For a long time, I blogged about the problem of culture at Parramatta. I blogged how our wealth of juniors and our consistent success at junior level, bred a culture that believed winning came too easily and didn’t require hard work. I believe our consistent stream of juniors has not led us to properly develop some of our best talents in their younger years and has resulted in us not identifying some players who have gone on to better players than we thought they were capable of. If we miss one, who cares, there will be more coming up behind them.
I’ve blogged about an overly laid-back culture that was not driven by performance metrics and which believed that success was inherent to our club. This despite the fact that it’s been more than a quarter of a century since we won a premiership - the ultimate benchmark in measuring success.
We’ve all watched our sides, often who have been as talented as any other in the competition, either crumble when it really mattered, or else not turn up against lesser-rated sides. One part arrogance, one part soft underbelly. As supporters we bitched incessantly about this .
Short-term pain for long-term gain
I blogged right at the start of this year that not only was I willing to endure short-term pain, but that I felt it was necessary for a change in mindset to truly take hold. That future success wouldn’t, and indeed couldn’t come, without a drastically different approach that turned its back on the club’s previous ways, which to me were a result of that sloppy culture I wanted so badly to change.
It should not surprise then, that I’ve been consistently supportive of Kearney. He has done exactly what I was hoping he would do - he has stuck dogmatically to a new way of doing things, with no compromises and his eyes only set firmly on the future.
Clearly, many others see things differently. Many of you are not content with where we’ll finished and are using number of wins as your primary metric to judge the success we’ve had, or should I say haven’t had, this year.
For me, that’s endemic of this club and representative of the culture I believe has resulted in us being perennial also-rans. Many believe that even in a year when our roster was clearly under-strength that we somehow have a god-given right to be punching above our weight and sitting in the finals.
In my view, we did punch above our weight. With a roster that was weak at the start of the year, and which took blow-after-blow as injuries and retirements saw our depth gradually depleted, we have somehow managed to stay competitive. If you compare the back end of 2011 with the backend of 2011, it is clear there is a very different mindset between the two sides. This time last year, we weren’t competing at all. Despite, having much the same roster that took us to the 2009 grand final.
Lack of confidence
Expectations for 2011, or should I say the lack of expectations, were made clear right from the start. If I have been critical of one thing related to Stephen Kearney’s coaching in 2011, he didn’t at least publicly back his players this year. He knew he didn’t have the roster to be a contender in this year, and he consistently stressed that this year was about re-building and that we had a long way to go. That lack of confidence was apparent in our side this year, when we had the opportunity to kill off a match it seemed like we didn’t truly believe we could do it. That lack of confidence that was emanating from our top man, to me, flowed through our 2011 side.
However, I can’t say I blame Kearney and the club for hosing down expectations, because our supporter base which still stubbornly clings onto the successes of the eighties as a benchmark for where the club should be at, despite the fact that a fair proportion of our fanbase would never have actually experienced those halycon years. We’ve been fairly successful on a consistent base, with large dollops of disappointment thrown in sporadically throughout the last dozen years or so.
We’re a supporter base that expects, and loudly demands success. We are a fundamental part of that sputtering culture, which eyes only the short-term with no underpinning vision of what is needed for longer term success.
Silver Lining
Like the recession we had to have, this is the failure we had to have. It’s become the year we had to make tough decisions - like moving Jarryd Hayne to five-eighth, and blooding youngsters like Jacob Loko and Patrick O’Hanlon, and most importantly by changing the mindset that when you’re down you don’t look for cheap ways back into the game, rather you keep doing the things you’ve trained to do and you work your way back into matches.
If you look at the most recent game against the Tigers, the game was gone when we 12 down however we worked our way back into the match. We were outgunned all over the park in that match, however it wasn’t until the final minutes that the Tigers were able to close out the game. I go back to the start of the year and so many Parramatta supporters begged for a side that performed consistently and showed they were committed and gutsy - we didn’t get the wins we wanted, but we got a side which competed fiercely in 20 of the 24 rounds to date. Tell me the last time you can say that about a Parramatta side?
