First and foremost, I'm glad it's done.
We have had an open wound since the axing of BA and now that wound can start to heal. So whilst I have no bloody idea why it took THIS long to appoint one of the first two names ever floated as a candidate, and I think the length of time in a power vaccuum has done damage to the club and players - I'm glad it's now done.
Right now, being fair to the situation, that's really all of us can say. Is this a good appointment? Only time will tell. And it will take time.
Cameron Ciraldo was hailed as the second coming of Christ, the man capable of making the impossible possible. His first year at the Dogs was dismal. Almost ran dead last, had the worst points differential of any club...HORRIBLE. And yet this year all the headlines about the Dogs are positive - they're building, rediscovering their DNA, they're winning the 50/50 games, poised to make the first finals in forever. And now Ciraldo is back in the "fantastic coach" books.
It. Will. Take. Time.
I hope we look back at this and celebrate the day we signed Ryles, I hope he's able to get the support he needs internally to make real change happen, and to do what no one has been able to do in 40 odd years.
But it's worth us all now taking a breath, because that part is done. Step 1 is now done. It can't be reversed, it won't be reversed, there's no point in nay-saying because it won't change a thing. We now have Ryles for 4 years. I hope that us, as fans, can realise that the easy way out now is to feel like the job is done...but it's not.
A coach doesn't win you a premiership.
A captain doesn't win you a premiership.
Heck, even a team doesn't win you a premiership.
It takes a coach, a captain, a team, a club, a fanbase, a board, an executive group and a healthy dose of luck to win a premiership. We now have the first one, and the last one is out of our control. But the rest....the rest still need our attention.
A captain - Are Gutho and Jr the way forward? Can either of them still lead from the front? Do they have that leadership temperament?
A team - We have an ageing roster lacking edge speed and legspeed, and a team culture in serious decline. We have spent big in now ageing forwards and not all our youth talent are locked in.
A club - New facilities are on the horizon, but a centre of excellence doesn't guarantee you become excellent. Junior pathways seem to work until we hit first grade, then they don't.
A fanbase - We still struggle to define our DNA unless it's "the team who always manages to find a way to lose". The culture of the fanbase is often as bad as the culture of the team. Our players seem less engaged than other teams too.
A board - Well governed, but is that enough? Decisions seem to take longer than anticipated, there's no leaking but there's also very minimal comms...not ideal when you need an engaged fanbase.
An exec team - A lot of questions still. Our finances are in shape, and kudos is deserved. But our football department is a laughing stock, and we're hardly the benchmark on most other metrics either. Lots of improvement possible.
This isn't meant to be a negative post - it's meant to be a call to action. Don't get distracted by the coaching appointment and don't get lulled into a false sense of security that the job is done. These last years of decline were not solely down to BA, therefore replacing him alone will not rectify the issue. I'm not, nor have I ever, advocated for tossing the baby out with the bathwater, but more reviews, more soul searching and more changes are needed. I truly believe it's a part of our job as fans to continue to hold the board and the exec to account for addressing all of the other elements that have led to our decline.
BA was part of the problem in the end, but BA has also been a very handy scapegoat for many who have successfully diverted attention away from them.
Putting Ryles in place covers Step 1. Now it's time for Step 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Replies
Great blog, Captain. Kudos!
It will be interesting to see what experience they appoint to the "coaching team".
That also hints at my suspicion for a while - the "coaching team" is not decided by Ryles - who has a seat at the committe table. It's quasi "corporatization" with heirachal structures, pinning the head coach more as a mid-manager and shop front; probably as some ideologicial safety net.
The other this is this is largely based on reputation and references - optics and hope - not on a proven track record as a head coach.
They're highly-touted. It's exciting for fans. The media love it too. Rehashes are boring. Society is all about the new car smell and exciting consumerism. Ken or Barbie.
Ryles may prove to be a great coach, or he may be a Kearney like flop. Kearney also came in a blaze of excitment and was "univerally" well-regarded in the NRL, England and NZ as the next big-emerging head coach. And our position on the ladder was actually better when he inherited the team than what Ryles is inheriting.
We don't have the structures, mega-wealthy business and billionaires behind him like the Storm or Roosters have for the likes of Bellamy or Robinson. Nor Ciraldo at the Dogs. Nor a Gus or Politis.
We are a declining, ageing roster. So, the success of the incoming juniors will be critical.
Realistically, it will also take a few years for Ryles to learn the ropes of being a head coach. There are mistakes to be made as part of the learning. An assistant is not the same. Ironically, he'll probably have a year or two to get the most out of this squad when learning is at its peak.
I want to see us succeed and still hope. But there is a crap load of work to be done and only time will tell whether the decision-makers are making the right footy-related decisions.
