the great coaches have been sacked at some stage.
In any case, you have to be a masochist to be a coach!