Ricky Stuart signs with Raiders

[Fozz]

I know the Eels are a basket case in so many areas and you can't really blame Sticky for jumping but geez, he really shafted the club.

on the other hand, the new coach will have a clean slate to work with and he could rebuild the club over the years. As long as the board gets behind him anyway.

 

[Sproj]

What the frog!!! I don't rate Stuart at all but this just takes the cake for me. I don't care about the club infighting, he has contributed to destroying the Eels. He is not a good coach. He was handed an amazing team at the Roosters and could only win one premiership despite him, not because of him and he had no idea about club progression. He left that club in a much, much , much worse state than he was given at the start. His 08 year with the Sharks was good but he again left that club in a very poor state. He has now left Parra in an even worse state which is hard to believe. He didn't win an origin series despite all the talk of how he was going to be able to do that.

The guy is ridiculously overrated and this is just poor. Probably means the Eels won't get Hoppa and Milford will come home. The only good thing for Parra is that they probably can stop the Norman deal and that is a pretty by positive.

I just don't see how this is good for Canberra, at least I think it could be good for Parra long term. And good for us as I now feel confident we will get Milford and I haven't before.

 

[Waynesaurus]

I wonder how many players Ricky will sack from the Raiders lineup ?

Will Norman follow him there also ??

So many questions.....

If I was Sticky Ricky I'd be thankful I was able to dodge the Norman bullet after seeing him play in QCup this year. Will certainly be interesting to see if anything changes with Norman tho, and it wouldn't surprise me if he has a coach clause in his Parra contract which results in him popping up at the Raiders.

Milford to the Broncs is on like Donkey Kong.

 

[Kimlo]

Lets hope Norman goes to Canberra because Ricky Stuart probably rates Norman ahead of Milford anyway.

I really hope that this somehow doesn't end up in Norman having a get out clause and us re-signing him... Take him with you Ricky.

 

[Socnorb]

How many Eels signings will now reneg. the two English boys ,Norman ,Hopoate, Peats. Also what a **** cancelling MM know you're not going to be there next year.

 

[Morkel]

My comments posted elsewhere:

Eels fans will rightly be pissed off at the deash!t little grub, but really it's the best thing for them, especially if they get Neil Henry. Stuart was a nothing coach, I simply can not believe anyone could think that he was anything better than horrible. He was a hypocrite, and he would blame everyone but himself for any failures but happily lap up any positives said about him. The only potential upside to signing him was that, as the current NSW coach, he could have lured some fringe rep players to Parra. And that went out the door before he even started.

His recruitment of Peats was a no-brainer as he would have been on peanuts at Souths and stuck behind Luke. He screwed up the Papalii. He lured Norman, who was the bane of Broncos fans at the time for his gutlessness, by offering him nearly half a million dollars. The same Norman who is performing terribly in Qld cup. And let's not forget the 12 or so players told that they need to find a new home.

On to better times now Eels, best of luck to you for the future. Hopefully you can secure a strong coach which will in turn help in convincing Hoppa to honour his deal. With the team essentially gutted and underperforming players on MASSIVE salaries, it will take some time to rebuild but it all starts now.

As for Canberra, you have to feel sorry for them but no one forced them to sign Stuart. He will struggle to sign decent players. They'll have a bit of money now that Dugan & Ferguson are gone, but you can see him blowing that all on one middling player that Stuart thinks he can coach to be the next big thing. Get ready for the excuses.

 

[Big Pete]

Lets hope Norman goes to Canberra because Ricky Stuart probably rates Norman ahead of Milford anyway.

I really hope that this somehow doesn't end up in Norman having a get out clause and us re-signing him... Take him with you Ricky.

Not entirely sure if it's Ricky who rates Norman. Connecting the dots, I reckon their recruitment manager Nolan may have more to do with it. After all, Nolan was apart of the recruitment team that brought him to Brisbane.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Why would Canberra want Ricky Stuart??

