-PJ- wrote: ↑July 1, 2018, 5:02 pm
Here's our 9 loses in 2018 thus far for those who haven't cried enough yet.
Rnd1- v Gold Coast away.. should have won, threw it away.
Rnd2- v Knights @ home..should have won, threw it away.
Rnd3- v Warriors @ home..should have won, threw it away(this one I'll never forget)
Rnd4- v Manly away..outplayed.
Rnd7- v Rabbits away..outplayed
Rnd10- v Sharks @ home..should have won, threw it away.
Rnd11- v Dragons away..should have won, threw it away.
Rnd14- v Panthers @ home..should have won, threw it away.
Rnd16- v Broncos away..should have won, threw it away.
Terrible stuff Ricky.
Double scotch, neat please bar tender
Yep.
We win those games we shouldve won and we are on 28 points- top of the table.
Win 5 of 7 and we are 2nd or 3rd. Win 4 /7 and we are top 4 or close enough.
We have easily the talent in the team to win the premiership. I believe that without any doubt.
Stick uses the bench effectively and we wouldve won at least 4 of those games. ATLEAST. Even with Austin in the team!
One thing I can grant Stuart is that he has recruited well. The main problem is the blind pig headed stubborness regarding the game plan. It seems so obvious to even the most casial observer yet he refuses to address it.
Remember this is a privately owned club and its all about the real estate assets, so winning the comp is not the priority. Nothing any one here has any influence on the decisions the club makes.
Woodgers wrote: ↑July 3, 2018, 12:15 pm
Of course the players are the ones out there and have to take responsibility but we've lost a lot of those games because of coaching decisions before or during the game. Often both. It's become painfully obvious to most fans that he's a good man off the field and he's very passionate about the club but he's just not good at coaching Rugby League at NRL level. It doesn't need an inquest, his record speaks for itself and this is yet another season that looks like a failure. I don't know how many times one club can review every aspect of why we're not winning games except for possibly the most critical one. You can have nice things like a centre of excellence in every suburb in town if you like, but if you have a bloke calling the shots that plays a small half as an impact hooker in the middle of the field or doesn't use all 17 players on game day then all the shiny weights and streamlined preseasons etc are insignificant in a competition where the margins are so small on game day.
This. It begins and ends with the coach. Always did, always will. A coach is payed for, and judged on, results. The old "the coach isn't the one out there making the errors blah blah" just doesn't wash.
Remember this is a privately owned club and its all about the real estate assets, so winning the comp is not the priority. Nothing any one here has any influence on the decisions the club makes.
True, true and true. And don't forget all those beautiful pokie machines. Here's to being a Raiders fan.
Mickey_Raider wrote: ↑July 2, 2018, 11:14 pm
I just cannot believe that Stuart has effectively wasted 2 whole years with a very capable roster...and absolutely nothing will be done about it.
Do you reckon he knows he is done? Like obviously, he would never publicly admit he has no idea how to fix our issues; but do you think he realises that he has simply run out of excuses? I don't see how he could go to another club and sell them any sort of vision. He has had everything on a silver platter here: Stability, time to build a squad, a healthy mix of capable rep players, exciting outside backs and young talent coming through.
And yet he has still failed. DO you think he knows the clock is ticking for him?
I haven't seen anything suggesting he is under pressure. I guess he knows he probably needs to make the finals next year to get another rushed through early extension.
Last edited by Roger Kenworthy on July 4, 2018, 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Agreed. There really isnt even a hint of heat around. I dont think the club has even thought about sacking him. He's not going anywhere, we're going to have to go through another 2 years, maybe more of this guy
all you can really do is laugh about it. maybe craft some funny memes. The club is mediocre for lots of reasons but a big one is that they dont mind that they are.
When stuart came here he talked a big game about making the club more professional but here we are like 5 years on and its same old raiders. is there some kind of gas leak at raiders hq ???
Remember this is a privately owned club and its all about the real estate assets, so winning the comp is not the priority. Nothing any one here has any influence on the decisions the club makes.
True, true and true. And don't forget all those beautiful pokie machines. Here's to being a Raiders fan.
This, the entire pretence of being an NRL club is just a front for the business activities above.
