Scenes of elation and cheering have erupted across Queensland today. The main pocket of joy was seen in Brisbane’s King George Square with hundreds of rugby-crazed fans gathering to celebrate the sacking of Queensland Reds coach, Richard ‘Dick’ Graham.
Since his initial installation as head coach in 2013, Reds fans haven’t been sold on the appointment of Dick. They were hardly hungry for Dick at all.
It’s as if Reds fans felt they needed some sort of protection against Dick. They were very suspicious of Dick. How did he manage to squirm his way into the top job anyway?
Dick’s game plan lacked penetration and has often been described as impotent. There was no real thrust behind Dick’s attacking football or forward play.
During his reign, Dick managed to drive away an entire playing list of talent, including Will Genia, James Horwill and Quade Cooper.
Dick even managed to get coaching advisor, John ‘Knuckles’ Connolly, fired, in what was as clear a case of Dick envy as you’re likely to see, proving that the Dick is mightier than Knuckles.
With a 28% win rate, it is hard to see how Dick made it this long as a coach. Some people in the community wondered if he had leverage over the Queensland Rugby Union board.
Matt O’Connor and Nick Stiles have replaced Dick as coach. It is hard to imagine there will be any case of the ghosts of Dick’s past remaining to haunt the current roster.
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