 

[Nashy]

Why would Canberra want Ricky Stuart??

Canberra will take whoever wants to work there at the moment I think. The club is in a real state, how their CEO has escaped without losing his job is amazing. He should be well gone.

 

[KingWebcke]

Why would Canberra want Ricky Stuart??

well ...

the good:

1. He isn't David Furner and is clean of all the in-fighting that has apparently been going on in Canberra

2. he is a Canberra club legend and players, fans, management and sponsors are sentimental. I imagine bringing Sticky back to Canberra has the same kind of appeal as bringing Locky back to coach us in a few years time

3. he is actually a decent coach. He did well at the Roosters and coached the Sharks to a very good record in 2008. I also thought his most recent work with NSW was impressive, the NSW team was a mess and he took a pretty weak group and seemed to instil them with some passion and fight. they were far more competitive under his reign than they had been in quite a while. A lot of his really bad years as coach came with horrible teams like Cronulla and Parra - you could be Jack Gibson and you'd still miss the finals with those teams

4. Sticky doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will put up with shit from players, like happened with Furner. He might be a player's coach but his personality and reputation probably means you wont see players white-anting and acting out. He'll take control of the playing group in my opinion, even if it means telling a few of the senior players to **** off

the bad:

1. fucking weird recruitment and some weird selections. such as stacking the Cronulla team full of backrowers even though they didn't have any first grade quality backs or halves. But even then, I suspect that isn't as much of an issue at Canberra. Canberra have a great young team already and plenty of young talent in the wings, so Sticky doesn't need to go out and recruit like has at previous clubs. Plus, the chances of him pulling off retarded moves like signing Anthony Tupou to a 10 year $8m contract are slim because nobody wants to come to Canberra anyway.

2. he is only a decent coach. He'll do well for a couple years but he isn't anything special. But having said that, it isn't as if there are a tonne of other supercoaches out on the market.

 

[john1420]

Stuart as a first grade coach is a myth

Look at his record, and what he has done, and in what condition he has left clubs

How Canberra can think this is a good idea is beyond me

 

[KingWebcke]

Stuart as a first grade coach is a myth

Look at his record, and what he has done, and in what condition he has left clubs

How Canberra can think this is a good idea is beyond me

how so? like most coaches he has some good stuff and some bad stuff on his resume.

He coached (a very good) Roosters team to three consecutive Grand Finals, winning one Premiership. The Roosters had a superb team but it is still impressive. Then after that the Roosters went through a bit of a rocky patch where they struggled with the loss of Fittler and Minichiello and the slow decline that follows a lot of great dynasties. it isn't a great part of Stuart's resume but no team can remain brilliant forever and particularly not when their two star players retire or suffer serious injuries.

then at Cronulla I thought he did pretty well. He took over a pretty disorganised team from Raper and after one average year he got them within one game of the Grand Final, only to be beating by a Storm team playing over the cap. after that shit hit the fan and he left the Sharks in a pretty bad state but considering all the crap going on (Maitua getting done for drugs, sexual harrassment by CEO's, rape scandals, financial strife), it is pretty hard to blame the shit state of the Sharks all on Stuart.

then I don't see how much can be taken from his work at Parra. He took one of the worst, most disorganised teams in the NRL and was starting the long rebuild process.

What part of his record is so atrocious that it makes him unsuitable as a first grade coach?

 

[Waynesaurus]

At least this means we are safe from him replacing Griffin.

 

[Alec]

I think the best thing you can say about Stuart is "At least he's better than Griffin". .

 

[john1420]

how so? like most coaches he has some good stuff and some bad stuff on his resume.

