There’s been two years since then for people to completely forget their previous opinion haha.
2025 pre season thread
- Thread starter Billy
- Start date
AOB isn’t an elite coach and can improve some tactical decisions etc but they way he is spoken about in media and other teams fanbases, you would think we’ve been running last or thereabouts under his tenure.
We are unfortunately stuck with the stigma that we’re a one man team and all credit will be given to Ponga.
We are unfortunately stuck with the stigma that we’re a one man team and all credit will be given to Ponga.
HarVeeGee13
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
It's not "talking him up". If people are ranking the players 16th-17th, and the coach 14th, yet the team has finished 7th, 7th, 14th, 5th, 8th, for an average ladder position of 8th, then this unquestionably means either the players or the coach - or both - are being underrated. That's just logic.
If these outlets published stuff ranking AOB around the middle of the pack, and ranked the playing group mostly around the middle too, not a single person here would bat an eyelid. Damn, such talking up, wow.
Celticman98
Trent Estatheo
The SEN rankings recently were some of the worst rankings I've ever seen.
I'm convinced whoever did those rankings doesn't watch any NRL games.
I'm convinced whoever did those rankings doesn't watch any NRL games.
I thought Jimmy was kind of fair whilst also joining the usual brigade.
He made a fair point that when we lost Ponga in dogs game the team reinvented themselves to play a different style, then we lost our way again when he came in.
It’s one area knights still haven’t nailed is how to perfectly embrace KP into the attack for 27 rounds. Team/coaches need to have that nailed down from here on in. We’ve had enough time to achieve this, even if we bring in new halves it needs to be seamless.
Grandpa Joe - Prev Lord
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Did I put itching powder in your panties? I can't seem to make a comment without you negatively replying about it.
Fair point , but if Ponga wasn't here in 2023. Obi would be at centreliink
I actually disagree with that. If you watched the first half of that season, we were competitive in most games and showed significant improvement.
We only had one blowout loss that season against Parra, the game where Ponga returned and was playing 5/8. He was totally abused that game, he couldn’t defend anyone. We took it to some of the best teams without Ponga, like Penrith etc.
Even before that winning streak, I was proud of how the team was having a red hot crack in every game. Even in games we went down in early we mostly managed to show great resolve and come back.
100%. 23 season was best season for our attack, Hastings and Gamble opened up Best, Gags and Fitzy. Ponga jumped on back of that and had a superb finish to season cause the team trusted themselves to get into positions to attack.
Who knows what would have happened, if we didn't have Ponga we might have managed to sign someone like Reynolds or Hunt, and everything would be completely different.
H
Half way through the year the media & plenty on here were calling for obi's head .
Would have been very easy for Ponga to do an Upton . When his contract is up if he wants to go to Roosters or whoever to try & win a premiership good luck to him . As far as I'm concerned he owes us nothing
Fair point, but I thought that was unfair, but I guess it was on the back of our worst season under AOB in 2022, so I can understand. 2022 was definitely a disappointing one.
slotmachine
Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
The club was sounding out coaches to take over from AOB before the winning streak.
If we lost against the Dogs instead of winning 66-zip I think he would have been sacked.
mullenmagic
Matthew Gidley
That's Salesa-Leaumoana, doesn't seem like Latu is training with first grade yet. Only joins the development squad in 2027 at this stage so he'll probably get a taste in the 2026 pre-season.
I more meant I didn’t think he deserved to be sacked because I saw significant improvement in the team. Even without Ponga we were competing in every game.