Part 1 examined the role of a coach in producing excellent results on the field. Part 2 seeks to examine the role of players in a team and the value they add to their respective sides.
The old saying goes ‘there is no I in team’. Every single player is responsible for their actions during the game that contributes to the win.
These days, the players are also responsible for their behaviour off the field as that behaviour often affects the players’ performances on the field. Three ways in which players can directly impact the excellence of a team include perspiration, representation, and presentation.
An excellent side relies on players that work hard. Regardless of the amount of talent that a player has, they must work hard to get the best out of that talent.
Johnathan Thurston, regarded as too small at the Bulldogs, became one of rugby league’s greatest ever halfbacks through the constant work he would put in training session after training session, often kicking goals and practicing kicks long after the other players had left.
Players like these with immense work ethics are key to producing excellent sides regardless of the level of talent those players have.
(Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
An excellent side has players who are proud to represent that side. One of the reasons that most sports work is because there is an element of pride to pull on that side’s jersey whether at club or international level. Some do it for the lure of playing for that side or country.
Matisse Thybulle, a recently minted Australian Boomer, spoke recently of the pride he felt when wearing the jersey and representing the country of his birth.
Sometimes, players want to play under various coaches. Jaydn Su’A, most recently of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has been very open about the fact that he moved to Souths to play under Wayne Bennett.
The lure of money is, for some, the reason to represent their clubs with players like Aaron Finch having played for seven different Indian Premier League franchises. Regardless of the reasons, a player must want to represent a side and do it proud to make it an excellent side.
A player’s presentation significantly impacts a side’s excellence. No, this is not about how many bad hairdos they sport during the season or whether they have had new arm sleeves tattooed on. Presentation is about how a player performs both on and off the field.
Just ask Paul Vaughan. Prior to his barbecue, the St George Illawarra Dragons looked set to be very competitive and to potentially play in the finals. After the barbecue and the subsequent bans, the Dragons’ on-field performance suffered immensely.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sometimes, a player does well in one system and does not do so well in another. Randy Moss thrived in the Patriots’ system, but after leaving their system, he did not fare as well in other teams’ systems.
Conversely, Nic Maddinson struggled for game time and confidence playing for the New South Wales Sheffield Shield side. His form turned around dramatically after moving to Victoria and has been near the top of the run scorers in the Shield ever since.
A player’s presentation both on and off the field greatly contributes to a side’s excellence.
There is no time in here to discuss the outliers – sides like the 2007 New England Patriots, the 2005-06 Australian cricket team or the dominant Queensland Maroons sides from 2005-13, but all these sides contained a multitude of players who worked exceptionally hard, were proud to represent their clubs or country and overcame numerous setbacks in the pursuit of dominance.
They are outliers because they contained an extraordinary number of players who were exceptionally good at their respective sports and, in many ways, proved that sometimes an overabundance of talent can trump even the hard work and skill put in by other coaches and sides.
These sides are once-in-a-generation sides and their achievements should be celebrated when they arise, but all excellent sides have the same three things as their base: hard work, pride in the jersey and well-drilled skills on and off the field.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
But are the players at the Storm really that much more talented? Paul Momirovski was good when he was at the Tigers in an admittedly weaker team. He was good at Melbourne without being a standout performer. Momirovski has been good at Penrith this year, also without being a standout performer. TPJ proves your point. He was good at the Broncos (without the talent base around and arguably with only Haas better than him), but since moving to Penrith, he hasn't had the same sort of impact, simply because Penrith have the likes of Kikau, Fisher-Harris and other great forwards around him. Next year at the Doggies, if he can stay out of trouble, he should be the standout in the pack again.
Greg
Roar Pro
Would Lewis have made first grade under another coach. Possibly, there are plenty of similar stories in the league to Lewis. Would he have consistently cracked it in first grade under another coach. To me this question should instead be would he have consistently cracked it in first grade as part of a less talented team. No chance. Players seemingly regressing when leaving the Storm gets a lot of air time. However the explanation is quite simple. They are playing alongside less talented team mates. The only player from Melbourne that left for an equally talented team went on to win another 2 premierships. Addo-Carr will regress, because he will be standing out on the wing of a lesser team. Hynes will regress playing behind an average forward pack and Finucane will regress because he will be one of the few quality forwards in his team (and also not sure he has many miles left in his body). If you were to rank the overall talent (factoring in variables such as age and experience) of the playing roster for each club each year. I don't think you'd find too many years where your talent ranking would be markedly different to how the ladder finished each year.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Fair enough. I'm a firm believer that anybody can be great regardless of the amount of talent that a person has. Unfortunately, I'm yet to see/read anything that quantifies talent other than evidence on the field. Everybody who makes it to the top level in any sport has a level of talent, but some players choose to buy in and develop that talent and others fade away. Nick Kyrgios is a classic example. Touted by those who know as a future World Number 1, he's squandered chance after chance to be great, instead preferring mediocrity and millions to working hard and making the most of his talent. He is the anti-example of this article. Someone like Alex De Minaur, who arguably is less talented than Kyrgios, due to his hard work, pride and presentation has achieved great things. Yes, he's not world no. 1 in tennis, but he's a much better player than Kyrgios, but he's had to work harder to get there. That's why coaches like Bennett and Bellamy are so good. Bennett can win a series against the Blues with, talent-wise, an inferior side because of his ability to make everyone buy in, work hard and represent. Likewise, Bellamy can get the best out of everybody, regardless of skill level. Would a player like Chris Lewis, a professional schoolteacher, have made first grade under another coach? Maybe. But would he have been as consistent under another coach and consistently cracked it in first grade? Probably not. Those are the kinds of players I'm talking about. Let's see how players like Addo-Carr, Hynes and Finucane go in different systems under different coaches.
Greg
Roar Pro
Nice read, but "Players like these with immense work ethics are key to producing excellent sides regardless of the level of talent those players have". For as long as ive been watching sports talent has always been the major determinant in a teams success. I understand and agree hard work and pride are needed also but it doesn't mean anything unless you have the talent as a starting point. For me the old adage of a champion team overcoming a team of champions does not ring true. You need a team of champions to be a champion team. Also, whilst i agree with the example of Thurston as a player with a great work ethic i'd note he was never regarded as too small at the Bulldogs. It was as a teenager some other clubs were concerned he was too small and had defensive deficiencies. If the Bulldogs thought him too small they would not have signed him yet alone play him off the bench in a GF. The Dogs encouraged him to take the Cowboys contract as their own cap pressure meant they couldn't go close to matching it and they already had a couple of handy halves on their books (Sherwin & Anasta).
Gibbo
Roar Pro
He was also really quick back in the day. Even at the end of his career, JT was known for leading the kick chase. It was always great to watch and a fantastic example for the younger guys.
Paul Monaro
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the read Gibbo. I still reckon JT is the hardest working player I have ever seen. He was everywhere. I'm not old enough to remember Johnny Raper but they reckon he was the same. The best cover defender of his era. JT was everywhere in defence and attack. And not a bad in the skills department either