So with much negativity towards our recruitment, fairly so, questions are who could be the ones to possibly helps things be different. Poppa brought Cheika up and gave me inspiration to form this discussion. Michael Cheika has been known as a coach in Union for some time, the one thing i have heard from experts and those i have been around who either had him as a coach in Rugby oversees and played park footy or just listened to him speak. He is a tremendous orator. Why has there been some sort of stigma towards him? Well it would be the Union background that would frighten some organisations. It would be risky. He has ambitions to coach NRL, he has made that clear. But would a club take a punt? Roosters, where he is currently as a specialist coach, you'd think might look at him to replace Robinson but even then would Uncle Nick take that risk. He has been linked in the last few days of either going back to Union with the Waratahs or coaching St. Helens in SL. So think fast before he could be gone.
This where i would propose him being the GM at Parramatta. Why GM? Well few reasons. Firstly, it would be a role where if he is offered he would consider leaving Roosters for. He wouldn't leave Roosters for anything less than a head coach job. But a role as a GM? A role that can have some power? Could be something that entices him to make a difference in the NRL. Some here might say "he wouldn't want a GM role", well in 2023 he nearly got the Tigers GM role before Pascoe was sacked and the club went in a different direction.
Another thing to mention is that Parramatta and Cheika have talked before, for the vacant head coach role in 2024, that eventually went to Ryles. I think Cheika then for us as HC was too much of a risk at the time of where we were as a club. Fast forward 2 years and we are in a position where i big swing could work. Cheika is highly respected in all areas of sport, not just Rugby. Parramatta having the knowledge of Cheika upon interviewing him allows the club to know already what they would be getting in terms of vision and his skills. Cheika as well knows people at the club himself. Though not close, it is not completely foreign. That can help the transition somewhat.
One thing to consider, as is the case with all GM hirings, will Ryles get a long with them? As that is the most important aspect when hiring a GM of football. From all reports, Ryles and MON get on well. Better than BA and MON. So would Cheika be more involved or would he know his place? I reckon the latter. Cheika is very intelligent. He knows his role and what i takes for a HC to work and function. I doubt there would be any white anting involved if you bring Cheika on board. Plus, Ryles has that connection to Rugby like Cheika. Though i believe they have never worked together, connection is there somewhat.
Finally, his years at the Roosters, he would of been around Robbo and Politis. Heard their discussions of the cap, recruitment, retention, their thoughts on list management etc. Does this mean he would automatically be an amazing GM? No, but it helps. Cheika is a sponge, he learns what he can to get to where he wants to be.
I will end this blog with a quick summary of my thoughts on MON and where to go with him. I give MON credit for his job from 2019-22. He built a roster that got to GF. The issue was what stemmed from the off-season in 2021, never was able to fully recover. He seemed to thrive on the moneyball approach to recruitment that worked in certain areas, but became our downfall later on. His valuations on players has seemed to have been off, either too much or not enough. Added to that is Ben Rogers, who is in charge of scouting, negotiations and relationships with managers. He is shoulder to shoulder with Ryles in getting what he wants while reporting back to MON to get the all clear and set the value in terms of cap. Rogers i feel is not doing a good job as our recruitment gets worse by the years, that also falls on MON who he answers to, while Rogers also works in the perimeters set by MON and also Sarantinos in what he can offer and what he can go for. Not saying he is not to blame, he is as he is still meant to use those perimeters to his advantage and it is not working. Both men are trying to do what is best for the club.
So yes, this is why i am suggesting this as i have always been clear all year, MON should go, along with Rogers. As they have been here long enough, recruitment is not improving and with apparent rumours that managers are shying away unless there is change, whether true or not who knows, but if it is true then action needs to be made. They are not completely inept, MON has made calls i agree with. Likes of letting Walker go and not matching Paulo's offer. I am fine with that. But missing out on targets has been the catalyst to a possible demise. Like i said with BA, maybe for both parties it is time to move on. I have been mentioned as a MON shill, but i call it like it is. The good and the bad and call out the times where criticism in uncalled for as well. But at the moment, as a whole for the job he is doing, we need new blood, ideas and ways of doing business. MON's style could be outdated, an injection of something different could work in our favour or collapse us even more.