Recruitment
On the recruitment front, we have recruited with intelligence and longer-term vision. We go into the future with a halves combination that is potentially the best in the competition. For the first time EVER we have put our money into the positions that matter. A significant issue with our recruitment in the past is that we have spent big money to keep out best, young juniors regardless of where they played. We as a club, produce a never-ending stream of fullbacks, wingers, centres and second rowers - our large base of Polynesian juniors are well suited to those positions with natural size and power. However, we struggle to produce halves and our never-ending rotation of sixes and sevens is testimony to that. Finally, we’ve invested in the two most important positions on the park and that alone is going to provide a basis for sustainable, consistent success over the next decade.
Halves
Make no mistake, Jarryd Hayne and Chris Sandow will play six and seven going forward. It’s not the safe option - the safe option would be for Hayne to continue at fullback where he is comfortable. But the other combinations we have at our disposal will not win a premiership. Hayne and Sandow can. And it may not even be next year but come 2013 I have no doubt they will be the best halves pairing in the competition. Hayne has to go through a learning process to come to grips with the position - just as Lockyer did.
We’re now in a position where we can recruit around those two players. The next long-term recruitment target will be fullback. Finding a running fullback who will complement our Hayne/Sandow/Maitua combination will not be overly difficult and we can take our time doing it as we already have some fair options in that regard in-house both for the immediate future and as potential longer-term options.
Hayne Backlash
Which brings me back to my original point regarding the supporter base. The backlash against Jarryd Hayne’s performance as a six I’ve quite frankly stunning. What has been most significant about this period is Hayne has not been playing six. He may have had that number on his back, but he’s been playing halfback. He’s been the key first receiver and he’s been tasked with the majority of the kicking. He’s had the role of guiding the team around the park.
He’s also had to play in the front-line of defence for what is really the first-time in his career, and he’s had to do all this without the benefit of an off-season to work on these facets of his game. Quite frankly, I think he’s done phenomenally well. Despite all the issues I’ve mentioned, he’s been averaging a couple of try or line-break assists in every game. He’s shown he has a remarkably gifted kicking game and he hasn’t been word down in defence. It honestly sends tingles down my spine when I consider how good he might be in this position next year, when he has Chris Sandow running the side inside of him.
Yet, as a supporter base, Parramatta fans have generally expected Hayne to produce Lockyer-like performances from day one. Honestly, I have been sickened by some of the criticism I’ve heard directed at Hayne both online and at the game. Seriously? How anyone can possible expect him to be move to lead playmaker, for the most part without any significant support, and be instantly mistake-free and dominating is beyond me.
Coming Together As One
What our club needs right now is to come together around a vision that is being worked towards and a foundation that has been put in place. If you invest in the sharemarket and you’re told by the management that the next year there will be no profits because an investment is being made that has the objective to increase returns in future years, you don’t whinge and bitch when at the end of the year the profits are down just as you were told.
The club was quite clear that this was always going to be a re-building year. From my point of view, it has delivered on everything it promised. It recruited the player who is now the form halfback in the competition. It landed an experienced, rep centre and has increased our depth across the roster. It has set in place a playing mindset that has produced consistent, commited performances. It has recruited smart people who I believe are doing great things behind the scenes like Peter Nolan.
Now, you may not agree with some of the things I’ve said, you may not agree with all of the things I’ve said, but for we as a club to move forward we need for once to work as one towards trying to achieve long-term success. Reserve your judgement to mid-way through next year - give the plan that has been put in place time to play out. At that point, you can come back and say - Kearney can’t coach, Hayne is not a six and the management have no idea. You may very well be right. But what we need right now, is unity around a vision which I think most people acknowledge that - at least conceptually - is a good one. Let’s as a supporter base be agents of positive change and not drag us back to an way of operating that the NRL has long left behind.
