The gap between the really professional clubs ( like the storm ) and the clubs that ride on the back of confidence ( like the eels ) is huge. Sides like the Storm can have an off day, miss tackles, drop passes and produce a below par performance 1 week and totally turn there form around the following week. This is the reason these clubs very rarely go on a lossing streak. They identify what they did wrong and fix it through there professionalism and leadership. Then we have teams like the Eels. These teams are confidence teams. When things start to go bad it takes weeks and even months for these teams to get back on track. These teams go on winning and losing streaks regularly.
I have no doubt that the confidence teams play a better style of footy than the professional teams, but the professional teams will usually come out on top in big games or after a 80 minute arm wrestle.
The professional type teams have a completely different mentality to the confidence type teams. They are developed and built this way from the top down. From the coaching staff to the playing leadership groud and down to the younger and junior players. Team players, not individual stars. Everyone has a job to do and they usually get the job done. Parramatta is a long way away from being this type of team. Parramatta is more about individual brilliance than professionalism. Parramatta is about the super star junior player that looks so great in the juniors but they miss the player works his butt off and has the leadership qualities needed. It happens so often, the great leaders very rarely dominate in the juniors, sometimes having to leave there junior district because they fail to get noticed. Parramatta seem to miss these players all the time. Parramatta juniors produce many of these leaders but most end up with other clubs. When you think about it, what really good leaders can you name that have come through Parramatta juniors and remained at Parramatta?? For some reason Parramatta struggle to produce leaders, halves and hookers.
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We are 100% a confidence team. Our seasons are hot and cold or sometimes just extremely cold. We just don't have a winning culture yet
Storm win games even when they are not the better team.
What a bunch of dribble. We just played the team with the best player.......ever. other than Gallen which leaders have we lost? On top of this the storm built a winning culture by being millions over the cap. They have every player in queensland that the broncos miss. Lets gain some perspective. We have a spine with a hooker and a half who have played less than 50 games. Fucken whingers.
No one is whining mare. It just an observation. You're right, they do have the best player in the game and yes, they did build a winning culture off the back of cheating the salary cap. And 100% .. we do have the makings of a good spine. BUT, why after 30plus years of not winning fuck all are we not even close to winning a premiership? We have so much still to do to be at the Melbourne standard. Yeah, they cheated the cap which helped build their winning culture but don't forget we cheated the cap too and what did we get out of it? A culture of inconsistency and few nicely crafted wooden spoons.
What has to be remembered was what a basket case Melbourne were on the verge of becoming before they recruited Craig Bellamy. Under Mark Murray they were on track to become what the Titans quickly became, an old team designed to win immediately with no foundation to ride out the tough times that would inevitably follow.
In 2001 they went 11/14, finished 9th with a F/A of -21, conceding a whopping 28 ppg.
2002, they went 9/14, finished 10th with a F/A of -30, conceding 24.5 ppg
In 2003 they recruited Bellamy and the club started completely overhauling its structures and its roster
they went 15/9, finished 5th with a F/A of +78, conceding 20 ppg
2004, they went 13/11, finished 6th with a F/A of +167, conceding 21.5 ppg
2005, they went 13/11, finished 6th again with a F/A of +178, conceding 19 ppg
Up till this point it reads a somewhat familiar tale.
2006 was their breakthrough year, going 20/4, minor premiers by 8 pts with a F/A of +201, conceding 17 ppg, they should've won the GF easily but got stage fright against the Broncos
2007 they went 21/3, minor premiers again by 6 pts with a F/A of +350, conceding just 11.5 ppg, eventual premiers
2008 they went 17/7, minor premiers again, with a F/A of +302, conceding just 12 ppg, a Cam Smith chicken wing on Sam Thaiday from going back to back
The rest is just sustained excellence.
The point is you can see the progression from 2001 to 2009 when the foundation for their success was put in place, the last ten years has just been reinforcement, repitition & replenishment. That decade they only managed two premierships that as we know were stripped for exceeding the cap.
What that all shows is just how difficult it is to just get to that level for even two seasons let alone two decades. The disciplne and leadership required is just staggering, then you've got to maintain that and fend off all comers over that period and stay ahead of the pack.
