Brad tighe
Michael Eagar
His a ball playing lock or edge. Very John asiata
The Halfback Conundrum
- Thread starter HarVeeGee13
- Start date
Les Misérables
Sean Rudder
What's the purpose of making the finals?
If the standard for workplace success was 'you either make it to work or you dont' we'd live in a very different world.
The ultimate purpose of being a top 8 team is to be able to compete with top 8 clubs during a finals match, not just simply take the field, but to defeat your opponent.
I'd like to see some stats around 'years qualified for finals / games won' compared to all the other teams who've made the 8 over the last 5 years. Id hazard a guess that we'd sit last.
But I guess that doesn't matter too much, at least we took advantage of an easy draw at the back end of the year whilst being carried on the back of the world's best player
Battler
Matthew Gidley
Who are these better first grade coaches that you speak of?
Battler
Matthew Gidley
Who do you think Newcastle should sign as head coach?
Les Misérables
Sean Rudder
Which coach do i think Newcastle should've signed over the last 3 seasons? That's the correct question.
The answer, I don't know, but there's a bunch I would've taken while they're were available over that period. The downside being risk of remaining average?
Battler
Matthew Gidley
Billy
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Well his 2 assistants who have NRL head coach gigs next year are at Manly and Dolphins and 2 or 3 have had ESL head coach gigs. Kostjaysyn is now assistant at Dolphins and is tipped to be a head coach in the not too distant future.
McDermott is keen, and that little guy who was here in 2023 was ESL coach of the year in his first year.
Vagabond89
Brett Shore
This has long been my issue with expansion. The NRL has plenty of talented juniors to fill out 20 teams but there is a huge shortage of decent coaching, development and conditioning staff. Head coach is the most obvious, can't sack your head coach if there's no better option out there.
I'd be happy to stick with AOB for now as I can't see anything better available. It's not worth the disruption.
Battler
Matthew Gidley
Woolf was here before AOB, and Seibold was unemployed.
Thieves Like Us
Steve Walters
Ex-Assistant Willie Peters has just guided Hull KR to the Challenge Cup Final and Grand Final in successive seasons.
Battler
Matthew Gidley
Nathan Brown guided Huddersfield to the Challenge Cup Final and St Helens to the SL Grand Final.
mozza
Game on broheim
You said alot there without addressing the actual question I made.
An asterisk would imply some extenuating circumstance for us making the finals. Other than 1 shortened season which had the same effect on everyone there’s nothing from our 4 Finals appearances that would indicate an asterisk.
Thieves Like Us
Steve Walters
St Helens make the GF pretty much every year regardless of the coach.
Battler
Matthew Gidley
That's kinda my point.
Thieves Like Us
Steve Walters
You’ve lost me there bud…..I think Peters getting KR to a grand final is a much bigger achievement than Brown getting St Helens to one.
Yes. This is why I have an asterisk over our finals.
In 3 of them, the Knights were bundled out fairly easily in round 1. We've made the finals with a 50% win/loss record and we've made finals with a negative for and against. Arguably, AOB made the finals with Nathan Brown's team in his first season. Last season the Knights should not have made the finals at all...Bennett and Hunt losing it were gifts.
AOB's best season result was 2023 when they won 10 in a row and a final....buuut that was largely down to KP going off for 10 weeks...let's not forget the Knights were interviewing other coaches before that 10 game run.
I'm not saying AOB deserves the sack or that he doesn't deserve some kudos for making those finals or that the Knights should be looking around for coaches, but they were hardly convincing performances or a sign of a team on the rise...5 years into AOB era and some pundits (and I don't agree with this) have the Knights as favourites for the spoon. If Cameron Ciraldo walks under a bus or Robbo gets sacked at the Chooks (
) or Bellyache retires the Dogs, Chooks and Storm are not trying to pinch AOB.I'm not anti-AOB, but I'm also not convinced he's on track to becoming the Novocastrian Bellamy.
I was just wondering if AOB would be at risk if the Knights were to have a bad season. Not speculating that he was.
I agree with most that there's no obvious answer as to who would replace him.
The coach I thought the Knights should go for (even though I don't particularly like him) when they were interviewing coaches prior to the 2023 golden run was Flannagan. But that ship has sailed.
I still don’t get the asterix, it’s not uncommon for a team in the lower half of the 8 to have a negative f+a, and it’s very common for sides to fall away and miss the finals as the year progresses.Yes. This is why I have an asterisk over our finals.
In 3 of them, the Knights were bundled out fairly easily in round 1. We've made the finals with a 50% win/loss record and we've made finals with a negative for and against. Arguably, AOB made the finals with Nathan Brown's team in his first season. Last season the Knights should not have made the finals at all...Bennett and Hunt losing it were gifts.
AOB's best season result was 2023 when they won 10 in a row and a final....buuut that was largely down to KP going off for 10 weeks...let's not forget the Knights were interviewing other coaches before that 10 game run.
I'm not saying AOB deserves the sack or that he doesn't deserve some kudos for making those finals or that the Knights should be looking around for coaches, but they were hardly convincing performances or a sign of a team on the rise...5 years into AOB era and some pundits (and I don't agree with this) have the Knights as favourites for the spoon. If Cameron Ciraldo walks under a bus or Robbo gets sacked at the Chooks (
I'm not anti-AOB, but I'm also not convinced he's on track to becoming the Novocastrian Bellamy.
We’ve made it to the finals regularly, whether or not you think it’s a pointless achievement, it’s there in black and white.
Yeah hard pass on all. If I had to pick, Hasler seems to be similar, gets teams up for gameday and performing but similar to Maguire may wear out his welcome short term. But also needs a decent team to get going.
That said it is funny the Titans won one less game with him there. Will see how 2025 goes for the forever cursed Titans.
But since this thread is about halfbacks, who do you guys think would be a good halves coach? (outside of who we have) or a head coach that would possibly improve the halves?
Similar to the effect AOB has had on Phoenix.