Let’s hope it works out better for them the last time they worked together. Chester got sacked and Hull KR ended up getting relegated!

Met Willie several times and he’s a top bloke, he’ll be good to have around the place. Hopefully it will give everyone a lift.

That's just what I was thinking if he was there when Chester took HKR into the Championship It's a bit worrying

To be fair he left after 3 games the season they were relegated and was replaced by James Webster...

So actually what happened was Hull KR finished higher in the league than us every year Chester was coach, and went to Wembley, and the year he came to us they were relegated and we made the playoffs.

I heard very good things about Monaghan`s time with us.

Good point.

Just to put some context behind this post though PT:

2014 - Chester was appointed head coach when Sandercock left in July - Coached them for 7 games and won 2 games (One against London, one against us) - They were in a better position when he took over.

2015 - 10th Placed finish with what I would consider to be a very talented team with the likes of Kelly, Campese, Blair, Sio, Weyman, Mantellato - I remember looking at the squad at the beginning of that year and thinking they would be challenging at the top. What would you associate with a Challenge cup final team that places 10th in the league - Inconsistency? Something that for me is out number one problem as a team and it seems to be a re-occurring trend.

I made a comment a few weeks ago about looking like a team that had been thrown together and that is because half of the time we are, even when we have a full team to select from we swap and change week from week - If you look at all the successful teams they are built on teams that see very little change, they have those partnerships, granted we have had a few tough periods with injuries etc but even when we have a full squad to select from, we very rarely see the same team from week to week.

Just to finish off - 2016 - Sacked after 3 Games.

Lets hope Poaching provides Chester with the support that he needs, we thrived when Kear was here, lets hope that Poaching`s support can get us back to playing like that although IMHO I just have never seen it with Poaching, I don`t know why I would of been so much more tempted to try and bring in Orr or Sheridan if we could of tempted them away from Cas.

The team Chester built at Hull KR should have never gone down, there was way too much talent in it. But it did, whether CC would have prevented that we’ll never know but they made a mistake replacing him with Webster thats for sure. Poching was part of that coaching team to the end though.

Chester got lucky and inherited a well drilled Brian Smith coached side with some reaching their peak and containing some players that we still benefit from today - Johnstone, Tupou, Kirmond, Arona, Miller, Ashurst, BJB, Arundal, Lyne, Jowitt & Crowther were all in that squad pre-Chester and are all still there. He has had the benefit of squad stability that previous coaches haven’t had. That first season we did ok and qualified for the super 8’s (not the play off’s) thanks to Salfords points deduction. Yes we lost every game in the super 8’s but it was progress. Then came Kear in 2017 and we looked as good as we ever have in superleague missing the play offs due to the ‘Grix incident’. Kear left, Monaghan came in. We did ok finishing 5th after the 8’s, albeit way behind the top 4. Monaghan was never replaced and whoever made that call is the one who dropped the ball. Yes there has been injuries but the style of play has been lacking, the same old mistakes are made week in week out and results have suffered. The team has been less than the sum of its parts and is now growing old. Chester’s flaws have been exposed and we need to hope beyond hope that Willie can fill the gaps otherwise i fear for us.

A word of caution though. Since Chester and Poching parted ways in 2016 this be Willies 4th change of club. In none if those seasons since has the team he has been at finished above us in the table and he is currently at the only team below us this season. I personally don’t feel he alone is the answer. This is why i’d also like another to join alongside him, someone who Chester has never worked with, to bring fresh ideas and fresh impetus. The enthusiasm and love for the club of Willie alongside someone with plenty of tactical nouse. Then refresh the conditioning department. It may mean Carter has to let the moths out of his wallet but it will pay off in the end.

A very good post and quite rightly puts things in perspective.

I will add that in his first couple of years with us Chester benefited from some of the bigger teams hugely underperforming or rebuilding.
Leeds
Wigan
Warrington
Sts
Catalan
Huddersfield
All of whom had been finishing above Trinity spent at least one or two years struggling to readjust to new players and coaches. I know it’s not popular to say it but it’s a fact that helped us finish higher up the table than we had been!

It’s also worth pointing out that since Hull KR sacked Chester and got back in super league...under a combination of Sheens and later Smith...have finished...

2018 - 10th (below us)

2019 - 11th (below us)

2020 - so far...12th (below us)

Huge strides made in appointing two Aussie coaches on probably big wages...

It should be sinking in really that clubs like us and Hull KR will be fighting out at the bottom, possibly flirting with a play off spot given a good run without injuries...unless we have a big backer comes in and gives us money to spend to compete...

But the general consensus amongst genuine non grudge fans on here is that we have the best squad since 2006 or maybe in Our SL history

The team in the first million pound game was far better than we have now, the team that lost at Wigan in the play offs when we got ripped off was far better. Sometimes stats don’t lie 5 out of 27 says it all. The best and fittest I saw the team was when jeff who’s second name I forget was conditioner we we’re blowing sides away