st george thrashed manly 34 -4 lastnight & play the bulldogs this weekend ,the bulldogs are now 4 points behind from any team on the table 

Lots of big scores this year are down to posession and momentum.

Our problems often start with a bad pass or a lose carry.

I am not sure how Renouf pulled up after what looked like a shoulder injury last game.

If we are further down on troops, we can't afford dumb errors and need to defend better.

The best way to approach this season is low expectations every game. When you least expect it the team might surprise you. If not it will soon be over.

Actually his poorly executed and clueless long passes are what bother me.

Throw in a lack of leg speed and a running game.

I could see him being some sort of ballplaying lock or a solid defensive centre. In both cases his kicking game is a big plus and his running game a big minus.

Really the problem for most of the Pay era is defence, when we can't defend a loss of posession, fans get lazer focused on errors and the team is in two minds on using the ball.

We are going nowhere until we reduce  silly turnovers of posession and get better at defending them.

I still think our problem is 80% a lack of talented players in the squad, good teams are strong in all positions with good replacement players waiting for an opportunity. Even a full strength we would be very lucky to cobble together a competitive 17.

Fans are grasping at straws if they think team changes can solve the problem.

Officially? We've left preparations for '21 as per non-recruitment and coaching appointment or re-appointment so late that I wouldn't be sure of that. The best I could say would be hopefully.... and I wouldn't say that.

We've procrastinated ourselves till '22 at the very earliest IMO. Hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm not.

Season '21 starts in less than SIX MONTHS

I hope more is going on behind the scenes...

But I now agree they need to make the call on the coach ASAP.

We are rebuilding and at least officially we have money to spend... not many players who we want have currently locked in plans for '21 as they should know they are on our shopping list..

However, the club needs to do a better job of looking professional at all levels, that includes ending silly political in fighting, but more importantly includes having a plan and getting on with it..

Being out of the nightmare phase doesn't mean we are in the promised land...  our side is 2-3 good players a bit more preparation and confidence away from being genuinely competitive most weeks. Good enough to make the 8 in '21 is a much tougher call, we need to get it 100% right from here.. 

As much as I like Pay and I don't think he is that bad, it is time to make the call, delaying the decision gains us nothing..

This board was elected in Feb '18 and from day one told us they were planning for '21. We've had Lynn Anderson, Andrew Hill and Dean Pay tell us they would be looking for marquee signings for '21. The board has had since Rnd 1 2018 to have a good look at Pay and decide if he's the man to lead us from '21.

And so far, to prepare us for '21 they've made one good signing - Luke Thompson. And I give them credit for that but that's where it begins and ends.

We are less than 6 months from season '21 and after two and half years of planning at this stage, today, we're currently looking worse for '21 than we were at the beginning of '18.

I'll say again, just because the last board were perhaps the most incompetent in our history don't make the current one a good one. All they've achieved so far is show how low the bar was to be better than the last.

... and there's not a single Tom Cruise impersonator amongst them.

Not one!

My worry is the next board may be even worse that this one... elections are no guarantee that some one competent will be elected..

Sometimes leaving it late has advantages, if Renouf and Elliott both have shoulder injuries that affects my thinking for recruitment for '21.
While we need a hooker, fullback and centre, we can't afford to lose the forwards battle each week..
Sides that are travelling well this season have a good hooker and a good pack of forwards...
if Blake Green is available, he is a handy addition in the halves... 

I would also be looking at some Penrith lower graders and fringe first graders who can't get a run there...

Thompson was a great signing for an additional forward, leader, I would not mind another leader with more size and an offload..
Then for fullback and hooker get the best we can get, just these 3 players if we get the right ones, will make a big difference...
Green/Hastings will make a difference, and should not be big money....   

The silence from the board is not necessarily a good thing. The saying no news is good news may be a smokey here as it either means that the board is keeping a tight lip on what we have installed for '21 OR the continual infighting has distracted them so much from their duties they have nothing planned for '21 and it is too late to do anything and they don't have the balls to let the fans know the truth.

