Yes.

Next...!

No you are incorrect... 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012, that's 10 seasons. So 2 Challenge Cups in 2012 and 2019, and a League Leaders Shield is still a trophy and a difficult task to achieve.

Are we supposed to expect every Grand Final to be easy? The point of it being the Grand Final is that it's the 2 best teams, so we aren't always going to win.

We have won 40% of our Finals appearances which is competitive. And we have won 6 trophies since Smith came in. We didn't even win one in the Super League era before that. Averaging a trophy roughly every 2 seasons since Smith. That's definitely not underachieving.

I'll be honest, I'm very much up and down when it comes to Powell.

As I have said many times on other threads, we won a trophy in Smith and Price's first full seasons, so why should we expect anything less than a trophy this time.

I think Daryl is a great bloke. And I don't think anyone would really disagree, but we can literally see with our own eyes that we are slow, unorganised and we lack creativity in attack. I'll repeat my usual description again... 13 men stood in a line waiting to collect the ball and see what happens.

This is specifically what bugs me, and why it's hard to defend him. So I'll try to break it down:
- Powell said on the Wire Podcast that he has certain lines that he likes to run. So that's how we look in attack.
- We have speculated about bad apples and players bringing in a bad culture.
- If Powell believes we have certain players contributing to a bad culture, then they should not even be training, let alone playing.
- Powell consistently says that we have trained well, near enough week in week out. And we know he likes to be honest about the group, especially when things are poor.
- So if we have been training well all week, running the lines that Powell wants to run... Why do we look so ineffective with the ball?

That's what leads me to believe that it's a Daryl Powell issue. Contrary to that, if certain players just aren't running the lines that he wants, surely they have to be dropped, which in fairness some players have been. Or we have moved people around.

In terms of attack, we are 7th in Super League. Better than Wakefield, Toulouse, Leeds, Hull KR and Hull FC, scoring 20 points per game on average.
For our defence, we are 10th in Super League. Better than Wakefield and Toulouse, conceding 24 points per game on average.
This then makes me think about removing Sheridan from his role, as I believe he's the defensive coach from what I remember. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Maybe we'd be right up there in a Playoff position, or better off for the rest of the season if he wasn't here.

I cannot express how excited I am for next season in terms of recruitment. Just imagining Dudson and Vaughan at prop with Harrison, Mikaele and Kasiano coming off the bench. What a forward pack that is. And I understand that if the forwards are winning the battle in the middle it opens up more opportunities for the backs. And with Dufty still possibly on his way, he could be very effective, which might mean we shove Thewlis out to the wing or means he doesn't get a game which is unfortunate either way. But this is what reels me back in with Powell. Maybe the lines he likes to run would look so much more effective behind a dominant forward pack. But what I'm currently seeing is such a boring product. I just don't want to see more of it next season.

He's bringing in players that he wants, he's changing the culture, he's removing players he thinks aren't needed and he's said many times that he wants to build a Championship winning team, for multiple years. Personally, I feel that he MUST win a trophy next season or he has got to go, unless we have been right up there in all competitions all season.

I'm currently in the 'Powell Out' camp and I'm more than happy to be proven wrong for next season. Or even this season, as I'm quite an optimistic person naturally, so all I want us to do is make playoffs. Not because it looks better on paper for the season, but because it actually means we get a crack at winning the Grand Final. Call me delusional of course, but as long as we make playoffs, we can win it. Maybe we find some form in the last couple of weeks, a bit like Hull KR last year. We've beaten 4 of the Top 6 once already, with a very close game against Saints. We could beat any one of those 4 teams on the day again, and we know we have it in us to go toe to toe with Saints for 80 minutes. We were a decent Wrench grubber kick away from winning that game. Maybe someone has an off day, you just never know.

It's so hard to defend Powell but I'm willing to keep backing the lads for the rest of the season, but then back Powell next season when he has exactly what he wants.

Without rabbiting on again, I think next week's game has to see effort throughout and I think we need to see a win.

If we're poor next week, then it's not going to be good and I would totally understand people wanting him out.

Why on earth would Miguel Maguire come over here and coach this shambles?



More chance of getting Harry Maguire.

I’m going to start a new thread on Powell on the back of this….

Like most Aussie coaches do, come over to build their credibility and use it to get an NRL job. Realistically, after leaving Wests the next club coming for him isn’t going to be a top 8 club in the NRL, so unlikely to win anything.

If he came here (whether we’re a shambles or not right now) there is a realistic chance that he could turn a 10th placed team into a 4th placed team in 12 months, and a less realistic but optimistic chance that he could win something in 2 years. Then, when NRL clubs come looking, he’s got a bit more credit in the bank.

It’s a reasonable option, but ruled out at the start given that the club are committed to Powell.

He’d get an NRL gig tomorrow. He didn’t do a bad job at Wests and won the title with Rabbitohs.

Wests are bottom and have lost 6 in a row. Think they have won 1 on their last 10 games. The teams that would take him on are the Titans, Knights, Bulldogs and maybe the Warriors. The rest probably wouldn’t take a chance on him right now.

Can we have an Apples Are Not The Only Fruit thread?