Brewer wrote:I don't want us to be another Sydney, even if there's a flag in it.
See, I agree with most things in this thread, but I'd flood 24/7 if it meant we could win a flag.
Seriously, we shouldn't have sacked Thomas - it's clear it wasn't football related (watch RB's warriors jump all over that call). I think most people see that. However, that's no excuse for not backing RL if he does the right things.
Sadly, he's making a lot of mistakes early in his tenure. I'm prepared to give him time before jumping on him, but some of his strategies are not what I'd associate with good coaching.
Why you'd flood doubly as hard when chasing a result, against Sydney of all teams, is Tim Watson-esq.
There's a lot of rough edges to Ross's game plan and he needs to realise what it takes to create a hard and fast team, not just one who floods for the sake of flooding.
Don't get me wrong, defensive football is extremely important, and we lacked it sometimes under GT. It's about balance - and we've definitely not got it. Steps must be taken to rectify it. West Coast, Geelong and the Kangaroos have proven that whilst a strong defence is vital, kicking goals is still the name of the game.
I used to think no matter what, we could kick a winning score. I don't know about that any more. It's a bit scary.
Still, we must give RL time, even if we don't trust him yet.
My final thought would be that when he was hired, I said we'd probably fall just short of the eight as a result of his appointment. It seemed like an outrageous time to change coaches; surely you'd wait for the incumbant to run his course, not usurp him after three straight finals series. It was a confusing decision, explained badly to the club's members and still unvindicated to this day.
I also felt it would hurt the incoming coach, whoever it was. And to hire him during trade week - and not before - was the icing on the cake. GT was dudded and, as a result of subsequent delays, RL was hamstrung.
Everybody lost out, and I feel sorry for the fans, the players, Grant Thomas and Ross Lyon.
Bad off-field decisions have hurt this club more than any of RL's tactics, to be honest.