Is Des Losing his Mojo?

[Bearfax]

Come on Strone. What's your thoughts. Would be interested in others also of course

 

[KNUCKLES]

No I don't think so.. I think des has been proactive in making changes to the lineup and attack as we seen the first 20 mins or so on the weekend.. we looked the best we have all year with ball in hands that first stint.. It's not des fault the team had so many errors in them along with injuries.. I think I did see someone mention here that not all is well in camp?? Maybe frustration? Player divide? Either way I'm sure des will sort it out

 

[MW66]

As Woodsie said in another thread, he is not the messiah but damn good. Des is, and always has been a bit risk averse. I don't blame him for that coming up against a red hot Parra. Stick solid and then debut a few rookies over the course of the next 2 - 3 weeks. This season is unravelling quickly due to key injuries (although I am disappointed we arent showning a bit more fight e.g. Roosters/Raiders are injury ravaged too). Biggest concern is that Turbo may never be 100% right.

 

[Sea Eagle 4 Life]

No way. In Des we trust!

 

[ManlyArmy]

I'm not sure it's Des that's the issue, but Cartwright. I feel like both of them are a little too similar and less creative ideas are coming up as a result.

Some may laugh, but keeping Barrett as an assistant over Cartwright may have been the better option, especially when it comes to our attack.

 

[Woodsie]

Dessie is OK .... sometimes **** does just happen .... but we will have to re-think our whole approach to football in the modern era with these new rules .... either Des and the forwards have to adapt and change the tactics .... or we need a new set of forwards ... and don't tell me how good they are as individuals ..... it is a pack game ...

 

[RedEagle]

We have our best 1, best 6, best 9 and best prop unavailable. The 1 and the 8 are arguably the best and certainly top 3 players in their respective positions in the entire competition. Our salary cap is top heavy with star power, the bulk of it is made up of 'squad players' who grow a leg when playing with the elite players. Then there is a stream of glorious rookie talent taking up the rest of the top 30 that Des is loathe to blood whilst there are no stars on the park to ease them in. Hoppa, Schuster and Benny Turbo take up 3 spots in the top 30 which makes our depth appear 'thin'. Reality is our squad is building towards great success within the next little period when all of our top 30 are actually ready to play. No Fainu has hurt us badly. Last year when Turbo was out, we still had the 6,7 & two 9's available and creating around the ruck. DCE is the only bloke in the side currently able to throw a pass for a try assist. We are extremely slow and easy to defend against with no strike from dummy half. Fainu and Turbo revel ploughing through the middle of the ruck from dummy half on the back of dominant play the balls with DCE and Walker roaring through in support. The new rules would be such a benefit to our true style of play. No cattle on the park at the moment. A third of our top 30 is unavailable through injury or youth. Defensively we have been poor in the last three weeks. It's very hard to defend your line consistently for 80 mins when you get no reward for your effort up the other end. The turnovers are high and that is based on players forcing their hand in attack because nothing is working. Ride it out. We will come out the other side.

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

We have our best 1, best 6, best 9 and best prop unavailable. The 1 and the 8 are arguably the best and certainly top 3 players in their respective positions in the entire competition. Our salary cap is top heavy with star power, the bulk of it is made up of 'squad players' who grow a leg when playing with the elite players. Then there is a stream of glorious rookie talent taking up the rest of the top 30 that Des is loathe to blood whilst there are no stars on the park to ease them in. Hoppa, Schuster and Benny Turbo take up 3 spots in the top 30 which makes our depth appear 'thin'. Reality is our squad is building towards great success within the next little period when all of our top 30 are actually ready to play. No Fainu has hurt us badly. Last year when Turbo was out, we still had the 6,7 & two 9's available and creating around the ruck. DCE is the only bloke in the side currently able to throw a pass for a try assist. We are extremely slow and easy to defend against with no strike from dummy half. Fainu and Turbo revel ploughing through the middle of the ruck from dummy half on the back of dominant play the balls with DCE and Walker roaring through in support. The new rules would be such a benefit to our true style of play. No cattle on the park at the moment. A third of our top 30 is unavailable through injury or youth. Defensively we have been poor in the last three weeks. It's very hard to defend your line consistently for 80 mins when you get no reward for your effort up the other end. The turnovers are high and that is based on players forcing their hand in attack because nothing is working. Ride it out. We will come out the other side.