Historical Stats:
Our defence rank from 2020: 3rd (2020), 4th (2021), 8th (2022), 11th (2023),17th (2024).
Our attack has come full circle since 2018: 15th (2018), 3rd (2019), 9th (2020), 7th (2021), 6th (2022), 5th (2023), 14th (2024).
Super interesting stats HOE.
I've got to admit, I'm still on the fence about just how much difference a Head Coach makes to a team... statistically speaking.
As in by ONLY changing the head coach, how much does a teams performance change over time, and how statistically different is it to team who haven't changed coaches.
I'd wager (and this is just a hunch, I haven't tried to verify this with data yet) that the head coach makes substantially less difference than we'd assume.
It's intriguing that's for sure, and I love your evidence based approach to your comments - there are definitely more answers in the data, if only we care to look.
I'm glad you compared our situation to Bulldogs and Ciraldo. Yes, Ciraldo's first year was poor and they stuck by him. But the key ingredient that the Bulldogs had that we don't was someone who understands football administration. For them, it's Gus.
What do the Eels have? a board that seemingly still believes that our current roster is good enough to win a premiership.
They key difference between us and the Dogs is that the Dogs had self-realisation to know that their roster was not good enough and they took steps to improve that. We don't seem to accept that this roster is trash.
Footy noise is definitely something we're lacking. Hopefully the conversations with Brian Smith of late could hint at something.
Paraborn1, I agree specifically with Gus being the ingredient that provides Ciraldo with an edge. That said don't lose sight of the cattle he has employed. It is a much better roster than ours, and coaches in this instance are not the differentiaters.
I would like to explore your next sentence i.e.
What do the Eels have? a board that seemingly still believes that our current roster is good enough to win a premiership
I can understand that assumption but doubt that it is correct, I just don't think we can underrate their intelligence to that level. They maybe not be that footy smart, but then again for some reason, we think (the fans/this site) we are. Fongy tells us they are bums and second class etc, Wiz will tell you anything that enhances his agenda......the truth is something different and that is what we don't know. We have no idea what the board believes, other than the rhetoric!
One of Cappy's key references were comms...meaning communication. It's one thing not leaking but its hard to communicate if your tongue has been cut out.
The board needs to say we realise the changes that are evolving with our roster and will be working with the coach and head of football to address this situation.
In here lies the next issue, MON no longer has any credibility in the process, board/club leadership needs to understand this and address while the plate is still hot. They have looked at a lot of coaches and the process must have been universally improved but now a different decision needs to be made. Also universally we are happy to have someone like Brian Smith come in and do a "gus" but obviously with his own style and commardie. If they want to be generous they can give MON a way out with respect or have him readdressed to the pathways process under the guidance of "say" smith. My guess that would force his hand to resign or give him time to find alternatives, this maybe happening unknown to us,. I hope so despite my prior support for him.
All of a sudden the impediments that Cappy is referencing start dissapating at the concept stage. After this the implementation process starts happening.
Sounds like a plan, that is what Cappy has outlined a business plan for the football side. It makes sense and does not involve running around talking about what a bunch of fcukwits we are, anyone can do that and for some reason they then think it fixes itself. Nothing works that way unless you want to lose!
I definitely agree with the need for patience especially in the first year however we as a fan base need to see some green shoots in the first year and as Coryn said no need to try and fix everything all at once.
The focus needs to be on restructuring our defense so we are a top 8 defensive team even if we aren't top 8 on the ladder in the first year.
The other focus needs to be locking up some of our young talent as well as moving on some of our older and let's say less committed players. A couple of handy signing from other clubs would definitely be a bonus
Great post, Captain. Well said.
I wasn't actually phased at all by the length of time this has taken until last weeks game against Souths, where you could see some cracks appearing in unity & camaraderie - a slippery slope.
Hopefully the length of time will be justified by more appointments to come.
As HOE said, McElduff has implied as much & Ryles is apparently 'happy with that', so understandably negotiations & discussions around roles for more calvary, would take time.
We wanted change, we have it, or at least a start.
Agree NOS, I didn't have an issue with the length of time either - fans or media suggesting it should have done at the season are off the mark. Ryles will succeed as long as he has experienced assistants to support him.The board definitely need to add more footy IQ at the Execu level there no point in doing the occasional review into pathway etc and the landing in the same spot - the club need a vision,continuous improvement and cultural change right throughout the football operation - exciting times ahead, hopefully more young talent get a crack for the remainder of the season and some senior offloaded.
Mick, great post, you've been missed.
Very much agree.
Cheers NOS, now the media will need to make up some other BS story about the mighty eels - next headline will be players following BA to the SL
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