At which point of the season..

Tiger_heart

Tiger_heart

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will Benji's coaching come under the microscope? Perhaps even starting this thread may be seen as a symptom of future malcontent. However I am hoping we don't pull the trigger (as we've done previously), and understand that this is a long term work in progress.
Unlike previous years, we are at least starting to resemble a club with intent to have strong building blocks more so than the temporary bridging approach used in the past.
Will we. the fans, have the patience to wait?
 
I have stated on here a few times that Benji should have until the end of 2025 at the very least before the issue should even be raised by management about how he is doing and i also believe that he should get all of 2026 for proper evaluation..He is coming from a very low base after Sheens delivered 2 wooden spoons and then ran away counting his money.
I hope that management are finally going to do the right thing and not just make knee jerk responses like they have since HBG took direct control,however i do expect some of our fan base to not be as patient but i hope the board ignores them
 
I don’t think the coaching will be as mportant than looking over the roster , I feel Benji , Richo maybe Morris will be spending some time on working out who to remove at season end , I’ve said multiple times we need to buy players , we just did it with panthers winger coming on board , a good signing , but we need another tough Prop and a centre , we also need to go through our reserve grade side as it’s rubbish again min Half of it needs to be removed , we also need to have a harder look at the ones we think will,be nrl players from the juniors , again I don’t think there is much , maybe 6 players , that’s not a lot
 
Tiger_heart said:
will Benji's coaching come under the microscope? Perhaps even starting this thread may be seen as a symptom of future malcontent. However I am hoping we don't pull the trigger (as we've done previously), and understand that this is a long term work in progress.
Unlike previous years, we are at least starting to resemble a club with intent to have strong building blocks more so than the temporary bridging approach used in the past.
Will we. the fans, have the patience to wait?
Click to expand...
I think Benji is doing OK. He has already stated that we have focussed on Defence as we build. This can be seen on the on field performance of the team.

Our defence, apart from some shocking one on one misses, is OK. Line speed could improve, our ruck dominance could improve, at times our aggression could be better and I think some of our winger reads leave us vulnerable at times. The foundation is there. Benji/Morris have done a good job getting this in place - it needs refinement but is workable already.

On the attack front Benji has simplified the game plan from what Sheens was trying to execute and appears to be building to a plan. Sure our attack is pretty one dimensional at the moment; but that comes with simplification. I'm sure there is a desire to have players in motion and swinging the ball about from one side of the field to the other. We need to build the foundation first though.

While the simplification makes us look one dimensional the issue isn't so much the style of play but the execution of the plays in contact; and that takes a bit of time. Our attack breaks down at pivotal moments; one more pass or a drop off to a slightly different line or at a faster pace and we will look a vastly better prospect. Sure we require a player upgrade or two, but the key element is having the players at the right place, at the right time in contact. This level of cohesion only comes from playing together and building on field, in contact, execution.

Going from a wooden spoon or two to a premiership is not something that will happen overnight at this level of competition. We need to build the system, rehearse the plays, ad nauseum, and then put them into practice in contact. Get the basics right (which we haven't nailed yet) to then build from a solid foundation. It is frustrating to watch - sure; but we are on the up. I think Benji has the support of the fan base at the moment and will continue to do so as long as we are on the improve.

I think that our biggest challenge is building a roster with depth to cater for the inevitable injuries. I think Bud has potential, he needs work and I'm sure he has the right coaching staff to provide him with the right guidance to develop. I don't see much on our KOE team to be excited about and we are a couple of years away from the junior pathways projects emerging. Some astute purchases just outside of the top 30 will go a long way - this is something I think the club, as opposed to Benji, needs to focus on in the short term. This will support what Benji and the coaching staff are tying to develop.

If we aren't seeing more complexity in our attack towards the end of this season as the fan base we should be starting to ask questions, but I expect Benji will still have the support. I personally believe that it will be 2025 before we see significant changes in our FG team's direction. We will have a core playing group that will benefit from the injection of some spark into the halves and some more strike in the outside backs. Our defensive structure should be well set to take to the next step and our attacking structure should by then be starting to trouble the top eight teams. If we aren't seeing this in 2025 then the fan base will start to revolt.
 
