Under CC standards have slipped. CC’s early success was founded in no small part on the input of Brian Smith and JK. Once the influence of the strict disciplinarian and the man manager had evaporated, however, it did not take long for CC’s coaching shortcomings to be exposed and the excuses to follow. When CC had a good proportion of the first team out and the performance was bad - ‘I have all these players missing’. When CC had a few squad members out and the performance was bad - ‘I have so and so key players missing’. When CC had virtually a full squad to pick from and the performance was bad - ‘The players are just not good enough’. Injuries and the pandemic have obviously played their part in the drop in standards over the last few years but at the end of the day if the players are not offering themselves as dummy runners, not running onto the ball, standing flat as a fart, not executing set plays on a regular basis etc.. then CC, as the coach, had the means at his disposal to address these issues in training and by way of team selection and, further, he was given the additional support of Last and Poching to help him rectify the situation. However, CC couldn’t find the answers and instead of accepting any responsibility whatsoever for the poor performances, he ultimately chose to pin all of the blame on the very players he brought into the club. Thanks for your efforts CC and good luck with your future endeavours.

When it comes to looking at deteriorating standards, I don’t think you can simply confine an analysis to the team performance; you have to look at what has been going on at the club as a whole and that necessarily brings into sharp focus the decision both to allow CC to stay on as coach for far longer than he should have and to award CC with a contract extension. The reality is that but for a number of fans threatening to walk away after the Shudds game, and thereby hitting the coffers of the club, CC would still be here. As an outsider looking in, MC got too close to ‘Chez’ and he allowed his personal relationship with him to cloud his judgment. MC is running a business and you don’t mix business and pleasure. MC eventually made the right call with the other board members to part company with CC but, as I say, it should have happened much sooner. Let’s hope that MC does not make the same mistake when it comes to working with the new coach. Before we see whether or not that happens, MC et al have to appoint the right coach; the single most important decision the club has had to make since MC took over and one which the club simply cannot afford to get wrong. Personally, I would like to see a decent Aussie assistant get the role if there are any suitable candidates in the frame because we need a radical shake up and the introduction of a brand of NRL style rugby which provides structure and entertainment. Get the product on the field right and the wins will follow and the club will be able to bring in new fans. I suspect, however, that we may struggle to attract the right person from Oz and that budget constraints would rule out an overseas appointment so that we will have to look at recruiting the best of British. Wane is probably sorted for next season and wouldn’t touch us with a barge pool even if he wasn’t. Brian McD strikes me as a coach who needs to have a decent level of resources to get results as he did nothing for Toronto. For me, there are only two people who fit the bill: Danny Ward or JK. Either would bring a structured style of play, which we have been so desperately lacking, and bring good man management skills and, crucially, both have a track record of getting so called lesser players working as a competitive unit and of operating within a limited budget.

If we are looking root and branch at standards then the state of the game as a whole would be next on the agenda. But where to start. The game is dying a slow death and has been for years. The RFL hierarchy are not fit for purpose and need a massive overhaul. The disciplinary are a joke. The game is not bringing enough talent through. The quality of the rugby being played in the ESL is poor, dull to watch and light years behind the NRL… etc..

We smashed Hull Kr at home when we went through a decent little run a few months back, smashed Hudd too in that same patch, then get beat by a Hudd team missing a load of players. There are many factors to creating a consistently competitive team, the coach Obviously being right up there. I’ve seen enough in those performances to know we are simply better than how we have been performing. Until we get a Very rich benefactor So we can spend to the full cap, get better training facilities etc then we will always be having to punch above our weight. And even that is not a recipe for success ie Hudd/ Warrington. I’m just intrigued to see how we perform today and for the rest of the season under poaching and see if we have different attacking/ defence structures compared to chester.

Fair point be to me it means Chester got lucky with the spade work done by others

I just thinks a team thing. Chester lifted the team after a tough time with Smith. Kear gave some stability for Chester to work with.

It's no different to saying Powell benefited from having Orr with him.
It hasn't been as good without him but it doesn't mean Powell was a bad coach without them.

It’s not his individual stats it’s more what he used to bring. He had a magic that galvanised the team whenever he was on. I may be missing something but I don’t see those special moments, those above and beyond.

It’s as if he’s saying to the coach, I can play with one eyes shut and I’m still better than the rest. I want him back playing with both eyes open, think he did that today.

Don’t agree. Chesters time came and went. He dad three years of relative highs and three lows.

We don’t need to mash the blokes legacy into the ground to justify sacking him. He was an excellent coach for a while than for whatever reason he lost it. Only extreme example like Alex Ferguson maintain it to the end and CC was never that.