Thankyou Chris Hickey

[waratahjesus]

im sure this will turn into people bagging the guy.

but as a Tahs fan, i would like to thank Chris Hickey for the job he did at the Tahs.

he was brought in as a cut price option but he delivered more than expected in my opinion. (without taking that final step)

his development of players such as Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Tom Kingston, etc etc and the retention of players he was able to undertake. He seemed to be extremely popular with the playing group and mangaged a team with grace and dignity in some pretty harsh media and fan spotlights.

i wish him all the best and would have to say top bloke with a heap of ability and self belief that handles himself like a true gent.

 

[Braveheart81]

Pretty good bloke for a guy from Eastwood.

 

[I like to watch]

I was not a fan, but am happy to acknowledge he had a tough job with a multitude of experts second guessing his decisions/strategies.
Absolutely he handled himself with grace and dignity.
I wish him well in the future

 

[AussieDominance]

Did get reasonable results, not the desired ones though. Thought he lacked enough courage to develop young players(always going for experienced options in terms of recruitment, was not a bad thing but no thought was given to the future). Best wishes for the future Chris but I don't believe the Waratahs went forward in his two years at the helm.

 

[Athilnaur]

Worlds full of experts, 2 semis in 3 years is a lot better than most coaches have achieved. It's easy to take cheap shots, but that's all they are, cheap shots from backseat drivers. GL CH. I for one admired your game.

 

[CTPE]

Best ever Waratahs coaching record @62% and a really decent bloke as well. Best wishes Chris for the future.

 

[wamberal]

I would like to add my tuppenceworth. Hickey's coaching career has been very successful, in terms of winning premierships, right from his earlier days at Ballina. He was a great coach at Eastwood, and I doubt that anybody could criticise the way the Woodies played under his tenure.

It would have been nice to see the Tahs playing a more expansive game - but I would guess that senior players had a pretty big influence, particularly Phil Dontmentionthewaugh.

 

[Joe Mac]

I have no idea how good a coach he is but he had a hell of an unlucky season as far as injuries go. In light of that, making the semi's was an excellent effort.

I therefore also wish him the best. Any ideas where he is heading next? Europe?

 

[Novocastrian]

im sure this will turn into people bagging the guy.

but as a Tahs fan, i would like to thank Chris Hickey for the job he did at the Tahs.

he was brought in as a cut price option but he delivered more than expected in my opinion. (without taking that final step)

his development of players such as Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Tom Kingston, etc etc and the retention of players he was able to undertake. He seemed to be extremely popular with the playing group and mangaged a team with grace and dignity in some pretty harsh media and fan spotlights.

i wish him all the best and would have to say top bloke with a heap of ability and self belief that handles himself like a true gent.

I'm sure Bruce will be on soon to claim that Hickey/the Waratahs in fact sent these two backwards. After they'd come out of a Uni system (the one true way to develop rugby players) that, were it not for the myopia that afflicts every coach not part of the system, would be the envy of every sporting organisation of any sort the world over.

Hickey certainly dun good in a lot of ways and doesn't deserve some of the crap he cops on here, but the fact he never took out the top prize will always be a problem.

 

[Braveheart81]

I don't really get what you're saying regarding Dave Dennis. Sure he's been a good club rugby player for a few years, but 2011 was certainly his breakout season as a Super Rugby player.

In the space of a season he's gone from being a fringe Super Rugby player to a fringe Wallaby. Considering the Wallabies are looking pretty strong right now, that's a pretty good achievement.

 

[Lee Grant]

Definitely unlucky with the injuries. Others had as many but they seemed to be to key Tahs such as Mitchell, Barnes, Horne, Waugh, Palu, and even TPN and Mowen at the money end of the comp.

But as I mentioned on the Tahs thread: if a coach has been there 3 years and still hasn't won the thing or at least shown in year 3 that his squad is on a rise that looks irresistible for year 4, then they may as well get somebody else. Since the person they got means that some continuity is inevitable, there should be minimal effect on the playing group.

That said, I commend him for what he has done.

I am sure that the Tahs board took into account the type of rugby that was played by the Tahs. I am just as sure that it was unfair to judge Hickey on matters other than wins and losses, but he knew the environment into which he entered to become employed. He knew that in the Oz sporting landscape, with its several contours of different football codes, that he was going to be judged, rightly or wrongly, by a sporting business on matters other than wins and losses.

The number of bums on seats may not resonate as an important factor to the average rugby fan but it means a lot to the employers of rugby coaches in this country and Hickey knew it.

I am sure that we all wish Chris Hickey all the best in rugby.

 

[Braveheart81]

It will be interesting to see what Hickey does now. As a 60 year old you'd think that if he wants to have a crack in Europe, it's either now or never.

 

[#1 Tah]

Coming in after Link and having Rocky and Lyons gone, Chris' job wasnt going to be easy. It didnt get any better after Tuqiri left and Adam Frier broke down. All you need to do is take a look: We re-signed everyone from 2009 until this year bar Sheehan and Frier, plus recruiting Barnes and Mitchell. That doesnt happen unless you have a good coaching staff, and KB (Kurtley Beale) and Burgo leaving this year signals maybe Chris was more popular then made out to be.

He was a top bloke too, always good for a chat and a joke. 2 semis in 3 years isn't bad, especially considering the injuries we had this year. He built a good culture and who knows what this team can do now?

 

[Ash]

Lyons wasn't a huge asset to the Tahs by any stretch, especially compared to other players they had previously who they had lost, like Burke, etc. Hewat was a much more important player to the Tahs than Lyons ever was. As you can probably tell, Lyons annoyed me - he was big, lazy and not one of the "hard" players, like a Palu.

 

[Burke's Boot]

Im worried that Knuckles old Padawan, Foley, is now the head coach seeing he will have the final say in game plans.

 

[Train Without a Station]

2 Finals in 3 years isn't too bad. Considering the year before he took over they made the Grand Final you could only consider it a step backwards though.

 

[Badger]

Did well to get them to the finals in 2011 considering the injuries to various players during the competition. Chris was quite personable at Waratahs functions. Top marks for the way he carried himself at the fan forum. All the best, Chris!