Quote Harold Rigby Jnr="Harold Rigby Jnr"I thought Jukes was a little aggressive at the players Q&A night when a supporter asked him a genuine question about the style of rugby we will play.
[iSupporter:[/i " Are we going to play the same boring one man drive Rugby League?
[iJukes:[/i (Uncomfortable) " So you want us to play that same style of Rugby League that the previous coach had us playing that saw us finish bottom? That got us no where"
[iSupporter:[/i (Quick as a flash) "No I want us to play with a similar style to Castleford who prove it can be done and finish top of Super League and appear at Old Trafford"
[iJukes:[/i ( Visibly ruffled, tone increased, in front of the players, pointing) "Well if YOU give me Zak Hardaker and Luke Gale , I will play like that"
Jukes seems to forget he got us relegated from Super League, despite a massive financial outlay, playing his one man drive Rugby League.
I would never want my beloved Leigh Rugby Football club to lose a match but I have increasingly come to the conclusion (as Harry - Great Name ) that Neil Jukes is the wrong man. He really is.
Derek however will not fire him as 1) It will prove to Paul Rowley , that he was/ well is a far more talented coach than Jukes and 2) that Derek himself made a monumental mistake in appointing Jukes after Rowley.'"
It was a particularly cringeworthy exchange, as you say, he style of rugby was a losing one last season. The stats against HKR in the 8s told their own story, high completion rate but pitiful metres gained as we watched a team more bothered about not making mistakes than they were about scoring tries. There was also an interview last year where Jukes was asked about fans booing, where he said "I don't know what they expect", well I'll tell you Neil, we expected something not as abject as was served up!
KC's remarks during the Q&A were also interesting. He talked about how the culture of the club was all wrong and how the owner needs to trust his heads of departments. Culture goes all the way to the top, and DB has to take responsibility. If he wants his money to have the effect of creating an established SL club, then he needs to step away from the playing side completely and let his head of rugby be the go between for players and the board. He also needs to judge his head coach based on results and not his ego and a vendetta against Rowley.