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Unless we lose our next 10, he’s not going to come under much scrutiny for the rest of 24.
 
His position is very safe. Management have backed him and are not asking for immediate on-field success. Fans do not have very high expectations this season.

It seems like Benji has assembled a really good coaching team with Morris, Heighington and Robbie. You need these guys involved to turn us into a club.

I also think we're playing much better footy. Defensively we're as good as some of the teams higher up. Attack is holding us back from a higher spot on the ladder.
 
His position maybe safe but he won't be safe from all those who think they have the answers or know better if we continue on the same trajectory as we did last year - two good wins followed by numerous losses. He will cop the rookie coach, good players don't necessarily make good coaches band wagoning on social media which provide great fodder for the media to feed off.

Benji's thick skin will be tested and his responses will need to be measured, and not emotive.
 
I don't see him coming under any pressure. The team is improving under him and I really can't see us going backwards. We only fall away if we get injuries, and that will be taken into account by management.

In fact I think it's obvious he is doing a way better job than expected.

It's time for the players to take some ownership of what they do. Cut out the stupidity. Once we really limit the stupid penalties at crucial times, the horrible knock on at the worst time and giving away 7 tackle sets we will compete even more with the top teams. As soon as all 17 can mentally switch on for every play rather then having those little lapses that seem to really hurt us we will be fine. Gee that must be the hardest thing for a coach, seeing grown men switch off, be lazy and do something completely stupid.
 
I think Benji is doing a pretty good job so far with the squad he has. You can certainly see what he’s trying to do with this team and it will take some time. There is definitely an element of the players themselves taking responsibility for 80 min effort and focus.
The coaching team seem to be working well together and have achieved positive gains. Players seem to be harmonious and have bought in. Team selection has been good along with his willingness to promote players as needed. He handles the media really well and is very open and honest with his comments.
The only questionable areas of concern to me are related to our Attack and his use of the bench during games. On both of these counts I believe time will see better performance and results.
 
Our defence after 2 months is 9th (160 against in 7 games = 22.9/game).
At this time in 23 it was 14th (182 against in 7 games = 26/game).
Our attack after 2 months is 17th (105 scored in 7 games = 15/game).
At this time in 23 it was 17th (106 scored in 7 games = 15.1/game).

There has been some improvement. The team is having a go, they are committing to defence more. They are showing desperation, scrambling well when the line has broken. As a result, we have won 2 games so far. It took us 10 weeks last year to achieve that.
Having said that, Benji was our attacking coach last year and returned the 17th best figures in the comp after 24 games amassing just 16 points/game. We are on a similar trajectory. He needs to fix this or he will cop criticism and rightly so. He has worked on the defence and seen marginal improvement - however on average we still need 4 tries per game to win. This is where they’ll pull him apart.

He needs to use his bench better and look after Api. He is vital to our fortunes. We need more strike in the backline. Bula has it, so does Bud. He needs to bring it out of them. It is his bread and butter after all.
 
Tucker said:
Our defence after 2 months is 9th (160 against in 7 games = 22.9/game).
At this time in 23 it was 14th (182 against in 7 games = 26/game).
Our attack after 2 months is 17th (105 scored in 7 games = 15/game).
At this time in 23 it was 17th (106 scored in 7 games = 15.1/game).

There has been some improvement. The team is having a go, they are committing to defence more. They are showing desperation, scrambling well when the line has broken. As a result, we have won 2 games so far. It took us 10 weeks last year to achieve that.
Having said that, Benji was our attacking coach last year and returned the 17th best figures in the comp after 24 games amassing just 16 points/game. We are on a similar trajectory. He needs to fix this or he will cop criticism and rightly so. He has worked on the defence and seen marginal improvement - however on average we still need 4 tries per game to win. This is where they’ll pull him apart.

