Our next head coach

Who should be the head coach in 2026?

  • Blake Green

    Votes: 5 5.9%

  • Brian McDermott

    Votes: 14 16.5%

  • Brad Arthur

    Votes: 13 15.3%

  • Willie Peters

    Votes: 40 47.1%

  • John Morris

    Votes: 18 21.2%

  • Justin Holbrook

    Votes: 42 49.4%

  • Des Hasler

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Sam Burgess

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Billy Slater

    Votes: 6 7.1%

  • Other (name below)

    Votes: 1 1.2%
  • Total voters
    85
The one problem with the “start the big tough hooker, bring the crafty 9 off the bench” plan is that it can be hard to adjust mid-game between stylistically dissimilar hookers. You sort of get used to one who’s never going to do much around the ruck and then the other one wants to hold the ball a lot longer - it’s one of these things that heaps of teams want to do in theory but it’s often hard in practice.

Whereas using that 14 spot on a guy who just knows how to read the game, link play, let you play with more width and better ball movement, like Gamble, that seems to be a very easy in-game adjustment, probably because heaps of forwards do a bit of ball playing now anyway so it’s not really a huge change.

It may be the case that he decides it’s better to just have Arthur/Graham continue to build up that motor in reggies, with a view down the track to one of them being the starting 9 and Phoenix being the 14 (but doing a huge stint when he comes on).

One thing I’ll say is that Holbrook has a good track record for identifying what will work best and sticking with it and/or identifying what has gone wrong and changing it up.
 
What’s weird about Crossland is that he’s a former halfback, so you’d think if anyone would be more likely to adapt to hooker it would be him. Halves to hooker is a pretty common transition for a lot of players.

Unfortunately though, Crossland just doesn’t seem to possess any of those key skills and attributes at all really. He can throw a decent long pass, and very occasionally kicks of dummy half but that’s it.

He’s also had Bedsy coaching him there for 3 years now and he hasn’t really added anything to his game in that time.
 
HarVeeGee13 said:
So I think it’ll be either Crossland playing 80, Gamble bench lock, OR a bench hooker, with Phoenix doing the starting hooker/transition to lock role. Depends on how ready the young fellas are.

I stand by the call he’ll bring one of his inexperienced back rowers off the bench rather than ask 80 of them though. Then two genuine props in the other spots.
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I agree with this one, this would be my 8-17 according to your idea and how i’m thinking, with Sandon playing 9 not 7:
8. J Saf
9. Crossy - to lock after 20, playing full 80
10. Mooney
11. Lucas
12. McEwen - shared mins with ESL/Manu
13. Croker - off after 20 for crossy

14. Smith - On after 20 minutes into 9
15. Frizell - On for Saf
16. Saulo - On for Mooney
17. ESL/Manueleua - shared minutes with McEwen
 
Newygirl said:
What’s weird about Crossland is that he’s a former halfback, so you’d think if anyone would be more likely to adapt to hooker it would be him. Halves to hooker is a pretty common transition for a lot of players.

Unfortunately though, Crossland just doesn’t seem to possess any of those key skills and attributes at all really. He can throw a decent long pass, and very occasionally kicks of dummy half but that’s it.

He’s also had Bedsy coaching him there for 3 years now and he hasn’t really added anything to his game in that time.
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It’s just not who he is. The best version of Phoenix Crossland is a guy who leans in to being our version of Mitch Kenny.

It should be noted that one of my sicko/crackpot beliefs about footy is that “crafty” hookers are kind of overrated. I think Harry Grant is a generational player who I exempt from that totally, and I think Blayke Brailey is a stud. I like the real dangerous running 9’s but atm it doesn’t seem like the best era for those. A lot of the rest of them, eh. Whatever. Give me someone who does the basics well and ****ing kills people in defence on a cheaper contract and let me spend the difference on a prop.

Also think a lot of hookers who look *stylistically* like a “crafty hooker” type are often actually handbrakes and it’s not realised, and that can lead clubs to give out bigger contracts than they should.

That’s what’s always stuck in my craw about us losing Tom Starling: He’s not a guy who ever overplays his hand, he’s a genuine running threat, he’s actually a fantastic defender despite his size, and he’s - by every report I’ve heard - always been on pretty bloody reasonable, cap-balancing deals. Basically everything I want in a 9 hahaha.
 
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HarVeeGee13 said:
It’s just not who he is. The best version of Phoenix Crossland is a guy who leans in to being our version of Mitch Kenny.

It should be noted that one of my sicko/crackpot beliefs about footy is that “crafty” hookers are kind of overrated. I think Harry Grant is a generational player who I exempt from that totally, and I think Blayke Brailey is a stud. I like the real dangerous running 9’s but atm it doesn’t seem like the best era for those. A lot of the rest of them, eh. Whatever. Give me someone who does the basics well and ****ing kills people in defence on a cheaper contract and let me spend the difference on a prop.

Also think a lot of hookers who look *stylistically* like a “crafty hooker” type are often actually handbrakes and it’s not realised, and that can lead clubs to give out bigger contracts than they should.

