Tony Smiths own creation (bar Westwood) or the team that got Cullen sacked......

Smith XIII_____Cullen XIII
Gidley_________Hicks
Johnson_______Riley
Evans_________M. Gleeson
Atkins_________King
Lineham________Penny
Brown_________Briers
Patton_________Monaghan
Cooper________Morley
Clark__________Clarke
Sims__________Rauhihi
Hughes________L. Anderson
Savelio________Westwood
Westerman____V. Anderson

Dwyer________M. Gleeson
Blythe________Grix
Livett_________Bracek
Westwood_____Harrison

Interesting post

Food for thought.

IMO, that Cullen side, with Smith coaching it for a couple of seasons, wins trophies. Eventually, it did. Sadly, the players were prime movers in the Cullen Out movement. We're seeing the same, now, at Leicester City.

Now, not for a second am I suggesting we're looking at player revolt, just a coach with an "I'm not listening" attitude to our clearly evident problems.

We lack "edge". We've almost become nice. We have a pack that has an "after you, Claude" instead of a "get in amongst them" attitude, and an (expensive) 3/4 line that's not doing it's job.

Smith now has a BIG problem on his hands. We're a game or two away from it being a crisis. He starts to REALLY earn his money, now.

I always say Cullen was let down be Chris Bridge...otherwise things might have worked out differently.

I've already gone and said I'm happy to see TS go...I don't care if we do win silverware this season or not.

Time for a fresh approach.

The difference is Tony Smith finished top of the league with the team on the left and won Challenge Cups with the team on the right, whereas Cullen missed out on the playoffs with the team on the right.

At the point Cullen left our fans were laying in to him for poor recruitment bringing in players like Rauhihi, King and Monaghan who were regarded as flops.

Everything that has a beginning, has an ending.

I think you'll find it doesn't.

Welcome to philosophy corner

There were some fantastic players and leaders in that team smith inherited... Towards the end Cullen just didn't know what to do with them and it all fell apart.

A new coach and a new approach to things freshened the place up. We got behind the team, the players responded and we enjoyed some challenge cup success.

Its just a shame that the next coach that comes in here wont have such an easy task to turn things around.

Cullen's down fall was the naughtiness of Bridge and the failure of M Monaghan to play halfback in the British style. In all Cull had 3 former hookers in succession all to play scrum half. The only 7 we had bagged let him down like Bridge did.... Andrew Johns.

Cull ran out of time...I still think had Bridge or Andrew Johns for filled their contractual agreement....Cull would have got us that Wembley visit himself instead of TS riding Cullen's surf wave.

Yes and when Cullen was here, that business about signing hookers to play scrum half was held against him as an example of bad recruitment, along with signing relatively big name players who didn't live up to their reputations or feats with earlier clubs, eg Reardon, Cardiss, Johnson, Swann, or bringing back Toa. Then there were players that started off well but tailed off: Grose, Lima, Parker. And some of his signings like Richie Barnett, Sullivan and bringing back Warren Stevens were regarded as shockers, as was the decision to let Sid Domic go so we could re-sign Appo who then had two seasons treading water whilst Domic went on to have three more years as one of the best imports in SL.

Cullen was blamed by a section of our fans for "ruining Kevin Penny" because he played him outside Matt King or because he dropped him after a run of bad form and that was said to have ruined his confidence.

This narrative that has been created with hindsight that Cullen did all the hard work in creating a side on the verge of greatness and Smith just rode on the coattails to glory is a myth. Also if you want to attribute recruitment, some of our most significant players of the Challenge Cup wins were signed by DVDV (Briers), Plange (Westwood) and Lowes (Carvell and Higham).

I'd pick the Tony Smith team. Think all of the Cullen team bar a couple have retired, so don't think they'd shape up too well at the moment.

Some shirty stuff here. Johns contracted for three games and played them. Michael Monaghan ended up being a great signing. Paul Cullen in the end produced a team that could play very well on occasion, but could not win trophies. Tony Smith took virtually the same team and won trophies with it. That's the difference.

I'm guessing he means that johns was supppsed to come back to play a full season for us, but an injury forced his retirement.