Why Ma’a Nonu and Andrew Hore had to go

LOL. You're right. I should have just put the link there. I thought this way would have been better than the link but It looks terrible when looking at it after its posted. Bloody rookie mistakes. Thanks anyway. Lesson learnt.

Agreed but I do back them up. 90% of my replies is reasons for my opinion. Apologies that it irritates you. I see your opinions and reasons but like I said it has nothing to do with the pricnciples of coaching which is my focus in this space. I agree that it also important to focus on the details not just the principles of coaching to get a better understanding of the situaltion. Unfortunately I don't know enough about it. You'd be better qualified at that than me. The Roar will definitely post you article. Look forward to reading it.

zhenry - I'm not sure what your argument is. My whole argument is basically that I supported the stance that Hammett took. And the reason is the points I outlined and in replying comments. Nothing more nothing less. We have gone from a debate on the merits of the sacking to the inner workings of the media and SANZAR. Like I said before. This is far beyond the scope of this article. Sounds like you know 10 times more than me on that topic but unfortunately I'm not engaging in that debate because I know very little on that topic. Of course it's totally up to you but you should post something on the Roar so people like me can learn something about it. I have no interest in Hammett what so ever. I didn't even know he was the Canes coach until a few games into the season. Like I said I know very little about that level hence why I don't constantly refer to it. What I am interested in is what makes a successful team. The Bennett article is was just something to support my original arguement. I realise that a link would have sufficed but most readers would have skipped it thus missing out on my point. Some may have skipped the Cut & Paste anyway but I thought this was the better option. Unfortunately character assassination in the media is nothing new. Nonu is just the topic for this month. It's just the nature of the media. Most times the media don't really care about the collateral damage like the families. Sad but true. What I do believe in and am very willing to debate about is the merits of the sacking in terms of coaching principles. If you have anything to add please do. Also please add what principle you're against so that we can debate that as well. I gather that you disagree with the sacking but you have not provided one point to back up your argument. Nonu & Hores playing ability was never in question. All the points you've raised have mostly to do with the dealings of coaching appointments, credentials & media biases not coaching principles which in the end is what this is all about.

