Truths.

More Xs than the football coupon ?

I have no idea, and hope not.

I know Niners and can vouch for his many X's claim...Me and the missus once had a week camping in one of his legendary T shirts, very comfortable and roomy too

Cheeky sod ,where have you been ? Will you be turning out against Wigan ?

Very interesting to hear, did they mean the club as a whole, the coaching team or the playing group, and is Powell trying to change this and thus upsetting the apple cart? If this is the case then he deserves support for having the minerals to grasp the nettle and do the job. I'm sure he would have liked a smoother transistion and not to be in the middle of a relegation batlle, hopefully we come out the other side in a much stronger and professional place.

If Powell is part of the problem and we have nose dived into the current shambles because he can't coach and everyone is upset because of poor management skills then he needs to go.

Sorry can't elaborate any further as that was all he said. These guys talk quite openly and sometimes caveat with "between you and me" and other times they are not bothered if the words get passed on. My take is that he has come into something he is surprised at.

I'd imagine he means the club and squad as a whole, rather than Powell as an individual, and I'd reckon its an ingrained problem over the years, as I don't see an unprofessional coach being able to last 8 years in a previous job (and doing a decent job of it) if they were?

My thought would be the attitude of the playing group.

Having known players and people at the club in the past its like any other place of work players usually have very little knowledge/interest in what is going on in the rest of the club and vice versa Betty the tea lady has no real idea what is going on with the players. Sometimes as fans we are so eager to get any sippets of information or the latest news we take anyone who has any slight link to the club as "in the know", when often they have no more idea than Johnny Fan in the street. (Just a general observation and not aimed at your post in any way Mr Tooth).

No worries sir, "it is what it is"

I asked one of the younger players what he thought was wrong (a few weeks ago) he said "its all good, but not working out on match days". I guess if we stay up all of this will be filed away and "next year will be ours"

Sorry it’s a long one, after mulling things over
Its a mystery how the club has seemingly drifted, (with a sudden plunge this season), from becoming relatively successful in the Tony Smith era to where we find ourselves now. After discussions I’ve had, (with no inside knowledge, just guess work), I wonder if its something like this.
Paul Cullen era the sport was different and he worked on galvanising the squad together lots of “team building” party hard/play hard which did its job, got us out of trouble and into the HJ. But the sport as a whole was becoming more and more professional and so a different approach was needed enter Tony Smith.
Tony Smith brought a new more professional approach, the squad were suddenly all wearing suits, waiting as a group to leave the pitch at half time, non conformists made an example of, Gleeson gone, Briers dropped and on the bench. Also it was easier to get star players then and build a strong squad. As a club we were using any, (legal), loophole available on the salary cap, such as paying overseas players mid air on flights back home for tax reasons etc. Then it became harder to get the star players and loopholes were getting closed. I wonder if this is where the problems started, (again only guess work). Perhaps in contract negotiations to keep the better players other perks were offered, ie we will help you set up a business, give you time and advice to make it successful, we’ll put you on a course for your career once you retire etc. Perhaps this is where TS started to become disillusioned, the ethics he wanted to instil were no longer there.
Enter Steve Price, maybe he was better than we gave him credit for and he managed the squad very well and worked with what he had in terms of the perks players were given and attitude, I watch all the NRL and he is on the field pre every Cronulla game putting the players through their paces, obviously well respected. But the squad was too comfortable and lacking in hunger for success they lacked the grit to be successful, we were soft.
Enter Daryl Powell, right from the start he has mentioned the soft underbelly, we have seen it in the previous play offs. He comes in and starts removing the perks only wanting players who are fully focussed on the team and not outside interests etc, give the team a set of doodahs and be driven to win. Understandably if half the squad have been enticed to stay or offered sweeteners in the past they are not going to like it, its almost like a pay cut. If that’s the case really there is no fault on either side at present, the squad needs overhauling and remove the players on an easy ride, (probably through no fault of their own)

Utterly CEO, could have saved your RSI.

A lot of people comment on the link between our fortunes and Andy Gatcliffe as CEO who left end of 2014.

A seasoned C-level operator who is now holding other director and non-exec positions.

100% Agree that Andy Gatcliffe was an escellent CEO and we no doubt miss his expertise.
A genuine question as I have absolutly no idea what his R&Rs are. What is it that Karl Fitzpatrick is or isn't doing that has such a negative impact on the club that it overrides any influence the coaching staff or anyone else can have on the playing group and leads to the situation we have now.
At a guess he is involved in recruitment which has left a lot to be desired of the last few years, but surely he is not solely responsible for it and others also have a say in who we sign? But what other things are there?