We'll bury the hoodoo - Des Hasler

[Berkeley_Eagle]

We'll bury the hoodoo - Des Hasler

By Ray Chesterton | January 21, 2009
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...006066,00.html

FOR a man facing enough devils to remake The Exorcist, Des Hasler looks and sounds relaxed. He's watching the cricket while rejecting any suggestion of Manly falling victim to an increasingly lethal rugby league hoodoo - winning back-to-back premierships. Brisbane, in 1992-93, was the last club to win a double in an amalgamated competition.
No Sydney-based team has done it since Canterbury in 1984-85.
Now Manly, 40-0 winners over Melbourne in last year's Grand Final, are trying to defend what is increasingly becoming the indefensible.
Hasler doesn't see it that way.
"We'll be competitive again, I can promise you that," he said. "We have positioned ourselves to win another premiership."
Bolstering Manly's thoughts on 2009 is confidence in their recruiting, highlighted by the signing of giant Parramatta winger Tony Williams.
Manly's recruitment also pulled in Newcastle's five-eighth or lock Chris Bailey, Penrith's Shane Rodney as well as Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran from the Sea Eagles' Toyota Cup squad.
But it will be Manly's experienced players who will again have to lead the way. And stay healthy.
Compared with other clubs, Manly largely escaped serious injury last year and were almost ignored by representative selectors. Another bonus.
"We are going to experience what other (premiership-winning) teams in the past have," Hasler said.
"Our players will come more under the eye of the representative selectors.
"And we'll have injuries. It's all about how clubs cope with those things."
Hasler, a deep thinker about the game, is an irrepressible critic of the salary cap, saying it promotes mediocrity and destroys attempts to maintain a competitive team.
He advocates a restructuring of the competition and would not be opposed to cutting the number of teams to 12 and increasing the salary cap.
"Some aspects are not working," he said. "Winning Grand Finals has become a matter of timing.
"You get a window of opportunity. That's all.
"In recent years the Dragons had their window. Melbourne had theirs. They're now in a rebuilding phase."

 

[Dan]

Mediocrity will not be tolerated

 

[Matabele]

Mediocrity will not be tolerated

  You know we really ought to find that sign and send it to the club to go in their museum of memorabilia. 

 

[Dan]

It bloody well should be.

They were the golden years of this site. I often look back at those days with fondness.

Some of those games were just awesome. Especially the Penrith game when we all got together as a big group!

By the way Who is attending the Broncos and Gold Coast games this year, I am thinking of making the trek to one or both

 

[deadlyeagle]

i definitely will be at the broncos match and probably 50/50 on the Titans match depending on circumstances.

 

[Dan]

excellent. I can see a nice little Caxton Silvertails meet up happeniing

 

[CC_Eagle]

excellent. I can see a nice little Caxton Silvertails meet up happeniing

Bring your second head so you can assimilate properly.

 

[vidmar]

We'll have a good beaches crew travelling to both the Broncos and the Titans games and will be planning to catch up with a fair few of the travelling supportahs plus local QLD'ers as well once there.

Last season the Bronco's pre-game meeting spot was a function at the LA Hotel (top of Caxton Road) and Grant and Kerry gave an update on developments within the club and took a whole pile of questions from the 150 or so people who were there (it was primarily a members function) - word got round pretty quickly as to where everyone would be sitting (in the away supporters section) and then a huge turnout at the Caxton (in the courtyard at the side) after the game (Gotta love Sunday arvo games!)

Robina was a Friday night game and I guess there were around 250 or so met in the Robina Tavern for a beer and a feed pre-game (As it was a top venue and coped well we'd more than likley look to do the same this year)

The pub runs a shuttle bus to skilled but we figured it wouldn't cope with the numbers we were taking plus the local Titans fans so we organised buses to take us to the ground and then post game pick up and drop off at the Crowne Plaza in Surfers where the players were staying and the official after game function was held (great night with the current roster there plus old boys like Wombat, BK, Jughead Jones and others)

Both stand out trips and Over the last few years I've seen an increasingly larger number of people travelling to the Broncos game.

As word has spread I'm guessing that they will get bigger and better (I know so many that missed the trips who are this season planning on going to at least one and in many cases two) so bodes well for everyone (all we need now are the dates and times so we can start planning - guess we won't know for definite until around round 4 or 5?).

Interestingly there is a test match (Kangaroos v Kiwis) at Suncorp on Friday 8th May which would suggest we would play the Broncos on the Sunday 10th at Suncorp (hopfully not the Monday or a switch of venue to Brookie like they did a couple of seasons ago!) - that may be the weekend to aim for Dan?

Cheers
Vid

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

While on the whole hoodoo thing, we have another one to break

Manly (95-97). Roosters (02-04) and Storm (06-08) are the last sides to make 3 consecutive GFs, and have all only come away with 1 premiership each

 

[Matabele]

By the way Who is attending the Broncos and Gold Coast games this year, I am thinking of making the trek to one or both

  Broncos gane, I'll be there.  That Penrif game was a great day, particularly the come back!

 

[Dan]

Who was it you were yelling at on the wing, during the PL game, teh bloke who stuck his finger up at you hahaha

 

[DVS Matt]

[quote author=Dan link=topic=179052.msg205515#msg205515 date=1232487743]
Mediocrity will not be tolerated

  You know we really ought to find that sign and send it to the club to go in their museum of memorabilia. 
[/quote]

one of you clowns threw it away after a Manly victory. Me and grug found it on the ground at the bottom of the hill....and took some photos with it.

 

[CC_Eagle]

I've pencilled in the GC away for both A-League and NRL this year, should be good if funds/Mrs/Uni/Work allows.

 

[CC_Eagle]

[quote author=Matabele link=topic=179052.msg205517#msg205517 date=1232488927]
[quote author=Dan link=topic=179052.msg205515#msg205515 date=1232487743]
Mediocrity will not be tolerated

  You know we really ought to find that sign and send it to the club to go in their museum of memorabilia. 
[/quote]


Haha.

Classic..

Good times, good times.

Should they be posted?
one of you clowns threw it away after a Manly victory. Me and grug found it on the ground at the bottom of the hill....and took some photos with it.


[/quote]

 

[Dan]

whatever they involved I bet it was mediocre

 

[Matabele]

[quote author=Matabele link=topic=179052.msg205517#msg205517 date=1232488927]
[quote author=Dan link=topic=179052.msg205515#msg205515 date=1232487743]
Mediocrity will not be tolerated

  You know we really ought to find that sign and send it to the club to go in their museum of memorabilia. 
[/quote]

one of you clowns threw it away after a Manly victory. Me and grug found it on the ground at the bottom of the hill....and took some photos with it.


[/quote]There were several.

 

[Canteen Worker]

That banner in question was loaned by Daniel as a spare to some guys who offered to hold it up. My memory says it was only a Silvertails - Go Manly banner rather than one of the mediocrity ones. I may still have one at home though it may have been a casualty of the house move.