What you say is very true. 
Irrespective of whether we have the cattle or not, i look at the team and its structure and i see faults aplenty.
You would need a significant change in attitudes or significant amount of marquee players to turn it around. We arent just 2 or 3 players short. We are 75% of the roster short.

All i wanted to see from Pay was change the way we played. I can accept poor execution, that is just a by product of average first grade footballers. But we have not shown enough of a change to make me believe that 2 or 3 top players would make much difference. We are still playing LOSING FOOTBALL.

Until we decide to change and play WINNING FOOTBALL we can cry about our SC predicament or lack of quality players all we like, it will not make a difference.

I think this board will be judged on season '21 and that will be their catalyst.
Who they go with as coach for '21 will be on their head.
Remember, it was their decision to give Pay season 2020. I cant blame them too much as any new coach would have also been restricted with SC also, but a different coach may have had more pulling power to attract better players for '21. And that will be on this boards head.

They basically have to make the right decision with coach from here on and better hope this coach can attract some talent for next year and better hope we make finals next year otherwise they could be punted come elections in '22.

No pressure. Just dont fekk it up! 

It could well be a case of picking up a big name coach (Bellamy or Bennett) but will fall over if there is even a hint of media circus

Remember, Bennett has previously walked away from agreement to coach the Roosters after it made media headlines.

The silence from the board could well be because of something like this.

Reminds me of a scene from The Dish.

The local mayor is angling to get pre-selected for a shot at parliament and the LIB power-broker tells him the rules -

"You don't f*** up" (with an inflection at the end as if there's more to come)

The Mayor responds "And.....?"

Silence.

I would be disappointed if the board had signed Bennett, he may have been a good coach  but I feel he is way past his effective use-by-date. Just take a look at the last "successfuly established" coach we enlisted, that worked out well didn't it. And three years down the track we are still feeling the (not so positive) effects from his presence.

Similar thoughts on Bennett, I would love to have Bellamy, but both are unlikely...

Barrett is likely an a reasonable choice IMO, if the club is a tough sell to players, it is an even tougher sell to coaches.

"You don't f*** up" - means the coach had better get good results season 1, or the board may be tossed out, and the new board might toss the coach... if anyone thinks this is a formula for attracting the best candidates ... to use another quote from the castle:- "is dreaming.."

Barrett is good, and if he wants the job, we should take him...no question... let's start the rebuild because there is a lot of work to be done...

I also think Pay to Barrett isn't a major change in bedside manner, the difference is hopefully football smarts...

Again anyone who thinks a coach ranting and raving st the players from day one is the right formula is wrong, the coach can only set high standards progressively.
Give players a few chances then drop them and perhaps move them on...
To drop players and move them on, the coach needs a better option...

Pay playing DWZ at fullback and Smith in the centres are the biggest mistakes, in both cases these players can be moved to the wing... perhaps Barrett does that...

We need to give Barrett, or who ever the new coach is, at least one season to sort things out, yes I expect better results, but I don't expect miracles.
Any hint that we are after miracles, means most coaches don't want the gig...

All I'd ask from a coach for '21 and even '22 is that we see an improvement in our play-style to one that will be ultimately successful and an improvement in the players that have got improvement in them. Get those first two right and a third - the ability to attract and keep the players we want becomes a bonus.

First couple of seasons match results don't matter as much as the above. I'd even take missing the semi's as long as we tick all of the above. Third season would be when I'd start demanding fruit from our labours.

Perfectly reasonable, and also what I expect...

I also think with a few new players, a few positional and rotation changes, some improvement in most of the squad is highly likely... 

We also have to be fair and say some in our current squad probably don't have it and will never have it.. a good coach knows after 1 season what players are a long shot or simply a lost cause.

With a new coach, some players might even surprise us, one possibility is Meaney at fullback..

Your timelines and kpi's are absolutely correct.
There are some players in our team that can play the different style we need to get to in order to be competitive. There are others who clearly cant. 