You're right. Cloning a Crusader culture will be very difficult. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. The media has gotten behind Hammett not because they are owned by Oz but becasue it is principly the right move. You must at least give Hammett that. The character assasination you speak of is off the mark. Nothing in the reports regarding Nonu & Hore are false. Nonu was interviewed about the issue and not once did he deny any of the reports. He said that he was really hurt and that he's been a loyal servant to Wellington and that his family is really hurt, but he never denied anything. If you think this is bad imagine how SBW feels sometimes. Wayne Bennett wrote this article in 2007. I believe its the best sports article I've come across regarding setting an example for younger players. Notice what he says about the older players and how he changed over time at the Broncos after the 'my way or the highway'. Wouldn't be suprised if Hammett's read it as well. I've just cut and pasted the whole thing. Wayne Bennett : I have heard a little and heard a lot about coaching Generation Y. I'm still trying to make up my mind where the myth ends and reality begins. Each year at the Broncos we bring in between six and eight 18-year-olds. We've been doing that over a great period of time and I still haven't seen anything to suggest we have to appease them and give in to them simply because they're from a group that wants everything now - and wants to have fun while getting it. One of the keys to success is knowing what's required to reach a goal and the next thing is to get together a group of people prepared to pay the price. It's true, Generation Y has been exposed to the internet, video games, mobile phones and iPods from a young age, but part of my argument here is if you accept mobile phones can be left on all the time, if you accept someone can spend all day playing video games, then, you know you are creating problems. One of the most important aspects in the culture of your organisation is your older players. They set the work ethic. They welcome the workload, they train properly, set standards and refuse to have them compromised by 18, 19 or 20-year-olds looking for shortcuts to success. My experience is that the newcomers pick up the tone and standards very quickly. Members of the Y Generation are now in the real world with real people and you either do it or you don't - and if you don't, there's no place for you. There's a suggestion we have to coach differently because of this generation. In an article in The Australian this year, Nicole Jeffery spoke to experts who suggested the new breed won't accept the coach always knows best. "Coaches report that youngsters are not willing to do the hard, grinding work ... Generation Y is born to sprint rather than stay ... they get bored easily ... We have three captains and our players are involved in the disciplinary committee." Perhaps the problem in all of this might have been the coaches. "Be punchy in your presentation ... don't have hour-long video presentations." I have never had an hour-long presentation in my life. I didn't need Generation Y to waltz in and tell me they're going to get bored. Today we measure everything from RPE (ratio of perceived exertion) to how far and at what speed did they run using global positioning satellite data. There's a welfare state mentality out there with athletes - they're always looking for handouts, for soft options and will only commit if the reward is high enough. In many cases they want something for nothing. In 1993, when we won the premiership I realised if we were going to have long-term success at the Broncos it wasn't going to be because I was the coach. It was because of the players. In those early years I had the attitude it was my way or the highway and it had to be because we had to set guidelines on what was acceptable and what was not acceptable. But once that was in place - and the players who didn't conform were gone - I realised it had to change. So from 1993, we had a senior players' group that still exists today and the whole purpose of that was for players to take ownership. But you couldn't come in at 18 or 19 and say "treat me differently". Rule 1 has always been there has to be respect. You earn it off the field and you earn it on the field. We've never been into having a number of captains because I think it devalues the position by again trying to appease. It has always been important to me that the captain of the Broncos is treated with great respect by the club. A position of honour and huge responsibility - something to strive for. Lewis, Miles, Langer, Walters, Tallis, Lockyer. The other thing I've avoided is players being involved in disciplinary committees. That's my job. We had one in 1997, a disciplinary committee involving players, and I remember arriving in Perth to play the Western Reds. The group had been going for about a month and they were having a ball fining their mates and carrying on. But the party came to an abrupt end in Perth when one of the committeemen, a player, broke curfew. He then decided he wanted to use his get-out-of-jail-free card because he was one of them. So I dismantled the disciplinary committee that morning. I remember why I set it up and what I was trying to do - take pressure off myself. Deep down I knew I was being false and that incident highlighted it to me. The idea of having multiple captains and watching the Perth affair unfold, that's not leadership, that's management. Management is about consensus, about feeling fuzzy and warm; giving in to soft options. The welfare state mentality where we appease the weak-minded. Karmichael Hunt came to the Broncos at age 17 and has proceeded to do what no one else has ever done in the 20 years of this club. He was a young 17, not 18 until November, yet every metre we ran, every weight we lifted and every game we played he ran and lifted and played. He's into mobile phones and iPods and he's into the internet and video games, but in the past four years he's played for his state and country with great distinction without ever questioning once. Darius Boyd arrives a year later and he does similar things. Team things ... forever willing to pay the price to be part of our team. It's not a whole lot different to parenting: if you don't give the kid the guidelines, the routine, the structure, then, you know, the kid goes off and does his own thing, which is often not what the family requires and not what the team requires. I recognise times have changed. As a kid I remember my parents and elders saying how different we were to their generation. Yes, I have been prepared to change but I'm not going to change my attitude to discipline and commitment. I'm not going to compromise. I believe too many parents and too many coaches are using Generation Y as an excuse. Young people have to go to dark places at times in their training environment, in the sports performance area, because that's the way life is, the only way of finding out how good you really are. So why can't we expect good behaviour, punctuality and respect? And why do we listen to all the reasons an individual can't achieve something instead of challenging them to do what they think they can't do? In our welfare environment, complaints are met with benevolence and charity. They run off to the players' association. We appease them and they drag a lot of do-gooders with them. We continually shift our social standards and accept less and less as being acceptable. I'm not prepared to let it go and would rather remain a member of a small group who won't give up on challenging young people to do better.