Perhaps this could be a reason why there is not a lot of love from the NRL for a business franchise as opposed to a NRL franchise.
To all the people with telekinetic powers...please raise my hand.
Here's my thoughts - Ricky has had four years to make something out of this team, he hasn't. He had arguable they best team with the Roosters and lost 2. Had an awesome Cronulla team and lost, picked apart a struggling Eels, then bailed before getting the boot. Took over a Raiders team, who on paper should be top 4, and has not delivered.
The key issue is that players can't play for 80 minutes, losing 5 (7, but really 5) games in the last 20 minutes. How do you fix this, why is this happening.
Well it's mixture of bad coaching and player/personalities. The Raiders do not learn. Simple. Look at the Warriors game. Up by a mile. lose 20-19. 2 field goals in 5 minutes. This should have never happened. Simple reason is pressure. You watch Broncos or Storm play in a situation like this. They kick deep, in the 10m area, the players as a whole run up in defense to shut down the attack, for all 5 tackles they run up at 85-90% speed and shut them down. The opposition has to kick on the 5th and only gets to the 40. Rinse and repeat. Those teams apply pressure when needed and come up trumps every time.
What happened in that game vs Warriors? Raiders kicked deep. Yes!, they ambled up in defense and let them run 75m... WHAT? 75m?? you have to be kidding me, and boom first field goal. Ok, damn that happened, Captain - 'ok team let's make sure they don't do it again'. Kick off. Deep inside the 10m, beautiful kick, excellent, entire team slowly ambles up the field - WHAT ARE YOU DOING! Slow tackle attempts and easy gained meters by Warriors. BAM! Warriors run 70m and boom field goal. game over.... WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?
This is a coaching issue. plain and simple. the players have not been taught properly what to do in that situation. Why? no idea why. who's fault? well the coach of course. The coaches job is to get into his players heads and drill them into knowing what they need to do in the field during all 80mins. He needs them to know when to shut down the play, when to pressure, when to throw it around, when to create spark. To be honest, the Raiders are not coached in this way and it is clearly on Ricky. Storm players, every single player in the 30 squad knows their role, knows there job as a forward or back pack, know what is needed at certain parts of the game. Why? Well Bellyache has drilled them over and over and over. I know Norrie and Troy Thompson who played there. they said the coaching staff drill you over and over, they watch the games over and over, pick them apart. They tell players where they let the team down and explain how they should fix their game. They then drill this into their heads until it is second nature. Raiders? nope they don't do this... I know quite a few Raiders and ex-Raiders and this isn't something that happens. i spoke with a few 'old boys' this week and they all think the same thoughts. something has to give or change. Ricky if he stays, needs to learn from the other coaches and not think 'I played for Australia and won GFs, I know everything and don't need advice'. We all need help every now and then, and Ricky needs it now - or needs to go.
On NRL.com last night, Kimmorley and Noddy spoke about the issue and they both agree it is the coach and culture that needs to be fixed.
I think Ricky should be retained in a similar role to Gus Gould, and that the Raiders need to get a coach who can coach. If the raiders knew how to play out the last 20mins they would be top 4 right now, and would be fighting for top 2 in the next 8 weeks... but they don't and this is the situation. it is very disappointing indeed.
Stop the rot, back to basics and learn what is needed in the last 20.
Just a thought, we were also voted to have the easiest draw of the year this year (with the hard bit left to come) which makes this season even more of a disappointment
Pete Cash wrote: ↑July 4, 2018, 9:09 am
all you can really do is laugh about it. maybe craft some funny memes. The club is mediocre for lots of reasons but a big one is that they dont mind that they are.
Yep that rings as true as anything posted here. You're 100% right, the problem isnt that we're ****, the problem is no one at the club, be it the board, ceo, or coach seem to give much of **** about being better. Like im sure they'd all really like us to be good and work towards that, but there is no repercussions if they cant achieve it. The world continues to turn.