If he is here in 2027, i will do the same as i have the whole time. Call out the good and bad as it comes. But if 2027 is a failure, i am confident that is the nail in the coffins of all involved. Do we as a club want to go through that for a last throw of the dice with this current mob? If so, i will back them but like many, the result i feel could be what many believe it will be.
So is Cheika the answer? Who knows. Is it worth the risk to find out? Where we are currenlty, why not? I see it as a chance to save Ryles' job as well. A bad 2027, Ryles goes with them, not saying he should but i feel it will be a complete knock down once again.
How does Cheika sound to everyone? I know some will disagree but so be it, something different on this site.
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Great idea!. But this club wouldn't even entertain the idea. And if they did they would wait until he agreed to go somewhere else then try to flip him. Just like their chase of bennett left it way to late to act.
Too left field for the risk adverse board members...
Well Richo would only take CEO job for starters. But if the club are only looking at replacing MON, Cheika could be a way to go.
I just love the vibe he has. Everything about him I've come across is just glowing of how much of a hard worker he is, how well he talks and gets his message across. He is also in a way aggressive in his craft. I guess we need that.
Richo has done both hof and ceo
oh I meant if the club was to keep Sarantinos I meant. He wouldn't come to just be HOF. He would want both is what I meant.
Even if Richardson was hof and Sarantinos ceo, Sarantinos will be getting Richardson's coffees and buying his papers. Richardson will take the largest office and Sarantinos will be running around like the new boy in the office shredding papers and making sure theres enough toilet paper ordered and making sure Richardson's shoes are polished
I don't think Richo would accept unless he is CEO. He would want complete control. Only way you get Richo is sacking JS.
100%!
Don't give a fk if he is a union guy, he's smarter than 90% of the people in the nrl.
Some people, regardless of background in sport, can lead athletes of any kind to water and make them drink. Cheika is that.
No idea if he would work but would be interesting to see.
Thanks for writing this up LB, it needs to be brought to attention so that it can get a wider discussion.
I understand that Cheika made a huge impression in his interview for the HC job, but as you point out the timing was not quiet right, combined with his perceived inexperience in League.....now human beings, especially intelligent ones like Saratinos would not have forgotten that experience and as such it would have been in his reflections somewhere. We don't know of course but he could have been sought out confidentially and politely said he wasn't interested and we will never know. Alternatively he may have been sought out and has told them that his current priority was with the Roosters but he will talk to them as soon as his season is over.
I hope like hell that the latter is the case as he would be the answer to many of our problems in the credability stakes.
One final observation, whilst Saratinos has copped heaps of criticism, no one ever talks about the Chairman, you want to influence the board, that is his role. Saratinos as the CEO and executive director has the responsibility of reporting to the board and through the Chairman......
Our glorious dummies on this site, seem to have no real understanding of how a board works or the for that matter how the constitution especially established to protect the members works. Unfortunately as I have pointed out on many occasions, it has worked against us.
Trust me on this one, if we got a man like Michael Cheika he would address the board as a GM Department Head and convince them what needs to be done.....our Chairman without me knowing this seems to have publicly abbrogated such a responsibility.
PS Comments hereunder like Ivan Cleary would suit the role is like saying Jesus Christ would make a great GM. Its these type of comments that sets off the dummies and the next thing we have is a new team sheet with Ivan and JC directing the recruitment. I respect the writer of that note just the same, its just a case of practicality.
Lets try something that is practical and within our resources, respect for Cheika outside of Rugby league and in sport and business would far exceed anything that Ivan has achieved in Rugby league with the greatest respect to Ivan and Matt Cameron who have been the direction behind Penrith's success in becoming "big brother" over little Parra.
Its a semantic point and not worth arguing about in the context of this conversation, get on with the discussion about Cheika and see if we can get into the main stream somehow.
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