WIZ: No-nonsense Maguire shows no favourites at Souths

Maguire is in a better position in that he has players he can drop. He has the luxury of losing players to representative fixtures without the worry of getting smashed by the lowest of the low. The Storm's money is wrapped up in three players. For the others it's a bit demoralising to have the title "BIG THREE" in your face all the time. Rugby League teams are made up of 13 players at any one time on the field. Frankly outside Hoffman, Proctor and Bromwich their forwards are no-body's. Sisa Waqa on the wing is having a great season and is a class player as is Will Chambers and that's where it ends. There is nothing on the bench. Big Georgie doesn't want to be there maybe because training is too hard, and the there are a couple of young dudes who Bellamy just may turn into great players. Where is the depth. Whenever a young player is developed into a fabulous NRL first grade player after a few years of hard work by Bellamy and his staff they leave because Melbourne can't afford them. The Storm have dug themselves into a huge hole. They will be lucky to keep Proctor from leaving come October. In theory and on paper The Storm Machine development plan sounds great for the game we once knew. New rules, new game, big money, and lack of depth have left the once mighty Storm in a huge void which just might take a few years to get out of. Anyway Melbourne Storm, thanks for the memories. Once upon a time you made a lot of people admire what you could achieve, but, unfortunately all good things must come to an end.

Scott, I noticed a discernible change in body language in the playing group towards the end of the season - roughly from round 20 onwards (coincidentally, this was when there was also a significant change in playing style and when the Burgess hype was building to a crescendo). Before that the players were enjoying playing together, there was a great deal of camaraderie and even the Channel 9 commentators were talking about the cohesion within the group. Something definitely changed and this has carried onto this season. My feeling is that Maguire is a similar coach to Brian Smith and Ricky Stuart - all very capable coaches but also extremely intense and uncompromising. I hope we don't lose McQueen - he's could be a superstar with the right guidance.

My mail is that Madge still has'nt forgiven Merritt for not putting a step on, when he was cut down by the best cover tackle of the century in round 26 last year.

So we should keep players on the field even when they're down on form? And when they play like shit, perhaps we should give them a hug at halftime instead of yell at them? These guys are professionals who are there to do a job. Would you pay someone 200k or more to work for you and NOT yell at them when they fail you repeatedly?

Gary, Con There is a big difference between setting high standards and running a club like a concentration camp. You can only scream at players so many times. Ask Ricky Stewart's ex players. By this time next year, Souths may have well have lost most of their entire pack. It is a concern what I am hearing from my contacts. Having said that, I would have dropped Merritt last year and the coach clearly kept him on so he could break the try scoring record. Con, Farrell was terrible in defence last year and I considered him a liability. What I dont get at Souths is why Beau Champion is not playing as he is excellent in defence and a much better player than Reddy. Maybe he got screamed at!

I too was surprised Gary, but as a Bunnies supporter I am not disappointed. I was thinking about Nathan's position after reading Scott Woodward's piece on loyalty on Tue, as the references to Mini at the Roosters could also be applied to Merritt at Souths. The unfortunate thing is that Merritt has been out of form since I'd say round 18 of the 2013 season (especially after his Origin performance, after which he was well down on confidence), and this poor form has continued this season. Notably, he had a couple of glaring defensive lapses against the Dogs on Friday. The problem as I see it is that by sticking with an (older) out of form player, Souths have lost two potentially promising youngsters in Dylan Farrell and Justin Hunt, neither of whom had much opportunity last year. Hopefully Alex Johnston gets his opportunity and at the same time Nathan works harder to improve his form. All in all, it aint easy being a coach

Nathan Merritt has always been a footballer I would have been happy playing at Manly. Several years ago I considered he and Luke Burt of Parramatta two of the most under rated back line players in the game. Both speedy, both smart with decision making, both seemed to know where to be to score a try, both good defenders and both excellent goal kickers. Both in my mind should have had more opportunities as representative players, but both were ignored during their best years. Merrit in my mind would have been an excellent representative player, but by the time they finally selected him, he was well past his best years. He looked out of place in that unfortunate SOO he played because he was well past his prime. And Maguire's decision to drop him was in fact not surprising to me. He is no longer that magical player who could score a try in the twinkling of an eye. The years have taken their toll and he is now competent but not a major player in the team. He reminds me of Manly's Wolfman Williams, who through injuries and the years has lost much of the spark he had five years ago. For mine, I think Merritt is coming towards his retirement age, as is Wolfman and Burt before them. Under rated players and theeir worth not fully appreciated until too late. Maguire knows Merritt is on the slow slide and has made a decision that has to be made. But we can be thankful that we had the chance to see this very clever footballer in his halcyon years. I'm afraid though that that is now all in our memories.

Run your club on fear of being dropped... Sounds like a top idea. Maybe he should ask Mickey Arthur how well that works?