I’ve blogged about an overly laid-back culture that was not driven by performance metrics and which believed that success was inherent to our club. This despite the fact that it’s been more than a quarter of a century since we won a premiership - the ultimate benchmark in measuring success.
We’ve all watched our sides, often who have been as talented as any other in the competition, either crumble when it really mattered, or else not turn up against lesser-rated sides. One part arrogance, one part soft underbelly. As supporters we bitched incessantly about this .
Short-term pain for long-term gain
I blogged right at the start of this year that not only was I willing to endure short-term pain, but that I felt it was necessary for a change in mindset to truly take hold. That future success wouldn’t, and indeed couldn’t come, without a drastically different approach that turned its back on the club’s previous ways, which to me were a result of that sloppy culture I wanted so badly to change.
It should not surprise then, that I’ve been consistently supportive of Kearney. He has done exactly what I was hoping he would do - he has stuck dogmatically to a new way of doing things, with no compromises and his eyes only set firmly on the future.
Clearly, many others see things differently. Many of you are not content with where we’ll finished and are using number of wins as your primary metric to judge the success we’ve had, or should I say haven’t had, this year.
For me, that’s endemic of this club and representative of the culture I believe has resulted in us being perennial also-rans. Many believe that even in a year when our roster was clearly under-strength that we somehow have a god-given right to be punching above our weight and sitting in the finals.
In my view, we did punch above our weight. With a roster that was weak at the start of the year, and which took blow-after-blow as injuries and retirements saw our depth gradually depleted, we have somehow managed to stay competitive. If you compare the back end of 2011 with the backend of 2011, it is clear there is a very different mindset between the two sides. This time last year, we weren’t competing at all. Despite, having much the same roster that took us to the 2009 grand final.
Lack of confidence
Expectations for 2011, or should I say the lack of expectations, were made clear right from the start. If I have been critical of one thing related to Stephen Kearney’s coaching in 2011, he didn’t at least publicly back his players this year. He knew he didn’t have the roster to be a contender in this year, and he consistently stressed that this year was about re-building and that we had a long way to go. That lack of confidence was apparent in our side this year, when we had the opportunity to kill off a match it seemed like we didn’t truly believe we could do it. That lack of confidence that was emanating from our top man, to me, flowed through our 2011 side.
However, I can’t say I blame Kearney and the club for hosing down expectations, because our supporter base which still stubbornly clings onto the successes of the eighties as a benchmark for where the club should be at, despite the fact that a fair proportion of our fanbase would never have actually experienced those halycon years. We’ve been fairly successful on a consistent base, with large dollops of disappointment thrown in sporadically throughout the last dozen years or so.
We’re a supporter base that expects, and loudly demands success. We are a fundamental part of that sputtering culture, which eyes only the short-term with no underpinning vision of what is needed for longer term success.
Silver Lining
Like the recession we had to have, this is the failure we had to have. It’s become the year we had to make tough decisions - like moving Jarryd Hayne to five-eighth, and blooding youngsters like Jacob Loko and Patrick O’Hanlon, and most importantly by changing the mindset that when you’re down you don’t look for cheap ways back into the game, rather you keep doing the things you’ve trained to do and you work your way back into matches.
If you look at the most recent game against the Tigers, the game was gone when we 12 down however we worked our way back into the match. We were outgunned all over the park in that match, however it wasn’t until the final minutes that the Tigers were able to close out the game. I go back to the start of the year and so many Parramatta supporters begged for a side that performed consistently and showed they were committed and gutsy - we didn’t get the wins we wanted, but we got a side which competed fiercely in 20 of the 24 rounds to date. Tell me the last time you can say that about a Parramatta side?
Recruitment
On the recruitment front, we have recruited with intelligence and longer-term vision. We go into the future with a halves combination that is potentially the best in the competition. For the first time EVER we have put our money into the positions that matter. A significant issue with our recruitment in the past is that we have spent big money to keep out best, young juniors regardless of where they played. We as a club, produce a never-ending stream of fullbacks, wingers, centres and second rowers - our large base of Polynesian juniors are well suited to those positions with natural size and power. However, we struggle to produce halves and our never-ending rotation of sixes and sevens is testimony to that. Finally, we’ve invested in the two most important positions on the park and that alone is going to provide a basis for sustainable, consistent success over the next decade.
