Reds 2015

[RugbyReg]

and is that the last time we will see Curtis in Red????

 

[Scoey]

I hope not Reg, but if it's a 'one or the other' type situation between him and Kerevi then sadly I think most would want to keep Kerevi.
Fuck we've lost some good youngsters over the years but I think losing Curtis would be up there with one of the bigger loses if it happened.

 

[RugbyReg]

In saying that, backrow is one of the spots we have some depth:

Korzcyk, Lolo, Fox, Wilkin, Schatz, Gill, Gun and a few others.

 

[born-red]

Was it just me or was there something different about the game on the weekend? We appeared more organised, we seemed to be playing flatter and well we were in with a chance of toppling one of the best teams in the comp with 20 to go.

It would be interesting to know if some sort of coaching consultant (Knuckles or whoever) has been brought in already as it really seemed to me a least that there was some sort of turn around.

NB: I said 'more' organised and 'flatter'. I didn't say we were organised etc. Just a noticeable improvement in those regards.

--There was a bit by growden I think recently that said Player power is strong at the reds - Quade Cooper has taken over the runnings =/ heavily influencing the backline play whilst he's been injured.

 

[TSR]

In case it hasn't been covered yet, Browning is confirmed gone for the season and Daley may be gone for good after his shoulder dislocation last week.

That's horrible. Terrible news.

 

[USARugger]

--There was a bit by growden I think recently that said Player power is strong at the reds - Quade Cooper has taken over the runnings =/ heavily influencing the backline play whilst he's been injured.

 

[RedsHappy]

Article (W Smith) in The Australian late today based upon:

- leaks from the QRU that in fact RG may well be re-appointed next year after all, 'despite the risks of a massive fan backlash' and

- QC (Quade Cooper) may stay at Ballymore after receiving a 'massive' ARU-driven offer and a strong personal pitch from Chieka

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Article (W Smith) in The Australian late today based upon:

- leaks from the QRU that in fact RG may well be re-appointed next year after all, 'despite the risks of a massive fan backlash' and

- QC (Quade Cooper) may stay at Ballymore after receiving a 'massive' ARU-driven offer and a strong personal pitch from Chieka

That's the definition of a good news & bad news setup.

Surely they wouldn't be so stupid. Doesn't fit with the mutterings that RG has lost the dressing room.

 

[USARugger]

Article (W Smith)
- leaks from the QRU that in fact RG may well be re-appointed next year after all, 'despite the risks of a massive fan backlash' and

Seriously starting to question the business acumen of some of the guys running the show over at Ballymore.

They obviously have a spectacular track record in regards to growing the fanbase and the revenue of the club as a whole over the past few years... but to say that there's even a 'risk' involved is just silly - it's a fucking guarantee. Is there a single person in that admin group with at least a Risk Management minor, or a shred of common sense?

It's analogous to Microsoft's relative decline in recent years due to getting caught up in the same cycle of buffoonery that many successful organizations do. At first, the organization grows on the back of a highly innovative/successful product and as this curve begins to dip they gain far more ROI from marketing spend, generally at the cost of product development (even when it's not a money issue - it's some sort of hubris built into all of us that leads to a certain level of disillusionment regarding the importance of investment in product development). Eventually this new model slaps them in their face (Windows 8/Surface and circa. 2013-15 Reds) and they realize that sacrificing product development was an idiotic move, as it was what allowed them to see that ROI from marketing spend in the first place.

 

[Scoey]

Article (W Smith) in The Australian late today based upon:

- leaks from the QRU that in fact RG may well be re-appointed next year after all, 'despite the risks of a massive fan backlash' and

- QC (Quade Cooper) may stay at Ballymore after receiving a 'massive' ARU-driven offer and a strong personal pitch from Chieka

Do you have a link RH? Or a cut and paste of the salient parts?

What amazes me the most I think is that despite whatever they think the reasons are for the decline in performance (assuming that they think it's nothing to do with RG) the public sentiment is that RG needs to go. If he has somehow managed to keep the dressing room on side, he has lost the fan base and it could be argued that this is almost as important.

An interesting exercise might be to start a change.org petition to have him sacked and see if we can get more signatures than they have got members.

 

[dru]

Go Cheika! ALL IS FORGIVEN.

(Well, I'll try to bury the hatchet anyway.)

 

[Tangawizi]

Do you have a link RH? Or a cut and paste of the salient parts?

What amazes me the most I think is that despite whatever they think the reasons are for the decline in performance (assuming that they think it's nothing to do with RG) the public sentiment is that RG needs to go. If he has somehow managed to keep the dressing room on side, he has lost the fan base and it could be argued that this is almost as important.

An interesting exercise might be to start a change.org petition to have him sacked and see if we can get more signatures than they have got members.

Well there is a Sack Richard Graham group on Facebook with about 650 members....

Reds fans started streaming out of the stands with just over 10 mins left to play on Sunday which I thought was bloody poor form from them but also a statement of how little faith they had in the current set up. We were still in with a shot of at least a bonus point or 2 then but people had lost hope.

Can't see how reappointing the same coaches will get people to like the Reds chances for 2016.

 

[liquor box]

Seriously starting to question the business acumen of some of the guys running the show over at Ballymore.

They obviously have a spectacular track record in regards to growing the fanbase and the revenue of the club as a whole over the past few years. but to say that there's even a 'risk' involved is just silly - it's a fucking guarantee. Is there a single person in that admin group with at least a Risk Management minor, or a shred of common sense?