Until that changes (and that wont change unless it's via personnel movements), we'll continue to be this
I certainly wouldn't be losing sleep if Rick is shown the door, and he deserves all the criticism he's receiving at present. But. I really think people, and not just raiders fans, overrate our roster. A team with Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer calling the shots has no right to be in the 8. a lot of theories abound as to why we continue to capitulate at the back end of games. Mentally weak etc etc. Maybe true but for mine the answer is far less complicated. We simply aren't good enough. And is starts with the 6 and 7.Oh goody we're in every game. People also need to look at the draw we've had. We couldn't have asked for a more cosy draw and yet it's rd 16 and we've won 6 games.
Having said that, the coach has and continues to make bizarre decisions with team selection and his use of the bench is and always has been diabolical. I'm certainly not defending Stuart and i'm all for a coaching change. After all he's the bloke that saw fit to re-sign the bloke that is most at fault for this mess imo.
I was out camping last weekend. Actually forgot the raiders were playing.
Then, on Sat night my wife asked, I remembered, put the radio on at the exact moment Hodgson scored. Raiders up by 8?.....i turned it off, said to my mate "Raiders up, but they'll lose".
And they did. And I died a little bit inside.
This losing trend just isn't funny anymore. I've had a dead set gutful.
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.
If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.
If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
I blame our entire season failure due to pre-season and the first 4 rounds that basically defecated the entire confidence out of the team.
Due to the loss of Hodgson and the indecision around the hooking role we should have had 2 trial matches and leading into round 1 we should have well and truly been settled in the spine, the most important positions in the team. As much as Havilii has been great, he started off being only a 25 minute player and Garvey should have been given the hooker role from the beginning as he could play the 60 minutes required easily, with Havilii of the bench. Austin and Sezar should have been our halves as they deserved another chance together and Williams in Mounties. This combination of Garvey, Austin, Sezar and Wighton should not have been changed for the first 4 - 6 rounds.
Instead we had swaps and changes of Sezar, Williams and Austin every game. They were not able to get into any rhythm or into the season. There confidence became shattered and all 3 were constantly competing with each other on the field which meant a lot of selfish play was happening. As above we had a 25 minute hooker at best and we just had no flow or stability.
This resulted in massive loss of confidence for the Spine which then went through the team. Also during these 4 games there was no leadership by any of the halves as from week to week they didn’t know who was going to be playing and where. The first 4 losses basically set the scene for the season and it was pretty much season over then.
The results this year fall solely on Ricky and as much as I’m not a fan of Don either it’s not his fault. He relies on Ricky to do his job and he has failed. However it is now time for Don to step in and put Ricky on notice like any other CEO from other clubs would.
Sent from my iPhone using The Greenhouse
Last edited by LastRaider on July 4, 2018, 4:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Pigman wrote: ↑July 4, 2018, 8:46 am
Agreed. There really isnt even a hint of heat around. I dont think the club has even thought about sacking him. He's not going anywhere, we're going to have to go through another 2 years, maybe more of this guy
He has Don wrapped around his little finger, its safe to say that if by some miracle this idiot scrapes into the finals next year then we could somehow see an extension.
These are very troubling times to be a Raiders supporter.
LastRaider wrote: ↑July 4, 2018, 4:56 pm
I blame our entire season failure due to pre-season and the first 4 rounds that basically defecated the entire confidence out of the team.
Due to the loss of Hodgson and the indecision around the hooking role we should have had 2 trial matches and leading into round 1 we should have well and truly been settled in the spine, the most important positions in the team. As much as Havilii has been great, he started off being only a 25 minute player and Garvey should have been given the hooker role from the beginning as he could play the 60 minutes required easily, with Havilii of the bench. Austin and Sezar should have been our halves as they deserved another chance together and Williams in Mounties. This combination of Garvey, Austin, Sezar and Wighton should not have been changed for the first 4 - 6 rounds.
Instead we had swaps and changes of Sezar, Williams and Austin every game. They were not able to get into any rhythm or into the season. There confidence became shattered and all 3 were constantly competing with each other on the field which meant a lot of selfish play was happening. As above we had a 25 minute hooker at best and we just had no flow or stability.
This resulted in massive loss of confidence for the Spine which then went through the team. Also during these 4 games there was no leadership by any of the halves as from week to week they didn’t know who was going to be playing and where. The first 4 losses basically set the scene for the season and it was pretty much season over then.