Halves
Make no mistake, Jarryd Hayne and Chris Sandow will play six and seven going forward. It’s not the safe option - the safe option would be for Hayne to continue at fullback where he is comfortable. But the other combinations we have at our disposal will not win a premiership. Hayne and Sandow can. And it may not even be next year but come 2013 I have no doubt they will be the best halves pairing in the competition. Hayne has to go through a learning process to come to grips with the position - just as Lockyer did.
We’re now in a position where we can recruit around those two players. The next long-term recruitment target will be fullback. Finding a running fullback who will complement our Hayne/Sandow/Maitua combination will not be overly difficult and we can take our time doing it as we already have some fair options in that regard in-house both for the immediate future and as potential longer-term options.
Hayne Backlash
Which brings me back to my original point regarding the supporter base. The backlash against Jarryd Hayne’s performance as a six I’ve quite frankly stunning. What has been most significant about this period is Hayne has not been playing six. He may have had that number on his back, but he’s been playing halfback. He’s been the key first receiver and he’s been tasked with the majority of the kicking. He’s had the role of guiding the team around the park.
He’s also had to play in the front-line of defence for what is really the first-time in his career, and he’s had to do all this without the benefit of an off-season to work on these facets of his game. Quite frankly, I think he’s done phenomenally well. Despite all the issues I’ve mentioned, he’s been averaging a couple of try or line-break assists in every game. He’s shown he has a remarkably gifted kicking game and he hasn’t been word down in defence. It honestly sends tingles down my spine when I consider how good he might be in this position next year, when he has Chris Sandow running the side inside of him.
Yet, as a supporter base, Parramatta fans have generally expected Hayne to produce Lockyer-like performances from day one. Honestly, I have been sickened by some of the criticism I’ve heard directed at Hayne both online and at the game. Seriously? How anyone can possible expect him to be move to lead playmaker, for the most part without any significant support, and be instantly mistake-free and dominating is beyond me.
Coming Together As One
What our club needs right now is to come together around a vision that is being worked towards and a foundation that has been put in place. If you invest in the sharemarket and you’re told by the management that the next year there will be no profits because an investment is being made that has the objective to increase returns in future years, you don’t whinge and bitch when at the end of the year the profits are down just as you were told.
The club was quite clear that this was always going to be a re-building year. From my point of view, it has delivered on everything it promised. It recruited the player who is now the form halfback in the competition. It landed an experienced, rep centre and has increased our depth across the roster. It has set in place a playing mindset that has produced consistent, commited performances. It has recruited smart people who I believe are doing great things behind the scenes like Peter Nolan.
Now, you may not agree with some of the things I’ve said, you may not agree with all of the things I’ve said, but for we as a club to move forward we need for once to work as one towards trying to achieve long-term success. Reserve your judgement to mid-way through next year - give the plan that has been put in place time to play out. At that point, you can come back and say - Kearney can’t coach, Hayne is not a six and the management have no idea. You may very well be right. But what we need right now, is unity around a vision which I think most people acknowledge that - at least conceptually - is a good one. Let’s as a supporter base be agents of positive change and not drag us back to an way of operating that the NRL has long left behind.
Replies
phil i could not agree more i was with you at the start of the season with the same thoughts and while we are where we are right now we have achieved more going forward this season than we have for at least the past 6 seasons combined.
you look at last year did anything we do help us for this season? no. where as this season we have unearthed and retained a plethora of juniors that are good enough to make the transition to first grade in the next year not to mention compete in nearly every game bar 3 or 4 with a team that probably should have been flogged every week. thenn you add the quality signings and it fixes basically all our issues so there will be no excuses next season.
if you were to get roosters , Canberra , gold coast , sharks and panthers fans in a room and ask them about there club now and going forward we are head and shoulders above them even right now we have a team that can only muster 80% but kearney has them cracking at 90-95% where as those teams have been competing within there threshold all season with no improvement and no consitency
just on the backlash to hayne and everything i do think its unfair. its common sense to look at the variables before you make your judgement but im afraid alot of people dont do that these days.
