Michael Maguire doesn’t play favourites and all of his decisions are based on performance. Personalities don’t come into it, Michael Crocker being a prime example, and this is why I like him as a coach.
You might think all coaches do that. Well, all coaches should, but the fact is they don’t all do it, and the ones that don’t are the ones who don’t win premierships and don’t last long.
I’m convinced that if South Sydney don’t win a premiership while Maguire is at the club, it won’t be because of him.
Crocker is the captain of the Rabbitohs and he is a popular figure at the club, but when they play Melbourne at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night in the clash of the only two unbeaten teams in the NRL, he will be reduced to spectator status for the third week in a row.
He played for Souths’ feeder club, North Sydney, in the NSW Cup two weeks ago, and last week was the 18th man when the Rabbitohs travelled to Auckland to play the Warriors. John Sutton has been captain in Crocker’s absence.
Crocker was named at number 18 again for Souths against the Storm, and the only way he’ll be playing in that game is if there is an injury between now and kickoff. It’s another NSW Cup date for him this weekend.
It’s not that Crocker is playing badly, it’s just that others who do similar jobs to him – most notably Ben Lowe – are playing better.
Crocker, who turns 34 in June, is going to have to get better to get back in, and that’s a big challenge at his age.
But that’s the challenge Crocker effectively set himself when he decided he wanted to play on this season. Souths gave him a one-year contract, but that was no guarantee of a continued existence in first grade.
Crocker would have been well aware of that. He would naturally hate being dropped, but at least he would know one thing – if he deserves to get back into the side, he will.
Maguire is a straight-shooter. He doesn’t play mind games. And the Souths players will tell you that when they get dropped, they are told exactly why and are assured that if they fix the problem they can reasonably expect to get back in.
It has already happened with Dave Tyrrell this season.
Competition for places in the 17-man Souths squad is fierce at the moment. Some good players are missing out on spots. Crocker is just one of them.
Maguire rates individual performances in precise detail. If a player isn’t doing what is expected of him on the field, the coach gives him a warning, and if it keeps happening he drops them. Simple as that.
It doesn’t matter how big or how small a name it might be.
The word out of Souths is that Crocker, as disappointed as he is, took his axing on the chin and has been ripping in hard at training ever since it happened.
But he is going to have to keep doing that. This is obviously a critical time in his career, when he is digging deep to try to ensure it doesn’t end with him playing in the NSW Cup.
Crocker has been up for a long time. This is his 13th year of first grade, and as we all know he has hammered himself on the field.
When it comes to putting his body on the line, he is in the top drawer. But that commitment takes a huge physical toll.
It’s going to be interesting to see if he can make it back into first grade and play a major role in Souths’ premiership bid.
Presumably, the mind is still strong. It’s a case of whether the body can play its part.
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