I saw an interesting claim by Peter Sterling in one of his article recently. He said that he believed that Kearney was part of the solution at Parramatta and not part of the problem. I can see what he is saying. He's referring to his development of juniors and installing stability and structure in the team. The problem for Kearney is that he is at the wrong club to attempt to do this. We are in the middle of a rebuilding phase since Smith left and we have barely had any stability in terms of coaching. We've also got a Board that is chaotic and is incredibly impatient. Kearney's intentions were good but good intentions don't win Premierships.
Kearney came to the club with the promise to deliver a Premiership in his 5 year plan. The problem starts there. Parramatta fans, with their last Premiership in 86, don't want to wait 5 years. Kearney was better off trying for a job at Penrith. They have a stable Board and Phil Gould would be a terrific mentor. Secondly, Kearney only knows one way to structure a team, and that's the Melbourne way. Parramatta's greatest teams have always played with an ad-lib style. Instilling structure into a team that contains Jarryd Hayne, Ben Roberts and Chris Sandow was never going to work. His focus on defence probably cost us a couple of matches in 2011 with our inability to outscore other teams. In 2012 our focus is almost non-existant. We've barely been able to play for more than 20min at a time. Something you can't do in the NRL. You have to concentrate for the entire match. Apart from our 4 wins we haven't performed with resolute defence and a gelled attack.
The question about whether Kearney's the problem or solution cannot be a black and white answer. His structures were well intentioned however they didn't suit the team he was coaching. A more experienced coach would probably have changed tact and created a game plan that suited their team. That's where Kearney's inexperience showed. Parramatta's been a learning curve for Kearney and he's had a lot to deal with both on and off the field. I think Kearney needs to go back and learn under a new coach before he re-enters the first grade coaching ranks. He was trying his best to bring us glory but unfortunately his structures and inexperience ultimately proved that Parramatta was the wrong club for Kearney and any up and coming coach who doesn't have a thick skin and doesn't have a flexible game plan.
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Our club has no patience!!! Not that it's a bad thing, because we demand results straight away. Souths have been rubbish for years and no one cared or complained. At Parra, 5 years (5 year plan) is too long. This year was too much to handle...SK had to go, unless you want 5 years out of the finals while he is rebuilding.
black n white, Kearney was part of the problem.....
Spot on Snake
On the 5 year thing.... whilst I don't think it's an acceptable philosophy at bare bones level, he might have got away with it, and the club might have let him stay longer to see if he could deliver on that Plan IF this years results were an improvement on 2011. But the fact is in 2012, despite having a better roster than last years, on the field we have been a lot worse than last year.
In 2011, I think with that Round 26 win over the Titans, we jumped up to 14th. Had we managed to be around 8th-12th this year, I think he would have been safe and 2013 would have, probably rightly, been seen as the year a return to the 8 was on the cards and an extension to his contract offered they made the 8 in 2013 - that is, gradual improvement and the foundations in place to make assault in 2014 and 2015 (the 5 year plan!).
Players like Sandow and Tonga have seen their form go backwards this year. And when you're paying 500K and probably 350K respectively for those guys, that is just not acceptable. Not saying that is solely Kearney's fault, but SK's gameplans and structures certainly didn't play to Sandow's strengths. And Tonga has seen no quality ball this year whatsoever (when he's been on the park)....
gge your on the money today muttly
nice post crowie
crow has anybody ever told you what a great man you are, gee your a heart felt bloke, your 1 in a billion crow, your wife is a lucky lady, tell her i said that, if i was gay you would be the bloke for me crow, im certain of that :)
Gentleman , please get a room!
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