I've no idea what Jimmy's coaching skills are like as I've never been coached by him but looking at the team on the field we aren't playing anywhere near our potential. A lot of that may be down to us lacking a quality playmaker and having a few injuries. However I wonder if there's more to it. How do you explain our slow starts in games or our repeated inability to kill games off? We've also been slow around the ruck and vulnerable to a quick dummy half for ages without ever seeming to do anything about it. Our fringe defence has been shaky for a while too. He had my support last year - we were building a new team and we almost made it. However this year we seem to be worse rather than better. I'm really worried.

Lowes may be a decent coach but is he a good communicator? Noble certainly is. I think Rowley and Morrison are too. Is Lowes as good at putting over ideas and instructions? If his press conferences are anything to go by he certainly doesn't suffer fools. Can he get players of different personalties to respond to his instructions? I'm not sure that's happened consistently enough looking at our performances.

I'm sure a few convincing performances would shut all his critics up. The only trouble is they are so few and far between. Apart from Fev away and Leigh away in the 8s what performances really stood out as good from last year? There have been more bad than good so far this season so far.

I'm usually reluctant to say "sack the coach" as it's a big step and not guaranteed to work. However I feel that this season is our last chance. If we don't go up this year that's it really. Fans aren't going to keep paying top dollar for season tickets to see below par rugby. Our players with potential will seek moves as it's a short career. Much as Jimmy is a legend if it looks like he's not making progress we can't waste time hoping he turns it around.

If we did get rid, we would absolutely have to pay him for the remainder of his contract, as is the case whenever a coach is sacked.
It's only when they resign, like Webster did at Wakefield last season, when no settlement is paid.

So to answer your question, of course it is possible, providing Marc Green (and the club) can afford to do it.

You might have a better chance of getting to the nitty gritty of why we are playing so poorly if we weren't involved in this phony competition which gives nothing other than a qualification for the 'real league', which starts later in the season. I'm sure the pointlessness of it [maybe not the right word, but I'm sticking with it] gets to the players too? It's an old truism to say there are no pots given out in March but when the real comp doesn't even start till around late August it must be strange for the players.

To be honest, whether Lowesy goes or stays [and I'm not too fussed which] things will be better later in the season when the bigger games come round, if for no other reason than no club can stay on peak form all year. Not that I'm thinking about promotion as, under the current system, our, or any other clubs, chances of going up are negligible enough to be down to some momentous slice of good fortune, even if we got Wayne Bennett as coach.

Can't please some people. Pretty much 80-90% of fans didn't want to be in the Challenge Cup (ie. More games, no chance of winning it) and to rest players/give fringe players a chance. Lowes did that. The lads on the pitch had every opportunity to win the game. They didn't. Lowes in the SL when he took over managed to turn a Bulls side around that was losing left, right and centre to beat the likes of Wigan and Leeds. He took us to second last season and took us within inches of getting promoted, albeit against the odds with the calibre of players and the finances all in Wakey's favour.

This season we are currently 4th with a game in hand (against Oldham). Unbeaten in the league, a few hiccups. Desire to come back like a top team against Leigh and a hiccup against Batley (who may I add have beaten two other fulltime teams) yet we weren't beaten. Granted we are not playing to our full potential, yet we are the only unbeaten side and have played 3 of the better teams in Batley, Fev and Leigh. already. As with any team there will be a period where this Bulls side plays to it's potential, I for one am glad it's not now. Later in the season when it matters if we don't get the results and play well then yes, maybe look at sacking Lowes. But for now get behind him and the lads, get a few of the injured bodies back let's hope we stay unbeaten!

I can see your POV. I'm just a bit concerned that we're not playing as well as we were this time last year. If we get it together when it matters all will be forgiven. However if we don't will we have left it too late? What point do we say it's time for a change?

All the gubbins about everything being a "pre-season" until the 8s is a red herring IMO. Once you get out on the pitch you're giving 100% anyway.

I agree with your last point Bullseye, no team goes out to lose or give little effort. But at the same time we haven't lost in the league. Isn't there a saying that a champion team or at least a good team finds ways to win or draw when they aren't playing well? Based on the past year and a half I would give Lowes the rest of the season. Then if we fail to get into the Middle 8's, or we fail to compete in the Middle 8's then I would part ways.

I do agree that this time last year we were playing miles better, I think we have a better pack this season (when everyone is fit) but I think we are lacking at the back, Mathers is a good player and reads the game well but he hasn't got the pace. Mullaney last season could make a break from anywhere and a lot of our good play came of the back of his good kick returns and pace. We lack that this season. O'Brien also hasn't had a good game yet, he was outstanding at the start of last season then faded off. Hopefully that will be the other way round this season.

As a coach putting across expectations to the players for the season, the approach should be lets show everyone we are a force in this league and scare any potential opponents in the middle 8's. There has to be a mentality that we are going to put 50+ points on everyone/most teams in the league, starting a game on fire, and showing no compassion when we have a healthy lead, killing teams confidence and never taking the foot off the gas.

This is the winning mentality that Leigh have, and although it's not possible to play that well all season, the mentality of the players should always be that they are going to destroy teams.

We don't look like a team with fire in their bellies, and this is, in turn, having an effect on how teams prepare for our matches. On current form, every team in the league will think they have a real chance to beat us.