That’s what’s always stuck in my craw about us losing Tom Starling: He’s not a guy who ever overplays his hand, he’s a genuine running threat, he’s actually a fantastic defender despite his size, and he’s - by every report I’ve heard - always been on pretty bloody reasonable, cap-balancing deals. Basically everything I want in a 9 hahaha.
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Yep get all that, I’m just perplexed by his complete inability to improve any of those aspects.

Like anyone who practices anything for years on end should show some improvements at least.

Yeah agree about Starling. What pisses me off about the likes him, Hosking, Talty, etc were that they were never even given a chance to show what they could do.

If you’re going to be a development club, which the Knights have to be, then how can you afford to not at least try these guys out in first grade first before discarding them.
 
Newygirl said:
What’s weird about Crossland is that he’s a former halfback, so you’d think if anyone would be more likely to adapt to hooker it would be him. Halves to hooker is a pretty common transition for a lot of players.

Unfortunately though, Crossland just doesn’t seem to possess any of those key skills and attributes at all really. He can throw a decent long pass, and very occasionally kicks of dummy half but that’s it.

He’s also had Bedsy coaching him there for 3 years now and he hasn’t really added anything to his game in that time.
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Agree that Crossland doesn’t show these skills but I do wonder how much of that was trying to play within the restrictive blanket we had over the last couple of seasons.

Would be good to see if he can change it up with a coach willing to play a more expansive style of play.
 
So back to talking about Holbrooks support staff, will be quite interesting to see who he keeps/brings in…
Will Green stay?
Will Dobson stay?
Does Hagan want to join in some capacity?
Will Alex Moore stay on as Flegg coach?
Will Lantry’s new role change now he’s joining under a new coach?
Who is our next assistants is the main question?
 
Newygirl said:
What’s weird about Crossland is that he’s a former halfback, so you’d think if anyone would be more likely to adapt to hooker it would be him. Halves to hooker is a pretty common transition for a lot of players.

Unfortunately though, Crossland just doesn’t seem to possess any of those key skills and attributes at all really. He can throw a decent long pass, and very occasionally kicks of dummy half but that’s it.

He’s also had Bedsy coaching him there for 3 years now and he hasn’t really added anything to his game in that time.
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Crossland is very much a team player and would stick to the game plan think aob wanted him just as a defender and just to pass with a new coach might unlock his running game and kicking game better
 
He wasn’t super good but Brailey would have been good for one more year, seems odd he left for Canberra when we could have used him in 26.
Any thoughts on why he left when Arthur is still a year or two away
 
But a new 1 yr contract could have been a lot cheaper, surely the Raiders didn’t pay him big bucks or offer a long contract.
Not a big Brailey fan just doesn’t make sense
 
Frank McWilliams said:
But a new 1 yr contract could have been a lot cheaper, surely the Raiders didn’t pay him big bucks or offer a long contract.
Not a big Brailey fan just doesn’t make sense
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POS negotiated reduced contracts with Gagai and Friz, unfortunately we don’t know what happened with Brailey.
 
Newygirl said:
Yep get all that, I’m just perplexed by his complete inability to improve any of those aspects.

Like anyone who practices anything for years on end should show some improvements at least.
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Real talk: I think it’s just really, really, really hard. For every Harry Grant, who’s a once every twenty years freak of a player, there’s multiple Jeremy Marshall-Kings or Damien Cooks who didn’t put it all together until they were about 26. Sharks fans will deny it now but there was a really strong cohort of them who wanted Blayke Brailey gone after his performance in their 2023 finals loss (and who were saying for years they wish they kept Jayden instead, even with the injuries). And then it all came together over the last two seasons.

And it makes sense - it’s one of the positions where you’re under the most fatigue, and you’re trying to execute on stuff which takes a lot of subtlety and mental energy under that fatigue. I don’t think it’s thought of the same, especially since a fair few hookers do just sort of seem to come good out of nowhere, but I think it might be like halfback, where developing the skill set and being able to execute it under pressure takes years, and the improvement curve can have its ups and downs.

So the same player, Phoenix, who made a positive impact just by going out there with a mindset to nail the basics really well, does not play anything like as well when the mindset is more “I’m the permanent hooker now, so that means I have to be a ‘good’ hooker”.
 
TBF Braileys subtleties have alluded him for a few years, he now longer has been a threat out of dummy half. We therefore already have a straight up and down dummy half in Crossy, no point tying cap and top 30 up with Brailey. POS position has been to not keep doing what weve done in the past as we will never get anything different. Lets hope one of our young crop or Smith give us a point of difference there. A good dummy half takes a lot of pressure off the halves which we sorely need.
 
I do really feel for Jayden because in early 2020 and then in 2021 when he did get a full season I thought he was really coming along, developing into a bit of an ALDI Bedsy. He’s clearly just never been the same since losing both 2022 and 2023 to injury as well. Never a tearaway 9 but now what explosiveness he did have is basically totally gone. And the motor isn’t what it was, and he doesn’t defend anything like as well. It sucks.

Even at his best though not sure he was a $750K player.
 
Thieves Like Us said:
Agree that Crossland doesn’t show these skills but I do wonder how much of that was trying to play within the restrictive blanket we had over the last couple of seasons.

Would be good to see if he can change it up with a coach willing to play a more expansive style of play.
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I also wonder how much training at hooker he has done the past 12 months as they transitioned him to lock
 
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