He coached (a very good) Roosters team to three consecutive Grand Finals, winning one Premiership. The Roosters had a superb team but it is still impressive. Then after that the Roosters went through a bit of a rocky patch where they struggled with the loss of Fittler and Minichiello and the slow decline that follows a lot of great dynasties. it isn't a great part of Stuart's resume but no team can remain brilliant forever and particularly not when their two star players retire or suffer serious injuries.

then at Cronulla I thought he did pretty well. He took over a pretty disorganised team from Raper and after one average year he got them within one game of the Grand Final, only to be beating by a Storm team playing over the cap. after that **** hit the fan and he left the Sharks in a pretty bad state but considering all the crap going on (Maitua getting done for drugs, sexual harrassment by CEO's, rape scandals, financial strife), it is pretty hard to blame the **** state of the Sharks all on Stuart.

then I don't see how much can be taken from his work at Parra. He took one of the worst, most disorganised teams in the NRL and was starting the long rebuild process.

What part of his record is so atrocious that it makes him unsuitable as a first grade coach?

Bearing in mind opinions are just opinions, and we don't have to agree......

I'll also point out that I probably should have said "Stuart as a high quality first grade coach is a myth"

But with the money he is being paid, he is being regarded as being of the highest quality

As a $350-400k a year coach, I can accept it, but that aint what he is

Anyway, I think he inherited a top quality Roosters side, which while he did well with it, he had no answers in the tough times

Having answers in the tough times is an important part of being a top quality coach

He got the Sharks within 1 game of the GF, but Hook got us there too, and I don't particularly rate him either

Then when time got tough at the Sharks he again had no answers; he quit and an unkown coach took over and steadily improved the club

He also did his nut in public at a referee after losing the World Cup, instead of taking responsibility - that isn't first grade standard

His work with the Blues was solid, but he failed to actually win

I think his success with the Blues is about motivation - he is a playing legend and commands a certain respect and has somewhat of an aura about him - in many ways similar to big Mal, but Mal was smart and humble enough to know his strengths and weaknesses and build a support team to compliment him

As for Parra, they managed to win even less games than last year with Kearney as coach (AFAIK)

You can argue that doesn't make him a failure, but I will argue it hardly inspires confidence

IMO, Canberra want him because he is club legend, and if he can do what Mal has done with QLD then perhaps it can work out

But that will require Ricky acknowledging his deficiencies and hiring support staff to fill the gaps - I'm not sure he is capable of that

 

[KingWebcke]

I'll also point out that I probably should have said "Stuart as a high quality first grade coach is a myth"

But with the money he is being paid, he is being regarded as being of the highest quality

As a $350-400k a year coach, I can accept it, but that aint what he is

i'd definitely agree with that. there is just a big difference between being overrated and being garbage.

He also did his nut in public at a referee after losing the World Cup, instead of taking responsibility - that isn't first grade standard

haha, that didn't impress me at all but it seems to be part and parcel of being a coach today. Just look at Hasler, he has made sooking about referees a trademark of his but he is still on of the finest coaches of his generation.

 

[Broncoman]

I agree with King Webcke that Sticky's coaching record isn't completely atrocious. He did a good job with the Roosters from 2002-2004 but once Freddy retired there was a hole that couldn't be filled. Cronulla's 2008 season was also good with a disorganized roster, they looked extremely capable of winning the premiership till they meet the salary cap cheating Storm in the preliminary final, Cronulla followed that by having the worst off-field year ever in 2009 (only the Bulldogs 2004 season and the Sharks this year comes close) which affected the whole club significantly, it was just like Parramatta this year except that Sharks side from 2009 would flog this Parra team.

His rep record is good though as he had a winning percentage of 90% with the Kangaroos and was the last NSW coach to win a series and came extremely close to winning in 2011 and 2012.

Ricky Stuart is a coach that can coach strong rosters but can't take a team forward once a void is left.

 

[Morkel]

IMO, Canberra want him because he is club legend, and if he can do what Mal has done with QLD then perhaps it can work out

But that will require Ricky acknowledging his deficiencies and hiring support staff to fill the gaps - I'm not sure he is capable of that

But it's everyone else's fault. He has no deficiencies.