Quote: Once were Loiners "ZooZoo - we are miles behind the NRL in a lot of ways, including the size of the club. They might need a DoR because they have a huge number of backroom staff which even a big SL side like Leeds can't afford. Even then it varies club to club. Gould is effectively DoR for the Bulldogs, but he was brought in to root and branch rebuild the entire setup, including all staff and players and put in place systems for player development that had withered. But in a well run team there wouldn't be 10% of the work involved, and once Gould is done and the club is on a firm footing the place should largely run itself.
We can agree to differ on that one, but you are spectacularly wrong about the coach not selecting players who sign. It has to be the opposite. The coach should be front and centre in any and all decisions on recruitment. After all they are the ones who live and die by results, and have to be able to work with players. No coach worth their salt would or should work for a club where they don't have as much control as possible over signings.'"
I completely disagree with your last paragraph - in RL we see all too often new coaches picking up the signings of the previous coach and it taking 2/3 years because of contractual issues to try and turn things around. Smith is in this boat now - Leeds have been in transition for 6 years when does this ever stop.
If you look at Saints they have a style of play that each coach has to maintain and they have players that fit that system. The coach may have an input but the players have to fit the system - perhaps this is a better way than a coach who wants all his own players it fails and the next comes along and say the same it's a crazy roundabout that nobody can get off.
Smith fails and a new coach is stuck with the likes of Olpherts, Fasitua, Lisone, Hooley etc. What happens then?