From The Couch: Round 18
From The Couch: Round 18
The 2022 Series Loss is Brad Fittler’s Fault Fully and Completely: When Brad Fittler burst onto the NSW coaching scene, his strange hippie tendencies and out-there idiosyncrasies was a positive for a team that was bogged down in rigid conservatism. Five years on and two lost series when the Blues had no right to be challenged let alone defeated in the last three years has shown Fittler up as someone who believed his own press. Fittler’s selection this series were so out there that you could drop six tabs of acid, put on Country Joe and The Fish and paint your face as The Ultimate Warrior before heading to the local nursing home and be less out there. The signs were there early when Josh Addo-Carr was overlooked. They reached their zenith in the decider when Jack Wighton was overlooked because heaven forbid the limited Jarome Luai could be dropped after two very ordinary appearances where he had all kinds of issues defensively and has to be one of the first halves in Origin history who has such a poor kicking game he barely kicked even when all the pressure was on Nathan Cleary. It reached its zenith when Siosifa Talakai, probably not in the top 60 players available, was picked and then used in a role completely foreign to him. It reached its zenith when Daniel Tupou was picked again over Josh Addo-Carr and when Damien Cook was barely used and when Jacob Saifiti was picked over Reagan Campbell-Gillard and when it was clear the Blues had no fundamental understanding of what was going to be an obvious shift in refereeing. Brad Fittler may march to the beat of his own drum but he has marched his state to defeat in two series where the Blues had such a huge talent advantage that they almost had to win. This series loss was one of arrogance, of self-importance, of stupidity, of being off with the fairies, of being obsessed with former clubs and current connections. And they are all on Fittler. It would be silly for NSW to stick with him in 2023. It would be complete madness to let him have absolute control of selections again.
Only at the Tigers: It is unclear how many coaches the Tigers are paying now or will be paying in 2027 but what is clear is that the Tigers have absolutely zero idea what they are doing in most aspects of Rugby League and particularly finding a suitable head coach. It was clear that after missing Cameron Ciraldo that the top priority in their coaching search was fan appeasement and the quickest path to that, in their warped collective thinking, was nostalgic populism. Re-hiring Tim Sheens is an odd decision. The Tigers are crafting it as a necessary bridge. That bridge is 71 years old and has been out of the league for a decade after this club rissoled him, who went on to have very little success in England. Be that as it may though, Sheens was a very good coach for a very long time and does deserve some benefit of the doubt. What does not deserve any benefit of the doubt – or being labelled as anything other than one of the most inane decisions ever being made by a football club – was the decision to sign and announce Benji Marshall as the head coach from 2025 onwards. This was done despite Marshall having no coaching experience, there being no market for him and there being very little public knowledge that he even wanted to coach seeing as he has seemingly gone all-in on a media career. Marshall may well turn into one of the great coaches of all-time. I doubt it but it is possible. That does not matter though. What matters is that Marshall was signed not because the Tigers believe that – how would they have any idea? – but because they wanted a warm fuzzy story filled with nostalgia and Tiger icons. Good head coaches don’t learn their craft in two seasons under someone who has not coached in a decade at an awful club. The Tigers should have seen what he had to offer as an assistant, it is as simple as that. All 15 other clubs would have. The Tigers really are run by a stench of vain, infant-brained dimwits.
Viva La French: Former Parramatta winger Bevan French created history over the weekend when crossing for a remarkable seven tries against Hull while playing for Wigan. It is a Super League record and more than any scored in Australia in over a century.
2022 Field Goal Update – 19: Another weekend without a field goal has the devotees very concerned.
Fun Fact #1: Adam Reynolds became the 8th player in premiership history to reach 2000 points. No player above him has a higher kicking percentage and only Jason Taylor has kicked more field goals.
Fun Fact #2: Only two players with 2000-plus points have failed to win a premiership: Jarrod Croker and Jason Taylor.
Fun Fact #3: The highest pointscorer to never play in a Grand Final is Michael Gordon, who sits 14th on the list.
Betting Market of the Week: If the Sheens-Marshall coaching situation does not work out, the Tigers will go with:
$4.00: Alan Jones and Jake Thrupp as co-coaches
$3.50: Luke Brooks as captain-coach who will retire from playing and coaching duties when he can hand over to his yet unconceived third-born child
$2.20: Warren Ryan and his modern views of the world
$1.70: The Nigerian prince who recently offered to manage Justin Pascoe’s money
Rumour Mill: Cameron Ciraldo is expected to be announced as Canterbury’s next head coach with the announcement to be made this week. Jackson Hastings is expected to depart the Tigers at the end of the year with South Sydney looming as his most likely destination. Matt Burton has been linked with a move to rugby union in one of the most laughable rumours doing the rounds.
Moronic Coaching Decision of the Week: Brad Fittler made some completely moronic selections decisions but his call to play Siosifa Talakai and then have no idea how to use him showed exactly what kind of coach he is. Talakai has typically been playing centre but was asked to play big minutes as a backrower. He clearly had no defined role and ran around like a chook with his head cut off for five minutes until he clearly got tired and forgot how to play a ball and then missed the most crucial tackle of the series. Why a backrower who could play centre was not picked rather than a centre who could play backrower wasn’t picked is truly beyond the conceptualisation of anyone not named Fittler.
The Coaching Crosshairs: Brad Fittler is contracted to the Blues in 2023 with an option in his favour for 2024 but it would be criminal if the NSWRL stuck with Fittler in the current setup where he seemingly selects the side by himself with only advice from a Penrith board member to act as any form of check or balance. Previous selection panels for the Blues have been far from perfect. They have primarily been an issue of personnel though – cough cough Bozo. This is a problem of process. A strange human like Fittler can seemingly do as he pleases. At a minimum Fittler needs to have his powers castrated. If the NSWRL are serious they are looking for their next coach.
Watch It: Who would not want to go to the Western Reds and the Sydney Roosters after this blockbuster ad. The WACA is calling and it is not Judge Dredd. Watch it here.