JR needs to realise he has ripped the heart out of the team so he better have plan. All good and well to walk around the club smiling and dropping grenades but its also important to know where the faint beating pulse of the team is coming from. Some of his rookie head coach traits are showing.
Sure Gutho is a tad slower and his defence wasn't the best at times this year. Speed you can't fix, but we know Gutho will be better in defence next year. Most of his bad defensive reads this year was him trying to cover the bad defensive decisions of others.
Gutho was the only player that I believe bleed blue and gold. No one ever tries as much as him. His passion and love for the club was always on display. You felt just a little safer knowing Gutho was in the team to guide.
I'm not sure how the rest of the squad will react to this decision either. Gutho was pretty close to most but especially Moses.
I think Gutho feels a little heartbroken leaving and I reckon most of the fans will feel the same way.
Like I said, JR better have a big immediate plan. Enough breaking but start showing us the building!
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It's just a simple business transaction Kenny and it goes both ways, see ya Gutho..
Ultimately, it wasn't something JR could control but I'm sure he'll be positive about this because it will let him accelerate the culture change he wants.
Gutho was a BA player. He embodied everything BA wanted from a player, all heart and effort and insular comraderie that is about the team rather than the Club.
Ryles wants to make it about the Club first and flow everything down from that.
Mitch is the right leader for that approach and this era. For me, Mitch truly bleeds Blue and Gold. His family are Eels people, he was an Eels junior. And I think he shows all that out on the field, so I very much disagree with you on the assertion that Gutho was "the only player" who showed passion. It was my biggest question, coming into this next season - clearly Gutho couldn't have been captain, if he was coming off the bench, and that dynamic in the team was going to be really uncomfortable.
This is so important for the team to have the right dynamics and culture going forward under a coach with entirely different coaching principles.
Well said , good to see you posting again, it's been a while.
Excellent synopsis, TKBK.
I hoped Gutho would've stayed on for 2025 at least. And we could've offered a more regal and dignified send off for his decade of heroics. He will be missed.
But it seems he sought guaranteed longer term security and clarity - right now. It's a commonplace need we can't begrudge anyone.
Perhaps there is a lot more to it and some of it related to BA and a quasi-dethroning of "The King". Maybe he didn't want to adapt to his new role. I don't know.
Perhaps it's a win-win all round.
Gutho probably can't wait to get stuck into the off season and challenge himself as Dragons' Fitness King (or wherever he lands). A change is as good as a holiday, I suppose. I wish him well. Hopefully the Dragons or whomever pay him a small fortune!
I like your point on JR's Club First - united - ideology.
It's a unity theme that shares some commonality with Ivan's "We are a Source of Community Pride" philosophy.To reinforce that Matt Cameron admits the Panthers "refuse to coach effort": Effort to do with off-field attitude to fans and community engagement. They won't accept an NRL player who doesn't align with that regardless of on-field talent and effort.
It seems JR isn't prepared to compromise the club to pamper senior players even if he "likes them" in sharp contrast to his predecessor.
Our club is big on fan and community engagement - now on steroids. In hindsight, it's no accident Jim and others fell in love with JR and visa versa.
On that point, I'm not sure Gutho and others' off-field attitude to fans fitted entirely comfortably into that philosophy. At least not as comfortably as the King's pressor-special speedos.
I doubt BA cared too much for all that on top of the hate mail he used along with the JA saga - even though he started to politely ramp up a few more token "doing it for the fans" commentary towards the end of his reign. It starts with the coach, and the club's acceptance of that coach's philosophy - which we no longer could digest. I don't think it was just about the poor recent on-field results.
Another point behind the exits of RCG, Sivo, and Gutho and a dozen or so others is salary cap responsibility - accepting inevitable turnover and recycling. Another simple 101 lesson the Panthers are masters of.
We needed to distribute our cap better to have more depth, mobility and leg-speed. It's a point Billy Slater made in regards to Gutho's exit.
Right now, were in the honeymoon period with JR. The challenge for him and the club will be reconciling the battle between "winning culture games" in the longer-term as opposed to "winning games" in the shorter term. And when some fans and media might turn on JR and the club.
Time, runways and resilience with a new King.
Guthos gone, get over it. Don't blame Ryles or the club, it was Guthos decision, and was in his best interests.
His body has been decaying for the last couple of years. He had a choice to make, stay and play out '25 as a utility, which will severely diminish his chances of signing another contract in Australia, or test the market and see if another club would be willing to take him on for 3yrs, enter St George. He got what HE wanted, the club was good enough to give him the chance to secure his future, no different to RCG.
Interesting choice of words "decaying" nice to a have a wordsmith on the site! Lol
Ray Price's body was decaying when he won us a premiership. In the photos and videos, he literally looks busted in every shot.
Copper Cronks body was decaying when he won a premiership. List goes on. Teddy's body is decaying and the Roosters have enough respect to hold onto him because they know he is the captain of the team, the drive for the players around him, the passion to get everyone to lift when things are tough.
How has the club not respected Gutho?
Spot on mick we have all been commenting on this for a couple of days now . I know im getting old a bit senile and maybe the sights not what its supposed to be . but i have not heard anything From The club or from Gutho for that matter. So where is the disrespect if anyone can provide me with the information to where its been announced it would be appreciated. But in reality we all know it's going to eventuate.hey but to me I can't see where the club has been disrespectful to gutho and when it does come to be announced the club will come out with the usual thank you for your service and we wish him the best for the future . Sorry for the lqong reply Mick
No worries Hector, I totally agree with what you've said - there's zero disrespect, finally the club and Jason are making some tough calls that put the club first.
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