He needs to use his bench better and look after Api. He is vital to our fortunes. We need more strike in the backline. Bula has it, so does Bud. He needs to bring it out of them. It is his bread and butter after all.
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I think mathemagically the numbers look pretty similar and the defence is showing a difference. So while the stats in attack tell a similar story, and it is something we need to fix, the issue with scoring points this season is more about the execution/decison making at the last to second last pass as opposed to inept management in the halves. I know we don't have many players in motion at the moment and that makes us one dimensional but if we get that part right we can still score points.

We certainly need to take better options/run better lines and to convert some of the half chances; but, I just get the feel that we aren't too far off having a stable attacking platform to build from.

I am looking forward to seeing how we fare against the dogs this weekend; it will be no easy task. They are sitting 4th in the defensive stakes and have played a few good attacking teams in Storm, Chooks, Sharks and Eels. They also haven't lost at home yet.

What we have gone away from is kicking well, pinning the oppositon deep with our defence and then completing high to do it over again. If we do that well we have the skills to crack them - let them get a roll on and we are trying to play catchup; which isn't in our game.
 
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Marshall has the job until at least the first couple months of 2026. the players are responding to him and we have improved in a number of areas, plus a core nucleus that can carry us for the next 10-15 years has begun to emerge. as @king_sirro said, it's hard to see us going backwards.
 
I’m ok with the direction we are heading in but there is still a fair bit that needs to improve.

unfortunately our current back line is weak, we still lack size and pace.

sezer is ok but probably a long way down the order if we compare him to other halves. Galvin is young and has potential, bula is young and has potential so we have api who is the best play maker at the club playing with a half that is probably playing his last season of football with too young and potential players. This doesn’t equate to a consistent performance.

Our pack is decent and I would say middle of the table.

But self belief and team cohesion is what we need the most and that isn’t going to happen quickly, we have had suspensions and injuries that stall momentum especially in key positions. Losing Galvin after the Parra win was a major backward step and we lost momentum. We come away from the Parra game intact and go up to qld we are better chance against the dolphins. As it happens we go on a losing streak which has us banging out threads like this.

Imo talking about Benji‘s job this early is just not necessary. They are building and signing players that should help us in coming seasons. That’s what we need to be judging Benji and the club on at the moment, their ability to recruit and improvements in performance.
 
You have to have depth. It's about this time that teams are starting to get a bit weary and injuries and bodies are being tested. If your roster is already limited and then you are forced to play weaker depth then it's highly likely you are going to face some heavy defeats.
Hard for a club like ours to keep decent depth players who are more inclined to be attracted to clubs where they will wait for a chance in a club that is nearer the top of the table. We seem to have plenty of ex players appearing off the bench in a few clubs ATM that would be getting a run in our FG side.
 
He will be given this year to find his feet … if some people had expectations that they were going to be Top 8 this year … I trust the last three weeks have cured you of that,,,

However … the Top 8 needs to be the goal in 2025 … and it looks like they are going to have to do it with essentially the players that are already signed up… so most of them are going to have to improve.... a lot …

I would suggest if they are still going along next year in the bottom 4 … his seat will be very warm…
 
All deserve scrutiny, it comes with the territory, but it has to be reasonable and in context. Things would have to go drastically bad for Benji to be under any job pressure before 2026.

As most have pointed out we are improving in some areas and are at worst stagnant in others.
 
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Benji inherited a bottom four roster.

Will take at least 3 years to fix fully.

Sacking coaches to save your own arse was Pascoe’s shtick.
 
I think a lot of people confuse hope with expectation.
Benji's first mistake was hiring assistants who had about as much experience at coaching as he did. I hope it works, but I expect it will take a lot of time.
We probably have the weakest bench in the NRL.
Our good players are going off the boil, they don't break tackles like they did in the first few games. I don't like to single out players individually but we really need some grunt in the middle to replace the likes of Twal, Bateman and Seyfarth.
Players like Olam, Bula, Galvin, Utoikamanu have gone soft since the first few rounds.
 
BAGNF05 said:
Benji inherited a bottom four roster.

Will take at least 3 years to fix fully.

Sacking coaches to save your own arse was Pascoe’s shtick.
Click to expand...

so what should the goal be next year ?

It’s not unusual for bottom 4 teams move into the Top 8 in 1 year let alone 2 …
 
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