On Saturday night at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta beat Cronulla 28-4. It’s a cliché often used in sport, but in this case the scoreline really wasn’t an accurate reflection of the match.
At halftime the score was 10-4 but the Sharks were in trouble, having lost Wade Graham, Briton Nikora and Will Kennedy to concussion, while Sione Katoa suffered medial ligament damage.
That unfortunate string of injuries meant the away side had no bench for the second half, placing huge demands on the players on the field.
Given all that adversity, it was remarkable how well the Sharks hung in there. When you consider that the Eels scored 16 of their 28 points in the last 11 minutes, it certainly reflects the effort of the Cronulla team.
We’ll also never know whether some players were playing injured and reluctant to come off the field given the lack of interchange.
Given this effort – and the team’s effort in the opening rounds of the competition – it baffles me to see headlines suggesting that coach John Morris is under pressure to retain his position.
There continues to be speculation as to whether former mentor Shane Flanagan will return and or if Craig Bellamy will up sticks from Melbourne to move to the Shire.
Shane Flanagan (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Despite all of Flanagan’s past sins, there seems to be a willingness from some to bring him back – understandable given he was the first coach to deliver the Sharks a premiership.
But this speculation is dismissive of the good job Morris has done as coach after being thrown in the deep end initially, as well as the effort his players are putting in for him each week.
This is a team missing Shaun Johnson and the bearing with the difficult decision Morris has made not to include Andrew Fifita for the first four rounds.
What I find even more baffling about this pressure on Morris is that there are several other coaches whose heads should be on the chopping block.
Trent Barrett, Todd Payten and Kevin Walters appear to be relatively safe given they only took over at their respective clubs at the start of the season. However, little that I have seen so far at the Bulldogs and the Cowboys inspires much hope for the future.
While Canterbury are in a rebuild phase (or have been for the last five years), the problems at this club will not be fixed by signing more outside backs. Their forward pack is not up to standard and with the new rules favouring teams that can push through the middle and dominate the contest early, the Dogs are not set up for success.
Trent Barrett. (Photo by Jason O’Brien/Getty Images)
North Queensland are a completely different case. Payten is a breath of fresh air and offers real honesty and some tough love in his press conferences. He has already spoken about his vision for Jason Taumalolo and expressed disappointment in the effort of his team.
Whispers suggest he already has some members of the squad offside, which is baffling given how poor they have been for the last couple of years.
But the most baffling silence of all is in relation to Des Hasler. I am still in shock that the Sea Eagles made the decision to re-sign Hasler until the end of 2023 in mid-March.
There’s no other way to put this: Manly are diabolical. Even the eventual return of Tom Trbojevic will not save the Sea Eagles from featuring in the battle for the wooden spoon.
Unfortunately, this pain will not be short-lived either. With so much of their salary cap locked up in the Trbojevic brothers and Daly Cherry-Evans, the club has little space to make additional signings.
How Hasler was re-signed in such an environment is staggering, particularly given his side’s form on the field. Dylan Walker is not a fullback and the club continues to field teams that do not look to come close to matching up with most other teams in the competition.
John Morris may be under pressure, but I can’t imagine why, particularly when you consider some of the other coaching ‘talent’ on display right now.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Quite evident the players were putting in against Parra as indirect support for the coach.Could have easily thrown in the towel ,without repercussions,given the circumstances.
josh c
Guest
yeh mate premiership winning combo right there up up cronulla everyone
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
I think I would hold the same view as you Dexter, if I was a Sharks fan!
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Presumably winning a title as a coach would indicate that the coach is superior to most of his fellow coaches? I believe history shows that it's mainly about the roster for the vast majority of these coaches. Hagan, Stuart, Lang, Folkes, Hasler, Maguire, Green , Sheens and even Bennett have collectively won two titles without the superstar rosters over many hundreds of games. Stuart and Sheens in particular and now Hasler have had diabolical seasons . It's not what fans expect but it's the truth.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Yeah, but I didn't spend 12 years lobbying for the job... Make Nat do it
The Barry
Roar Guru
That’s what Kevvie Walters says to himself every morning...
Walter Black
Guest
Massive culture gap between Melbourne and Cronulla. I am not sure Bellamy could live with that.
Emcie
Roar Guru
What'd I do to deserve the Broncos job??