It's analogous to Microsoft's relative decline in recent years due to getting caught up in the same cycle of buffoonery that many successful organizations do. At first, the organization grows on the back of a highly innovative/successful product and as this curve begins to dip they gain far more ROI from marketing spend, generally at the cost of product development (even when it's not a money issue - it's some sort of hubris built into all of us that leads to a certain level of disillusionment regarding the importance of investment in product development). Eventually this new model slaps them in their face (Windows 8/Surface and circa. 2013-15 Reds) and they realize that sacrificing product development was an idiotic move, as it was what allowed them to see that ROI from marketing spend in the first place.

If the Reds are microsoft then I think they hired a guy who worked for Commodore 64.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

"The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." — Albert Einstein

 

[RedsHappy]

Do you have a link RH? Or a cut and paste of the salient parts?

What amazes me the most I think is that despite whatever they think the reasons are for the decline in performance (assuming that they think it's nothing to do with RG) the public sentiment is that RG needs to go. If he has somehow managed to keep the dressing room on side, he has lost the fan base and it could be argued that this is almost as important.

An interesting exercise might be to start a change.org petition to have him sacked and see if we can get more signatures than they have got members.

Here's the article in full.........my highlights. (Btw, My new personal favourite from the QRU Excuses Think-Tank is that RG's record at the Force really wasn't so bad after all as it's no worse than for anybody else who's tried to coach there - now, that is a classic.)

Quade Cooper, coach Graham likely to stay with Reds next year
THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 27, 2015 6:31PM
Wayne Smith

Here’s a scenario no one expected that could yet come to pass — Quade Cooper and Richard Graham, star playmaker and embattled head coach, both remaining with the Queensland Reds next season.

In defiance of French media reports last week that he already had signed with Toulon, reports that both Cooper and the Queensland Rugby Union immediately disputed, the glamour Reds five-eighth and his manager Khoder Nasser met yesterday with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika.

At that meeting Cheika put what a senior Australian Rugby Union spokesman described as “quite a compelling proposition” on the table to keep Cooper playing for the Reds and the Wallabies next season. The package also has been described in less formal terms by ARU insiders as “massive”.

Cooper and his manager are understood to be considering the offer.

Cheika last week attempted to head off Toulon by announcing he had big plans for Cooper, not just at this year’s World Cup in England but also in the 2019 tournament in Japan.

Toulon have a habit of jumping the gun in announcing big-name signings — they hinted strongly last year that they had secured All Blacks five-eighth Dan Carter, just before it was confirmed he had joined Racing Metro — and Cooper has indicated his strong preference is to remain at Ballymore.

Much was made of his decision to sell his Bulimba home in Brisbane; less was made of the fact he bought another, more expensive home, nearby.

Reds officials are still bracing themselves for the possibility of him joining Matt Giteau at Toulon, especially in light of the ARU’s decision to throw open Wallabies selection to players with 60 Test caps — he has 53, with a maximum of 10 Tests on offer this year — but there is nonetheless a growing optimism that he will recommit to Queensland and Australia.

By contrast, few critics gave Graham any hope of surviving as Reds coach after two losing seasons but it is understood the QRU is leaning towards re-signing him for next season, even at the risk of it triggering a massive fan backlash.

No decision has yet been reached and, whatever happens, Graham is secure for the remainder of the season despite the fact the Reds have won only two of 10 matches this season. In two seasons under Graham, the Reds have finished ahead in only seven of 26 games while his overall Super Rugby record, taking in his stint as coach of the Western Force in 2011-12, is only 14 wins from 50.

The Reds currently occupy the same position they did at the end of last season, third last, and although Queensland fans continue to support their side in numbers that are the envy of every other Australian franchise — their membership base is over 40,000 and 26,374 watched them lose to the Hurricanes on Sunday, their ninth defeat in their past 11 home matches — poor results are starting to erode their support base.

QRU officials are acutely aware of that but at the same time they are strongly supportive of Graham whom they headhunted as part of a carefully plotted succession plan in anticipation of Ewen McKenzie succeeding Robbie Deans as Wallabies coach.

Their belief is that Graham’s modest seven from 24 record in Perth should not be held against him as all Force coaches have struggled and that he also deserves to be cut some slack this season because the Reds have been decimated by injury.

 

[nathan]

"The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." — Albert Einstein

"Richard Graham is and has constantly proven to be, completely incapable of being a head rugby coach." - Albert Einstein

 

[TheBigDog]

"Their belief is that Graham’s modest seven from 24 record in Perth should not be held against him as all Force coaches have struggled and that he also deserves to be cut some slack this season because the Reds have been decimated by injury."

That part actually sounds like it was written by Richard Graham.

 

[RugbyReg]

"The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." — Albert Einstein

a quote that was a favourite of Ewen McKenzie too, somewhat ironically

 

[Hugh Jarse]

How have other QRU teams gone while RG has had the keys to Qld Rugby as Head Coach?

• Brisbane City did OK in the NRC.
• NSW won both male and female National 7's for both Opens and Under 18's this year.
• In Open Schoolboys it has been NSW I vs NSW II in the Gold Medal playoff match for the last 2 years.
• No U16 Nationals last year, but IIRC Qld Reds won in 2013 and 2012.
• Fairly confident that no Qld teams were in the Junior Gold Cup Finals.
• Eastwood beat Queensland Uni in the Premier Club Bragging Rights Game this year.
• Qld U20 failed to make the finals of inaugural national U20s last year, and were soundly thrashed by NSW this year, barely scraping past the Australian Barbarians.
• NSW finally win a mungoball SOO series.

Is this all RG's fault, or does it indicate an overall malaise in Qld rugby at the moment with the rot setting in from the top from the QRU board?

 

[Wilson]

I think City did a bit better than 'OK' in the nrc.