Roosters: beware great expectations

 

Roar Guru

By mushi, 29 Sep 2010 mushi is a Roar Guru

Tagged:

 2010 NRL grand final, Brian Smith, NRL, NRL finals, Rugby League, St George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Todd Carney

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Todd Carney is hit high during a match between the Parramatta Eels and the Sydney Roosters at Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Saturday, July 31, 2010. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Grant Trouville)

I certainly didn’t expect the mighty Roosters to still be clucking in October when I booked a long weekend away earlier this year.

Whilst proud of the boys, my expectations are tempered for Sunday as the Roosters seem to be at their best when they can seize on errant opportunities rather than manufacture them through the arm wrestle in the forwards.

Their pack has certainly developed over the course of the year but still is heavily reliant on dummy half running from the outside backs to augment the low work rate from the big men. I think against the Dragons this will be their undoing.

The most disciplined side in the competition will force the Roosters to make their own inroads rather than affording the Dragons opportunities to seize on small lapses in defence.

Brian Smith has done a great job of building plans designed to put the spotlight on his opponents’ fatal flaw but barring a breakdown from one of the Dragons players under pressure (not an impossible occurrence mind you), I think he’ll need to call in the blackhawks with search lights to get the job done this weekend.

As a fan I do not fear a loss on Sunday night, given I didn’t expect to have a vested interest in the finals this year, but I do fear a repeat of what has played out at Parramatta. The unreasonable expectation syndrome.

The first thing that will happen if the Roosters are unable to lift the trophy on Sunday will be the inevitable claim from sections of the media and the fan base that this is proof that Brian Smith is an inept coach.

Of course, taking a team from last place to a grand final berth and losing against the back-to-back minor premiers coached by the best active, and perhaps best ever, coach in rugby league is cause for concern. We should fire him on the mere suspicion this might happen…

If the Roosters open the year mid table or worse, the hounds will be baying for the head of Brian Smith and casting Todd Carney in the mould of a one-hit wonder. It will be an injustice but one which the short memories and limited analytical capabilities of the rugby league media have delivered upon many a side.

And make no mistake, next year will be tougher. As anyone wearing yellow and blue will attest you don’t make a grand final and then fly under the radar for much of the second year.

Players and coaches are human, and despite their constant one game at a time and respect every opponent rhetoric their attention and intensity wanes for lesser opponents just as if intensifies for a more respected one.

In 2011, coaches will look long and hard at how the Roosters use the dummy half running to compensate for their forward packs work rate and develop more comprehensive strategies for limiting the trio of playmakers will be employed.

The Roosters will need to adapt and improve to deliver the same results in the face of this increased attention.

I do believe the autocratic nature of Politis’ reign which has been a point of concern for many, will be an asset as Politis will have the luxury of being able to stand firm with Smith at least until mid 2012 before demand great results.

This year has been, regardless of the result, a fairytale. Next year will be the tough hard slog of real life, now that isn’t to say the red white and blues shouldn’t be aiming up but they need to realise that the spotlight adds an extra degree of difficulty.

And as fans we need to remember not to make the weight of great expectations into a millstone.

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