The results this year fall solely on Ricky and as much as I’m not a fan of Don either it’s not his fault. He relies on Ricky to do his job and he has failed. However it is now time for Don to step in and put Ricky on notice like any other CEO from other clubs would.
Relax-init wrote: ↑July 4, 2018, 9:44 am
Here's my thoughts - Ricky has had four years to make something out of this team, he hasn't. He had arguable they best team with the Roosters and lost 2. Had an awesome Cronulla team and lost, picked apart a struggling Eels, then bailed before getting the boot. Took over a Raiders team, who on paper should be top 4, and has not delivered.
The key issue is that players can't play for 80 minutes, losing 5 (7, but really 5) games in the last 20 minutes. How do you fix this, why is this happening
You kind of lost me after that first para, though I don't have any issue with what you go on to say. Stuart didn't inherit a top 4 team, he built it through his own astute recruitment.
Too bad he has no idea how to coach them to win, now, though.
I saw on 360 tonight they said that it's become clear to everyone that Austin can't defend in the line. Wow. Last week it was some other problem. Remember how often it was the whole right edge? Methinks that they've finally identified the actual problem.
And Ri, whn you say the players can't go 80 minutes, how about we just point out the obvious elephant in the room - Stuart's use of the bench is nonsensical and basically insane. A halfwit on an x box could tell him why what he's doing doesn't work. Does the fool just forget he's got a 4-man bench? If we're such a well resourced club, why can't we employ a Benchologist to make sure that 20-minute spells are doled out to the players?They must hate it, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it isn't a topic of clandestine conversation either. How does anyone reckon Liam KNight feels after last week? Do we all remember the actual why of why we lost to Penrith in Bathurst? I bet 7-minute whats-is-name does...
Dean Ritchie and Laurie Daley were on big sports breaky defending Stuart’s coaching record.
Daley said he would be under pressure if he won two spoons in a row.
Without the media bagging him which it never will Stuart is a deadset certainty to see out his contract.
Pigman wrote: ↑July 4, 2018, 8:46 am
Agreed. There really isnt even a hint of heat around. I dont think the club has even thought about sacking him. He's not going anywhere, we're going to have to go through another 2 years, maybe more of this guy
He has Don wrapped around his little finger, its safe to say that if by some miracle this idiot scrapes into the finals next year then we could somehow see an extension.
These are very troubling times to be a Raiders supporter.
Dude, they are old mates from school... they played footy together. It was never going to be any other way.
I know, I was 1 year below them at St Eddies.
RTW wrote:Dean Ritchie and Laurie Daley were on big sports breaky defending Stuart’s coaching record.
Daley said he would be under pressure if he won two spoons in a row.
Without the media bagging him which it never will Stuart is a deadset certainty to see out his contract.
Yep it’s pathetic and this is why we will always be a fringe top 8 team
RTW wrote: ↑July 5, 2018, 1:01 pm
Dean Ritchie and Laurie Daley were on big sports breaky defending Stuart’s coaching record.
Daley said he would be under pressure if he won two spoons in a row.
Without the media bagging him which it never will Stuart is a deadset certainty to see out his contract.
I expect the support of an ex team mate like Loz for Sticky. But facts are facts and as a FG coach Sticky has proved to be a Dud. Defence for him is something to be seen in the backyard. Not on the footy field. We won't have success until this is fixed.
OK the game isn't even over (technically) yet but in what **** world does having Knight sit on the bench for 80 minutes last week, for 46 minutes this game (Like for real? 6 minutes into the half why are we even using the bench?!?!?) and then takes him off 9 minutes later!?!?!?!?! What the actual ****!?!?!? And then Boyd gets injured and he puts a tired player back instead?!?!?!
Surely he has to go....surely to god, we have been soundly beaten a legitimate reserve grade side. How can we have 20,000 members when this is what we deliver
Stuart has lost the players (finally).... The club MUST act on this before next season is ruined as well.... We are currently heading into 2019 with a team who can't beat a reserve grade side and doesn't have a half who would make most clubs reserve grade sides even! He can't work out how to use players off the bench, or in general it seems, CONSTANTLY makes the wrong calls during the game (Williams off instead of Sezer).... It's just a **** train wreak....