JVGO
Guest
Because half of them are off contract next year....not just Morris.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I feel like I’m having a heart attack just watching them play...I’d be pushing up daises within a month... :silly:
The Barry
Roar Guru
It’s pretty obvious that even a great coach won’t win a title with a rubbish roster... clubs spend 10 mill on their playing roster I don’t think anyone assumes that just because you pay a huge amount of money you’ll get results... who’s said that? But getting the right coach increase the chances of winning As for premiership winners in the past 20 years... Bellamy has three with two stripped. Robinson has three. Bennett has two and Hasler has two. The remaining coaches with one each are Flanagan, Green, Maguire, Sheens, Folkes, Lang, Stuart and Hagan Bellamy, Robinson, Bennett, Maguire and Stuart are still coaching first grade. So 14* of the last 20 titles are still coaching not really faded away. Folkes, Lang and Sheens had long first grade coaching careers and won these titles towards the end of their careers so I’m not sure I’d define them as having won and “faded away” Which leaves Flanagan, Green and Hagan. Flanagan is suspended. Hagan had a successful role in Origin post his club career and Green lost his job last season I’m not sure the last 20 support your theory that successful coaches just fade away. In the 20 years prior to that you would have had Bennett, Ryan, Gibson, Anderson, Sheens, Fulton winning the bulk of the titles, all of whom had long, successful careers and none that just “faded away”
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
TB, I think you have nailed it. If coaches didn't matter, why pay them big money? To me, the culture of a team is set by the leader, the coach. It is they who set standards, who demand better. Players will play for the coach who demands it from them. The whole "if you are an idiot on the weekend, you wont be picked for next week", leads to, unsurprisingly, less idiots.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Lord help us all.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Mary, I'm a long suffering Cronulla fan, since the late 80's as a young lad. And I'm sending my membership back if they take Flanagan back. I just cannot have it. Too many indiscretions. Not a bloke I want around my club. Would be a great story if Craig Fitzgibbon took the reigns at the Sharks. His old man was an early hero of mine. In saying that, Morris is doing a very good job, given the salary cap taken up by a few blokes who are not doing much.
Soda
Roar Rookie
TB, you'd get those bulldogs flying if you were coach.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Other then Belly who’s clearly outstanding and Robbo who we’ll learn more about in the next month or so, there’s a lot to what Albo says when looking at the current coaches in the market. Player talent and particularly on field attitude..you can coach it so far, but that QLD SOO head set those players get for 3 games that’s just not found here in the south, Belly freaking, can seemingly get it consistently over a season. Benny post Dragons, will get your strong list into the 8 but not any further. Ricky goes well with a super strong squad, he’s learnt the importance of Wayne’s player bedside manner, but he’s been doing this job for a long time and outstanding finishes with average clubs didn’t happen for him. Arthur, average, and the rest, quite frankly got their jobs cause their rival was so poor. Take Belly, Benny and at this stage Robbo and, the 2 or 3 duds masquerading out of the mix and you’ve got a pretty even field of similar mediocrity..and clear comprehension why Cronulla and the other sad, hopeful are chasing Belly so hard to get access to his systems.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Everything matters including the coach but the idea that if you pay a coach a huge amount of money that it means you are going to get results is just not true. It matters who is the coach but the roster is a much bigger deal in general. Just look at the list of title winning coaches over the last 20 years and see how they went later on. Most of them get the chop. If winning a title is so much to do with a superior coach , why do most of them fade away? My answer is that it's the players who deserve a lions share of the praise. Manly fans keep on banging on about Tooveys strike rate and GF appearance, I am different. I put his era greatly down to a top line and hugely committed roster. Bellamy could well be an exception to the rule with his record and he deserves his reputation. I have long thought Cameron Smith is more important than Bellamy and maybe I'll be proven wrong.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Morris is under “self constructed media” pressure – that’s it. The journo’s have to “sell” stories and this is just another one. For my view, J.M still has t he respect and confidence with the Sharks, the players like him and its probably no fault of his that he has been dealt some misfortune.
Albo
Roar Rookie
I agree Mary. They appear to be trying to play with more discipline and patience , dare I say "maturity" ? I think the Panthers are following a similar strategy. More patience, less panic. The Eels halves haven't got going properly yet, but have had enough individual talent to get them home, so far.
Paul
Roar Guru
Albo, I'm not sure the coaching role is overstated. I think. as I've said before, there are any number of elements that have to come right for a team to win a premiership, then even more elements that have to come right for a team to have sustained success. Everything else you wrote is spot on, but coaching is a key element, just as talent spotting, recruitment & retention, salary cap management, facilities, Club stability etc, are too. If coaches only "added a bit here & there", why have so many teams, including the mighty Dragons, gone to serious lengths to get Wayne Bennett to coach their squads?