If that was true rna we wouldn't have seen the changes we did in Round 20 when he had the opportunity to make changes.
It's unfair to single Hook out for last night's inadequacies.
To blame it on alleged arrogance or ego is just a lazy over-exaggeration.
As I watch the replays, a few things strike me as clear cut. Hook has brought nothing new to the way we play, and IMO, has created plays which fail to use the specific skills and talents of key players.
He has done this for 2 years now.
He has failed to instill structure and discipline. One key element of structure and discipline is consistently keeping straight line defence, not broken like a Swiss cheese, especially up the middle, sliding forward, not just side ways and critically, defensive line speed. At times, we did it well, but mostly ... well, our stats and results speak for themselves.
Just watch Manly and the Roosters. Consistent, disciplined and fast.
In attack, his repertoire of set plays is seriously limited and rigid. He has not learned to coach adaptation of a structure to a specific situation. Last night left side attack was a good example. We were both overcrowded and too flat. A number of times, a promising start fizzled with the ball carrier running out of support and space.
You can't blame players only for this. Hook has to learn to coach awareness, a kind of mental as well as visual peripheral vision. Players have to know where everyone is in relation to them, and the structure. Then, the structure can change when the caller of the play and the players can adjust their positioning once the available space, time and defensive line positioning is seen.
A good coach also knows the value of inspiring his key play makers to improvise. At least Hunt looks like he has that quality inbuilt but he can't do it if his supports are running the same patterns and lines, and the space available is over crowded.
That's why I say that to me, Hook seems stuck in his own little world and seems reluctant to adopt alternatives, or just plain stubborn, like Henjak.
I will however give him credit for at least thinking about a forward passing game style, as well as positioning Gillett at last so he can have the opportunity of showing more of his enormous talent and belatedly giving Hunt the chance to play where he should have been years ago.
Maybe Hook just needs to relax a bit more?
The End.
