I bleed Maroon
International Rep
- Apr 17, 2013
- 15,861
- 20,676
This is another one of those "wing and a prayer" threads where, even if there is a 100 to 1 chance that someone from the club reads this forum, that they see it and ponder the position I posit. Call it arrogance if you like, it probably is, but I love this club and if my input can help them in anyway, I can sleep well at night.
Wayne's on field strategies are long in the tooth, much like the coach himself. There isn't any doubting that really. His stubborn refusal to change it up is a symptom of his own success. He sees 7 Premiership rings sitting in prime position in his house and he wonders what it is exactly that he has to change.
But this thread isn't here to talk about those issues to be honest. We can debate the way the team plays footy until the Cows are successful again, but he is never changing his style for anyone, so it's best to focus on his many, MANY positives elsewhere.
His man management is pure greatness. Historical in its quality in RL terms. He has Boyd following him around like a puppy dog. He lured TPJ away from Canberra without even having to pick up the phone himself and while it's early days, he's looking like an all time great. He brought Matt Lodge back from the brink of a terrible life to set him on the right path and return him to the top echelon of young Props currently running around in the NRL. Same with Roberts, who was flirting with a similar life of endless troubles until he came up the highway and was set straight by the coach. He has done what many thought impossible, and molded Anthony Milford into a game managing half while also retaining his fleet footed dangerous style of play.
Whether his doubters like it or not, he has rocketed this club back to a position of quality from the doldrums of mediocrity that Henjak and Griffin sunk us to. And he's done it in 3 and a half seasons, with a GF appearance thrown in for good measure. and while 2018 is likely to amount to nothing in terms of on field success, it cannot be denied that our squad is young, intense and full of more potential than any other team in the comp. We wondered when we bowed out in 2017 if our premiership window had slammed shut after 2015, but if anything it's only gotten longer. Much longer.
Where I am really a fan of Bennett though is what he does off field. He is impossible to flap, as hard as the media try every single week. He keeps himself and the team on the straight and narrow without failure. This season seemed doomed to failure early on when the media sprung the shitstorm surrounding Lodge on us somewhat insidiously a few days before Round 1, and yet here we are 21 rounds later fighting tooth and nail for a top 4 spot. If Griffin were still in charge, he would have folded to the pressure, dropped Lodge like an ugly bundle and we'd be lamenting another bog average season and yet another quality player pissed into the wind. And he will always get bonus points from me for having the default position of telling the media to go to hell.
It's time to face facts; there is no one available to replace Wayne Bennett and we shouldn't pretend that there is. We made a grave mistake in 2008 letting him go, and I would much rather not repeat that mistake if it can be helped. Bennett will inevitably retire of his own accord sooner rather than later, but we should keep his positive influence going for as long as we possibly can before that dark day comes.
Wayne's on field strategies are long in the tooth, much like the coach himself. There isn't any doubting that really. His stubborn refusal to change it up is a symptom of his own success. He sees 7 Premiership rings sitting in prime position in his house and he wonders what it is exactly that he has to change.
But this thread isn't here to talk about those issues to be honest. We can debate the way the team plays footy until the Cows are successful again, but he is never changing his style for anyone, so it's best to focus on his many, MANY positives elsewhere.
His man management is pure greatness. Historical in its quality in RL terms. He has Boyd following him around like a puppy dog. He lured TPJ away from Canberra without even having to pick up the phone himself and while it's early days, he's looking like an all time great. He brought Matt Lodge back from the brink of a terrible life to set him on the right path and return him to the top echelon of young Props currently running around in the NRL. Same with Roberts, who was flirting with a similar life of endless troubles until he came up the highway and was set straight by the coach. He has done what many thought impossible, and molded Anthony Milford into a game managing half while also retaining his fleet footed dangerous style of play.
Whether his doubters like it or not, he has rocketed this club back to a position of quality from the doldrums of mediocrity that Henjak and Griffin sunk us to. And he's done it in 3 and a half seasons, with a GF appearance thrown in for good measure. and while 2018 is likely to amount to nothing in terms of on field success, it cannot be denied that our squad is young, intense and full of more potential than any other team in the comp. We wondered when we bowed out in 2017 if our premiership window had slammed shut after 2015, but if anything it's only gotten longer. Much longer.
Where I am really a fan of Bennett though is what he does off field. He is impossible to flap, as hard as the media try every single week. He keeps himself and the team on the straight and narrow without failure. This season seemed doomed to failure early on when the media sprung the shitstorm surrounding Lodge on us somewhat insidiously a few days before Round 1, and yet here we are 21 rounds later fighting tooth and nail for a top 4 spot. If Griffin were still in charge, he would have folded to the pressure, dropped Lodge like an ugly bundle and we'd be lamenting another bog average season and yet another quality player pissed into the wind. And he will always get bonus points from me for having the default position of telling the media to go to hell.
It's time to face facts; there is no one available to replace Wayne Bennett and we shouldn't pretend that there is. We made a grave mistake in 2008 letting him go, and I would much rather not repeat that mistake if it can be helped. Bennett will inevitably retire of his own accord sooner rather than later, but we should keep his positive influence going for as long as we possibly can before that dark day comes.
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