I know we are no longer a SL club, and expectations need to be curbed, but we are a full time team, with a better squad that every team (bar 1) in the league.

We should be destroying most of the teams in this league with ease......

I don't like the rugby we are playing under Lowes' guidance.

The best rugby we played this season was the comeback versus Leigh. That was when the team tore up the script. Until the 65th minute we were trundling the ball down the middle and being easily controlled. When we decided to throw it about, try a few offloads and some imaginative kicks we broke the game open.

We seem to be playing to quite a conservative gameplan which I think can play into the hands of some teams. Obviously we have to forwards before we can throw it about but I think we take too few chances. When we tried to speed it up versus Batley we had some success notwithstanding us throwing too many forward passes.

I’d like to say us play more high tempo rugby. We may make mistakes but it’s that level we need to get used to for the 8s. Against Fax at Odsal in the first game last season we got dragged into a forward battle which we were losing. It took some choice words at halftime and 15mins of high tempo rugby to win that game.

Regarding the ruck, Lowes said in an interview on rugbyAM he was working with the team specifically to allow the opposition a quick play-the-ball so that we're in good habits for the middle 8s where the ruck is much quicker. He didn't want us getting use to the slow rucks of the championship which is fair enough IMPZ.

Agree with Bullseye. We seem to be just doing one man rugby. We probably have have the best backline in the division and possibly even better than some of the lower SL teams. No idea why we're reverting to 1 man rugby. Can understand it when we've everyone fit as we've a good pack. But Lowes always seems to favour a lightweight pack and bench.

I don't think we are playing miles better than last year. It is easy to forget all of those games that we scraped through and those that were were simply cr*p in.
We coasted through the season and couldn't lift our game at the click of a finger when it mattered.

I said in comments last year that is was fed up of reading about this and that game as being a banana skin. Championship teams being banana skins when you still think of yourself as a SL team - WHAT!
This year is the same. It shows how far we have fallen that we are starting to look at ourselves as been at the same level of championship teams who couldn't make the top four last year. OH it will be tough against Batley and Dewsbury!
If we can't comfortably beat these teams then we need to accept we are nowhere near good enough to be in SL.
To be the one championship team that might be promoted we also need to be beating the other 3 top four clubs never mind the mid-table teams who have no chance.
I really don't think I am being arrogant here. I simply think we need to show everyone including the RFL on a regular basis that we are the best team in the championship by some distance and we should be the team to go up. If we can't beat Batley and Dewsbury then that argument looks a bit hollow.
So come on Jimmy and the team get out there and show them we are better than them and we are in the wrong league.

I think Lowes has been a bit constrained by injuries otherwise we'd have a bit more power available that said we have looked light in the forwards at times when other lads are seemingly fit and available. Olbison propping is not an experiment worth repeating.

Leigh showed us how to play quick and had they not lost it in the final 20 mins they could've had 50+ points. We need to be able to play at that tempo ourselves to get ready for the 8s. When you do that it's easier to get the hands free for the offload or to get the quick PTB and catch the opponent flat footed. Trundling the ball up the jumper style we played in the first half versus Leigh and versus Fev will get us nowhere esp versus big packs like Fax and God help us if we play like that versus a team like Hull in the 8s. It'll be like a repeat of the first Wakey game in the 8s.

I'm surprised at his comments that we're "allowing a quick PTB" to get ready for the 8s. Sounds a bit bizarre. So we let Leigh walk all over us at the ruck for 65 mins on purpose?

From what karl harrison said of jimmys way or no way, it gives the impression of a head strong coach with 2 assistant yes men offering no other point of view. Would a 'director of rugby' ie noble or smith show him the error of his ways and develop jimmys abilitys as a coach.
Also could we afford this?

He won't be told so that's a non-starter.

I'd settle for two defeats over Easter if it hastens his exit.

The players generally will always give of their best; they're pretty much hard-wired to do that so you should [ialways[/i get the best they can do at the time. The best they can do though is always going to be variable, due to the fact that coaches always try to 'peak' at important times in the year. You train hard to attain your peak and sometimes you need to back off just before hitting your best. If it isn't a 'peak' period you'll always be just short of or just past your 'best'.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not for a second saying we're brilliant right now, we're not even good, to be fair, let alone brilliant - it's just that I'm sure the coaching staff will actually be aiming to be at our best when the chips are down, which is the end of the season and not right now; lets face it, since the cup final has been blown we now have only the play-offs to peak for. Let's hope we don't mess it up and we give a good account at 'the business end'!

TBF I think it's a good idea. This forum all agreed that the ruck speed in the championship and SL was chalk and Cheese. If we allow the opposition a quick play-the-ball, we have to put the extra effort to set the defensive line quicker. Keep doing that over and over again and what was previously a forced effort, suddenly becomes a habit.

We're not going to have a season of slow rucks and then come the middle8s be able to switch it on like a tap and adapt to SL speed rucks.

If you watch the Leigh game it does appear to be a tactic/habit Jimmy is trying to enforce. When we played the ball it was painfully slow and Leigh laid on as long as the ref allowed. But when Leigh played the ball we weren't laying on at all and letting them up instantly and Higham killed us.

If that helps us adapt and prepare for the middle 8s fair enough.

But from last few games we need to be working on lots more. Attack. Passing. Support play (which is abysmal) kicking game (even worse) and defence out wide.