Des Hasler!

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From what the club physio said, Thompson is no certainty to play, so Haumole may start. Also, Parker still needs to pass all the HIA protocols. Very unlikely that Des is playing ducks & drakes and will make any last minute switches - we will know by 2 pm Saturday if he is thinking that way. However, a couple of possibilities would be Funa to replace Elliott at the back and Miski to replace Jorge.
 
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Des is a Proven Champion coach
Champions are Champions because they rise each time they fall
Des will resurrect his team once more
Bring on the Knights !!!


I'd love to believe your rhetoric Bozo. I truly would. And you may well be right and maybe his aim is to wipe this season and concentrate on 2021, because 2020 seems a lost cause (hope I'm proven wrong though).

But if someone acted like this on the street, an average person so to speak, I'd say he would have gone into his shell, scared to make a mistake, anxious about the reputation he has developed and trying to play it safe until, in Des' case, he gets his star players back, hoping they will save the day, or in average man terms, protecting what you've got and not taking risks that may enhance your reputation, but may also send it down the toilet.

I sense Des is getting himself into an impasse. We all think he's a champion because he led a champion set of players to premierships. He doesn't have that luxury now, not yet at least, and he knows it and his reputation and pay packet are at risk. And don't kid yourself that loyalty comes into this. Its about his career

Now there's nothing abnormal about that. Famous people go through that self doubt far more frequently than the average person because they have so much more to live up to. That's why so many self destruct. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think Des has lost his 2004-11 confidence. He wont get it back playing conservative. He needs to take reasonable risks and get that confidence back and act proactively, as he did in 2004-11. Hopefully he does. Champions are just as human as ordinary people with the same emotions and frailties.
 
Maybe he made the decision when Tom was re-injured to shelve finals aspirations this year and plan everything for the hopefully covid-free next year. Who knows.
He did sign for an extra 2 years didn't he?
 
How many of these successfully blooded youngsters have only played 20's and have came off serious injuries ? Rhetorical question...NONE of them.
Creighton Burton Staines basically went from Flegg via Canterbury Cup to First grade in twenty odd games.Hardly a body of work to make them seasoned competitors. Similar profile to a lot of the other guys making their debut this year across the comp. Coates, Hoy Best Fydow etc

Penrith just have a different approach to Des.The young Panthers are the same age as Shuster and Hoppa and younger than Metcalfe. Shuster and Hoppa are more strongly built than those three and were regarded as the best playerS of their respective age groups as was Metcalfe regarded as best half of his age going around.

The approaches regarding youth at Manly and Penrith are obviously way different. As is the emphasis put on the value of speed at the respective clubs under the new rules.

I guess we will just have to wait and see if we catch up in the youth and speed stakes over the next couple of seasons and also don’t lose them as they are freakish talents.

As far as I know none of the above three have signed elsewhere and the. club is definitely not holding them back for that reason. Just a different approach.
 
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Creighton Burton Staines basically went Flegg Canterbury Cup First grade in twelve months
That's similar to Hoppa and Schuster both coming off big injuries and not a single game against men and Metcalfe off a big injury and minutes in a trial game? No mate, but I hope they can be ready ASAP.
 
From what the club physio said, Thompson is no certainty to play, so Haumole may start. Also, Parker still needs to pass all the HIA protocols. Very unlikely that Des is playing ducks & drakes and will make any last minute switches - we will know by 2 pm Saturday if he is thinking that way. However, a couple of possibilities would be Funa to replace Elliott at the back and Miski to replace Jorge.
Wishful thinking ?
 
There are reasons for Des holding back on selections and his record to lift in adversity has been proven, as has his abilty to be stubborn and select poor performing experienced players over inexperienced super talent and persist with gameplans opposition seemed to have worked out before kickoff.
However, I am a fan of Des, he loves Manly and can motivate better than anyone, but a few players seem to not be buying in and once this happens with his ultra disciplined reseme...things can go stale quickly.
As for anyone stating Des knows more, as look at his coaching record, maybe true....but in perspective other modern coaches like Bellamy, Robinson and Cleary have completely different game plans and a selection policy of picking yhe best team available regardless of being a rookie - and their coaching abilities and records appear in many ways at least comparable to Des, particularly in the modern game.
Everyone can have an opinion, but as coach....only Des will count and I will always support every game with hope we can win....Des wants this more than anyone on here and his passion for Manly is unfortunately more than many of the players....which again indicates to bring in some youthful energy, to lift the side and add more spark....
 
When the club got rid of Gifty they said they needed to secure the juniors. We all blew up.
Now they pick the old guys we all blow up.

If we won THAT parra game and the knights game we would be sitting pretty and not questioning Des.
 
If we won THAT parra game and the knights game we would be sitting pretty and not questioning Des.
I'd still be questioning the selection of players whose defensive decisions are a recurring liability. Also, the dropping of Cust* for the Penrith game was bizarre - stifled any momentum that the team was starting to build.

* of course, we don't know the full background of that decision
 
Form , defensive and attacking structures has been pretty ordinary for many weeks now [ with the exception of the Parra game [ and they had an off night and just did enough to finish ahead of the struggling Cowboys . Predictable and listless attack in the main , very average line speed and sense of urgency and aggression , lack of speed and reaction efficiency . Warriors played 60 minutes with only 12 players and we were still outplayed . Point seems to be that Des does not seem to be able to fix or improve the situation with the overall composition of the present playing line up for quite some time now .. Maybe and hopefully they can turn it around as a playing unit this week but just had to see how the inclusion of Haumole gave the side a boost last week .[ so not too sure how Schuster continues to be overlooked ] Young Hoppa was 18 th man last week and no where to be seen this week . Maybe Des is giving it one more time to stick with the present line up and hope that their indifferent form can be reversed against the Knights but surely testing the limits of patience all round , one would think .
 
We are a slight chance to make the top 8. Des won't want to take risks that's for sure.
The warriors game needed to be won.
 
Its not that difficult really
Taufua 11 games 73%tackle efficiency 116m per game 14 errors 11 handling errors 6 tries 6 line breaks now would bellamy or robinson continue week in week out picking taufua i think not atleast let funa develop give him a chance he is coming along well and i think with more game time and confidence he will only get better
 
Its not that difficult really
Taufua 11 games 73%tackle efficiency 116m per game 14 errors 11 handling errors 6 tries 6 line breaks now would bellamy or robinson continue week in week out picking taufua i think not atleast let funa develop give him a chance he is coming along well and i think with more game time and confidence he will only get better
As much as I like Jorge I think he is not performing well enough.
 
Its not that difficult really
Taufua 11 games 73%tackle efficiency 116m per game 14 errors 11 handling errors 6 tries 6 line breaks now would bellamy or robinson continue week in week out picking taufua i think not atleast let funa develop give him a chance he is coming along well and i think with more game time and confidence he will only get better
Those stats don't highlight his true failings: slow, can't jump, can't defend kicks, can't score off kicks.
 
Hey Kevvie .... I think this thread you started is beginning to take a direction you didn't foresee ...
Nah mate... I’m a massive Dessie fan. Four premierships and a decade of dominance. It will take more than just one injury riddled season where we are sitting on the fringe of the top eight for me to start calling for his head.

Not many people win four first grade premierships as a player/coach. Some who make a good living from the game have never won any.
 
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