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Is what we have right now. We all look back into 2010 and wonder what's gone wrong, while Todd Carney leaving is undoubtedly a part of it, the fact of the matter is in 2010 everyone was playing well, Pearce was in great form, SKD was the best centre in the league, Jake Friend was carving up, even Anasta put in. But when the team played badly, the entire team switched off, and then we saw what happened in 2011, a team down in confidence who were completely hapless.
The problem with our team right now is there is not a single player who steps up when the going is tough, they find it much easier to sink back into nothing; whether it's on the field, in the dressing room and in the coaches box, we have no leaders. That's not to say they don't give it a dig, compare our current crop to those going around in 2009, anyone who says this team doesn't give a f**k should watch some highlights from our wooden spoon year and compare the reactions after games, i was at least relieved to not see a single smile on a roosters face after sunday afternoon, and while this should be a given, in 2009 it certainly wasn't.
We are not a team short of talent, we aren't even necessarily short in experience (while we have a very young team, a lot of our younger players still have 2 seasons of first grade under their belt), we are simply short of leaders, and I think it's an issue we've never recovered from since stripping fitzy of the captaincy. The way braith behaves on the field is a ****ing disgrace, putting his hands up in the air for a penalty at marker when the ball is in play and letting a try straight past him, have a try scored against us and half the time, he's up in the referees face arguing a pointless case instead of talking to his team and getting them prepared for the next set to come.
So how to resolve this? First and foremost giving the captaincy to someone with more ticker is a must, and this is a change that can be made today. Put Anasta into a co captain role with someone else in the team to prepare them for his absence, this will provide more leadership in the team without upsetting Anasta and putting down team morale (i imagine the media response to stripping him of the captaincy in his last season with us would be greatly negative and not worth while). Secondly, we need a coach who has players respect, Jason Taylor this is your time to step up, he's already got so many of the youngsters respect, which will be invaluable in the next few years. Finally the addition of SBW and Maloney, two players with immense talent and heart, will instil our team with confidence and have them performing for the full 80 week in week out.
I think we have all the makings of a champion team over the next 5 years, but we're still lacking in a few key areas, now is the time to make the changes that are necessary. If we do, I seriously believe 2013 will give us a great shot at a premiership and the start of an era of dominance for our beloved Easts.
The problem with our team right now is there is not a single player who steps up when the going is tough, they find it much easier to sink back into nothing; whether it's on the field, in the dressing room and in the coaches box, we have no leaders. That's not to say they don't give it a dig, compare our current crop to those going around in 2009, anyone who says this team doesn't give a f**k should watch some highlights from our wooden spoon year and compare the reactions after games, i was at least relieved to not see a single smile on a roosters face after sunday afternoon, and while this should be a given, in 2009 it certainly wasn't.
We are not a team short of talent, we aren't even necessarily short in experience (while we have a very young team, a lot of our younger players still have 2 seasons of first grade under their belt), we are simply short of leaders, and I think it's an issue we've never recovered from since stripping fitzy of the captaincy. The way braith behaves on the field is a ****ing disgrace, putting his hands up in the air for a penalty at marker when the ball is in play and letting a try straight past him, have a try scored against us and half the time, he's up in the referees face arguing a pointless case instead of talking to his team and getting them prepared for the next set to come.
So how to resolve this? First and foremost giving the captaincy to someone with more ticker is a must, and this is a change that can be made today. Put Anasta into a co captain role with someone else in the team to prepare them for his absence, this will provide more leadership in the team without upsetting Anasta and putting down team morale (i imagine the media response to stripping him of the captaincy in his last season with us would be greatly negative and not worth while). Secondly, we need a coach who has players respect, Jason Taylor this is your time to step up, he's already got so many of the youngsters respect, which will be invaluable in the next few years. Finally the addition of SBW and Maloney, two players with immense talent and heart, will instil our team with confidence and have them performing for the full 80 week in week out.
I think we have all the makings of a champion team over the next 5 years, but we're still lacking in a few key areas, now is the time to make the changes that are necessary. If we do, I seriously believe 2013 will give us a great shot at a premiership and the start of an era of dominance for our beloved Easts.
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