We have too many people in charge of the club without a track record of delivery. A rookie CEO, a rookie board, a rookie coach. We need some intellect at the top who as your rightly point out can bring vision for the long term future of the club.
I do think this blog highlights many of the problems with the club and I do think that when one of the clubs most articulate and passionate supporters falls into the same trap as our management the magnitude of our problem becomes clear. I am referring to your obsession with Hayne at 6 and how Sandow will change the world. I personally do not rate Hayne at 6. But who cares. The point here is that this is just short term. Hayne could sign for someone else or retire. We should be dealing with the failings proud club.
Sandow and Hayne are a patch solution to our problems and could be just more unrealized hope.
Facts are right now we are the worst team in the NRL and our NYC side looks like missing the 8. We have bought Ben Roberts and Chris Sandow and think that will save the world.
We need to go back to basics. Build a culture that delivers quality players through our system. Have a competitive NYC side that plays the same style as the NRL side so we can transition players into our side.
Hayne at 6 or 1 frankly is the not the answer to the problem of how to fix parramatta. The real answer lies in creating a culture and style of play that players are inspired to play in and for and that will flow onto the fans. I for one do not believe that the current side will find improvement until we resolve this and this will take more than chris Sandow and an off season
I'm definitely with Phil on this one.
I love your objectivity and your ability to detach from your feelings tohelp us see the bigger picture.
Bring on next year and a year to year top 4 finish.
This year we have not only recruited well in the positions we need in the NRL team, we have also recruited strong reserve players for Wenty. We have locked up talented youngsters for the NYC team, and also brought across at least two more at the NYC/SGBall level.
We may have a rookie coach, but we brought in alongside him Peter Nolan, who has been coaching League at some level since 1987. He's come in with a focus on recruitment, retention and player development, with a reputation of being very good at his job.
The management have made some decisions that make me believe that the culture inside the squad is headed in the right direction. The removal of Tahu, the disposal of Mitchell.
The media have been kept in check and only given information when appropriate. Aside from Sterlo's numpty moment, there have been no leaks about the inner workings of the club. I believe Hayne's drawn-out switch to the halves (whether you appreciate him being there or not) was handled very well to avoid unnecessary pressure being put on him.
These things suggest to me that we are headed in the right direction in the long-term. I've been impressed by many of the actions made off the field, and still have hope that things will right themselves on the field in the not too distant future.
YES X 2 HERE
I love our club but i see the whole we are in and its deep , until others wake up and see the eels for what they really are , we cannever role forward .
Stats of the last 5 years are the true reflection of the situation . They are bandaiding the problems , not learning and fixing them . We are no where near winning yet
Do you think that we are firing ? Last in the NRL out of the 8 in the NYC. Missed the 8 for both in 2010. For mine that is simply not good enough.
My point is Hayne plays 6 or 1 and Hindy plays for another decade our problems will not be fixed. Our juniors used to be the pride of the league
Almost all of our NYC team are Under 19, they will almost all go through next year. This is the side that was a Grand finalist at SG Ball level. They will be a top four side next year.
Haven't got anything to add Phil... just a great blog.
Golling.. IMO your reasoning, similar to a lot of fans, is that they see results and to a greater extent, solutions, as being black and white.... fans think there is a quick fix or to every problem... most fans don't think there is a problem that some team changes won't fix.
The reality is that the coach is driving a big mother#$%^^ing ship... not a slick racing car.. to get the thing moving in the right direction takes time and if you headed in the wrong direction you may not know right away. Things just take time and a lot of conviction that you are doing the right thing.
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