An extract from Steve Mascord's Set of Six:
6. The time to jump out was back there
A couple of quirky moments on Saturday. A Holden Cup player stumbled over his words in a full-time interview on Fox and asked the interviewer, "Can we do that again?" "No," he was told, "this is live." And there were furrowed brows from Parramatta coach Brad Arthur and his assistant Peter Gentle at half-time when they got lost, ala Spinal Tap, on the way to the dressing room at the new Hunter Stadium. Things went wrong for the Eels even when they won the toss and elected to run with a giant gale at their backs. "I was hoping to lose the toss, to tell you the truth, and let them make a decision," Arthur said.
It might be a throw away line but in my opinion it goes a long way to showing the thought pattern behind that abysmal display in Newcastle. I hate to lose, even a coin toss. Even more than losing, I hate indecisiveness, I think it stifles self-belief. More than anything, I'm shocked an NRL coach will want to lose a coin toss in order to alleviate himself of a decision. I believe it gives the impression the coach is not confident in his game day decisions. By saying/thinking along the lines that BA was detracts from the overall confidence of the playing group. How can they be confident in their abilities and the coach's game plan if the coach isn't confident in his decision regarding something trivial like a coin toss?
Maybe I'm a perfectionist who demands success at every turn but I think I'm being rational when I say confidence and decisiveness starts from the top and if it isn't there, it's not going to be there on the field. I would rather BA to have said something along the lines of "It doesn't matter who won the toss, the game plan stays the same."
What do you guys think?
Replies
I'm not sure its been taken out of context, he probably said it with a smile on his face, and to me BA has never been one to shy away from a simple decision, i wouldnt take to much out of it.
I'm disgusted and appalled that BA would go into a match with no respect for the coin toss.
It's ridiculous, there needs to be an investigation.
Somebody's gotta be held accountable.
Prefer the cash
lol.
fair enough. i hear what you're saying, mate.
but i wouldn't worry about that. you've taken it the wrong way.
Always play with the wind it could change direction, we sucked, that's all.... He made the right call.
and the ref calls 'COME IN SPINNER!'
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