Now transfer that to Parramatta's situation, we've had two gift wrapped opportunities to have exactly what Melbourne currently have, after 1986 and then again after 2001. On both occasions great leaders at the club, Gibson & Smith put in place a wonderful foundation that the club should have have sustained the club in the same way, the big difference has been leadership, both in the front office and the coaching department have been severely lacking after those periods. The foundations were criminally neglected and therefore had to be constantly rebuilt.
With the significant changes at the club over the last 3 years I sense we are now entering a third opportunity to build something truly longlasting. That means hard toil, thousands of repititions on the training paddock so that we go from being a team that relies on confidence and one that has the confidence inbuilt.
The difference between Melbourne & Parramatta is that our confidence is reliant on our circumstances, Melbourne's confidence is inbuilt because they have done the work, whereas under BA we have only just really started that work.
Time will tell if we have the stomach for the journey.
Brett, great post. I agree with a lot of it; and am also uncertain whether we will get a premiership in this window.
We need to finish the job we started this year. For one, start winning away games against top-8 sides under pressure (we didn't win one away game against a top-8 side).
Though the Melbourne case may not work for us in exactly the same way - as we aren't Melbourne and have different - there's a lesson there.
I think Ponissi, a real smart operator, who also came around the same time as Bellamy's - and are still together for 16 years - also helped. As well as owners with deep pockets, News initially, without Parramatta-like-factional-dramas.
Don't forget the administration during that challenging period 2001-2002, Ribot and Johns I think from memory (could be wrong) should be also given some credit.
Even before Bellamy arrived they knew the attitude and defensive culture of the Storm needed to change. And they hired Donahue the cage fighter, even though Melbourne weren't the first club to introduce wrestling (ask Ponissi about his time under Bozo, lol) to start helping in the cultural change.
It's a team effort from the top to the bottom. Not an easy task.
HOE, I think we need to move past the idea of premiership windows. If you continually build into your foundations day in day, week in week out, year in year out, that window pretty much stays open all the time.
No one ever talks about a premiership window for either the Storm or the Roosters, they just continually build into their foundations and constantly challenge themselves to lok at their systems and never allow themselves to stand still.
When you think in premiership windows, you'll get impatient and eventually make poor decisions around recruitment & retention. The reality is that at the start of every season the window is open.
Patience is the key now.
Brett, Good point. Agreed.
You words made me recall Politis': We always "plan 5 years ahead".
Clubs like the Storm and Roosters (16 GF's out of 21) continually regenerate and re-shape their roster but typically maintain high standards over the last 20 years. Though the Storm have been more consistent, as the Roosters have been out of the finals a few times and got the spoon in 2009.
It will be interesting to see when or if their cycle of dominance ends and what precipitates it. Historically, even the greatest of cycle ends. Maybe, the window's never completly shut, it's just some clubs are better at climbing out of it. LOL.
Imo, there's this arguable and intangible element of culture that comes up again. I believe it comes down to the leadership at the top to bottom. On-field and off. imo.
I think Premiership windows relate more to the coaches you have. The more stable your coaching staff, the better you're able to plan for the future. Bellamy's been in Melbourne for 16 years, the Roosters have only had two coaches in the past decade. You oppose that with us who before BA, had four coaches in four years.
I reckon we are getting there, Slippery. I know we got out professionalised in our final game, but we were against the best at their home and not only would the team have learnt a great deal about footy, but professionalism too.
We must remember that our spine players are all very young, two of them rookies this year which sets us up well into the future. The experience Mahoney and Brown got this year is invaluable. Niukore and Sivo too.
I knew towards the back end of the season we would get found out and basically just make up the numbers. We just didn’t have the forward pack to win a comp, as well as they did. We also had too many exciting young players to get serious.
The fact that these boys have already played a couple of finals sets us up very well for the coming years and I reckon BA has learnt a great deal about coaching and running a professional outfit too.
Consistent effort every single week is what BA is aiming for. He knows that’s the goal.
I know that with Bellamy’s selection criteria, particularly for juniors, he recruits the person first and foremost and his main skill criteria is “can he tackle?” There’s lots of flashy juniors and young big boppers but it’s quality of character that will get you that honest performance every single week.
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