A very clear-headed assessment, RedEagle. There's no room for that on a footy fan forum. 😉

 

[Ben]

Gee we get our fair share of injuries every year that derail our season.
When will be footy gods be nice to us?

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

Gee we get our fair share of injuries every year that derail our season.
When will be footy gods be nice to us?

Yeah, I knew we were buggered when Boyle got injured on his first hit-up against the Dragons. For many reasons, 2020 has been an absolute **** of a year. Why should it be any different on the footy field?

 

[tookey]

Quick lets sign Barrett again before the dogs do

Trent our saviour

 

[The Who]

.... there is a stream of glorious rookie talent taking up the rest of the top 30 that Des is loathe to blood whilst there are no stars on the park to ease them in. ...

Ah. Now I see Des' logic: When we bring back Turbo, Walker and AFR he'll then introduce Schuster, Hoppa Jnr and Guaca.....
Problem is, I don't think the NRL will allow us to field a team of 20.

 

[Dion Johnson]

I am not sure if it is 100% Des who has lost vision or the entire coaching staff.

Since Turbo and Walker went down, the bandaid solutions in selection have been horrendous.

Lack of vision is a massive issue within the coaching staff, unfortunately the statistics tell the story in attack. The rest is a follow on, no confidence to score points, then poor defence is the knock on effect.

 

[QueefRichards]

I'm not sure it's Des that's the issue, but Cartwright. I feel like both of them are a little too similar and less creative ideas are coming up as a result.

Some may laugh, but keeping Barrett as an assistant over Cartwright may have been the better option, especially when it comes to our attack.

I agree that Barrett has more to offer as an assistant than Cartwright, but it wouldn't've worked. The bridges were burned.

Has a coach ever been demoted to assistant coach at their own club, and it actually worked?

 

[maxta]

Personally a Massive Des fan....but his reluctance to change at times is hard to justify...whether it be team selection or game plans, where the attack has been stagnent and predictable and overall looks like we are going through the motions and hoping for a different outcome while applying the same tactics??
I know 1 thing though, he is a determined warrior who loves Manly and CAN motivate up with he Best.....maybe this game we get lapped...or just maybe...it a Massive turning point with a win against the odds.

 

[susan]

I agree that Barrett has more to offer as an assistant than Cartwright, but it wouldn't've worked. The bridges were burned.

Has a coach ever been demoted to assistant coach at their own club, and it actually worked?

Cartwright has won two premierships with different sides as an assistant. Barrett has done nothing except coach a superstar Toyota cup team to ninth spot..Cartwright is not an issue.

 

[delz]

Definition of insanity - doing the same things over and over again and not doing anything about it !!!
Unfortunately that's a description of Des and his coaching staff !

 

[susan]

We’ll compete this week. I’ve no doubt. Des rollickings of the playing group generally have an effect and they copped it no doubt.
Cant see us winning but don’t be surprised if we make them work for it.

But agree with most posters. It’s getting to the stage where we look to the future. We are zero chance this year.

 

[Real Deal]

I'll stick with Des too. I don't particularly like Cartwright. Maybe Dean Pay would make a good assistant.

 

[Steve76]

The other assistant, the blacktown workers coach. He was also involved with Barrett as coach . He also has had croker,Parker,Hastings, cust, keppie,shaun lane, tom Amone, and more in his blacktown side that has ran just about last every year... those players were rubbish for blacktown, so dont expect any improvement in first grade.