It's the coaches job to know where we need to be at and separate the good from the bad. After 1 year he should be able to get us players that can buy into his strategies and get us into top 8. 

From there it's a matter of handpicking players who give us the edge to challenge in the finals or win a premiership. 

That Tex Hoy is a very promising player and one I'd like us to go after. 

Was listening to Triple M yesterday and Nathan Brown was being rather polite in his description of our situation. He hinted at stability needed from the top down and the need to tell Pay one way or other. 

I got the impression he was auditioning for the coaches role by being nice in his word choices.

Fair call.  Notwithstanding our poor roster, lack of progress on the the first two  criteria is why Dean should go.

I agree on Hoy, and I can't stress how important fullback and hooker are.

We all agree on Pay...

IMO club stability is the CEO, recruitment, junior development and board, the coach can be changed without needed to change any of those things.. the jury is probably out on recruitment and juniors ... it is easier to judge coaching over a shorter time-frame...

Under Pay, I have some question marks on team selection, game strategy, bench rotation, attack and defence, no questions on general attitude professionalism and team motivation..

But my biggest  on question mark on Pay is whether selection in the wrong positions has sent some players backwards... the fact that the possibility has even occurred to me is a bad sign.. 

Actual match results and team effort, are not far short of what I expected, it is more the way we are getting those results.

Aside from the coach, as a general rule I'm all for stability, and most times the coach needs 3 years to have a decent crack at the job..

CEO and board we are ideally judging over 5-10 years, changing the board and CEO any more frequently than every 5 years is a recipe for going backwards.

Is there really people in the background pushing for an EGM???... Is there really a push to oust Lynne???... 
Everything I read from these grub germoulists looks like it was speculation or opinion taken from here or TK then embellished using terms like ‘sources’ ‘those linked’ etc to give the inventions some form of veracity...
They say things like ‘fans pushing’  for an EGM... fans can’t do sh1t only voting members... A rival ticket formed... 

I’m sure it’s a tense time at board level, I’m sure there are differing opinions, I’m sure there is still plenty of animosity between the Dibbies at the leagues club and the football club... but when I see the papers running with a bullsh1t rumour I started here about Eddie Jones it’s impossible for me to believe anything those hack grub germoulists write..,

Fox sports breaking news just in 

jayden okenbar & Cory haraweira neira have won there deregistration appeal & are free 2 sign with any nrl team
very unfair decision for the bulldogs as st George & 
warriers ser for a Tuga war for chn 

I said the same thing two weeks ago.,. 

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/07/13/okunbor-harawira-naera-deregistrations-reduced-to-bans-and-fines/

LOL - there is always some drama at our club and I blame Dman, because that a good default position...

If the club hasn't burned bridges with CHN, it is a tricky call, football wise, we need him in the side, no question....

Club image and sponsor wise it is a tricky call..... I'm not sure the players still have a contract with us..

If they have a contract, then at a minimum we might be able to swap them for other players...but we will not get anyone as good as CHN...

I don't blame the board for not rushing here, this is a landmine.. any option we run with will cop plenty of criticism...

The other factor is, when signing Luke Thompson, we probably used part of their salaries.. 

Barrett was coaching at Manly, being whiney is part of the job description.. 

Unfortunately, I think there are always political people with agendas at our club, and they can use the media to stir up trouble anytime they like because media hacks love doing it.

It should not be a hard call for fans and members, just ask if these people have the best interests of the club at heart... unfortunately we do have fans who think replacing the board every 5 minutes will deliver instant premiership glory.... but my guess is they are just a noisy minority...

Yup and yup, and they've almost got their signatures. I'll add yup to a few more things too NOT in the papers inc but not limited to Leagues club directors getting involved in Facebook stoushes.

It's been pointed out that as a result of their successful appeal and the determination of their suspension both Okonbur and CHN are still contracted Canterbury players as far as The NRL are concerned.

It's now up to us to terminate or not and judging by the statement just released from the club that seems undecided.... like everything else.

Fvck them and whomever signs them... Those pricks put their pricks before our club and their team mates...