Robbo not happy with the Fittler comments

[Vasco]

I don't think Fittler handled it well to be honest. It wouldn't inspire me greatly if my coach threw me under the bus after one bad performance the way he did to Latrell. He would have been better served just acknowledging that he had a bad game and then saying he has full confidence he will get the job done in Game 2. Why did he need to even mention the Roosters, the Roosters coaching staff weren't in camp with him for the previous 10 days. It was like Freddie was trying to deflect attention away from his own poor coaching effort.

Freddy and Fitzy are mates so who knows what is said behind the scene.

[Headless Chook]

Hooking Walker another example. Shit leadership and clear signs that when it comes to managing men, old Fred knows sfa.

And in the press after the game he waxes lyrical about how good Jack Wighton was......the same Jack Wighton who got lucky when his kick was charged down and then threw the intercept pass which ultimately turned the game in Qld's favour

[Johnny73]

I love Freddy, hell I'd let him Hot Tub my wife if she was game but he's not a coach's bunghole. He got extraordinarily lucky last year when they didn't pick Daly Gooseneck-Evans for the first two matches of origin.

[novice chook]

If Fittler and Gould had Latrell's best interests at heart they would be making their point to Latrell privately and not through the media. Little wonder Robbo is pissed off - those 2 Panthers are just starting up the media circus around Latrell again, and then they wonder why he's bloody distracted!

There seems to be some hidden agenda behind Fittler and Gould and their tag team criticism of Latrell. It's as if they actually want him to falter and fail. Which is a pretty sad state of affairs. And certainly not what a SOO coach should be involving himself in. There were plenty in the Blues who underperformed in SOO1 and publicly naming, shaming and placing additional pressure on only 1 player is pretty ordinary in my view.

Hopefully Latrell can regain focus on footy and regain his form from earlier in the season. And if Fittler doesn't want Latrell in his side for SOO then that's fine - good luck with winning the game with the ineffectual golden child No. 7 that did jack shyte in the first game, especially if he makes the mistake of persevering with Walker, who is not SOO material.

[chopstiks]

The media need to watch themselves here, this is all potentially headed down a dark path. The negative focus on Latrell and Cody Walker (who likely will be dropped) after THAT Origin debacle is not sitting well with me at all..... while Freddy Brandy and whoever else - the ones responsible - coast on through to Game 2 with their Prince Cleary.

[Johnny Brass]

Maybe Freddie and Gus do have latrells best interests at heart and are trying to give him a public boot up the backside in the hope that he will grit his teeth to prove them wrong .
Spud Carroll recently got in Regan Campbell Gillard's face and called him out when he got dropped to reserve grade and ever since he has been kicking off from the back fence and launching himself into the defensive line .
I know latrell has been down on form , I don't know if that groin injury he suffered against the Raiders has had anything to do with it. The worrying signs are his defensive efforts like when Munster beat him with a dummy and he didn't bother chasing .
Lets hope he fires up and he's back to his best soon because we need him particularly with Keary out as our attack looks stagnant without him

[infidelrooster]

The only way Latrell can silence the outside noise is by playing good footy,Get rid of his entourage and focus on footy.

[Mickie Lane]

The media need to watch themselves here, this is all potentially headed down a dark path. The negative focus on Latrell and Cody Walker (who likely will be dropped) after THAT Origin debacle is not sitting well with me at all..... while Freddy Brandy and whoever else - the ones responsible - coast on through to Game 2 with their Prince Cleary.

lol. The media need to watch themselves, yer right.

[mattyh]

with this noise around latrell, it really doesnt matter much how good a man manager robbo is, if latrell doesnt listen or take it on board. if other people are in his ear and he is listening to them, what robbo says or does is irrelevant. to some on here latrell is a protected species. gould, crawley, kent have all said in the last 24 hours he is playing distracted ie - rubbish, the only way for him to shut down the noise is start playing better . i wonder if he needs a game where he just focuses purely on defence , 1 % type plays and build from there. i know latrell is more a highlight reel player but maybe a solid if unspectacular game maybe a building block to regaining some confidence, especially ahead of origin.

[trewhella]

I don't think Fittler handled it well to be honest. It wouldn't inspire me greatly if my coach threw me under the bus after one bad performance the way he did to Latrell. He would have been better served just acknowledging that he had a bad game and then saying he has full confidence he will get the job done in Game 2. Why did he need to even mention the Roosters, the Roosters coaching staff weren't in camp with him for the previous 10 days. It was like Freddie was trying to deflect attention away from his own poor coaching effort.

Headless I’ve known you for a long time now.

‘I’ve come to the conclusion that indigenous players do deserve to treated differently on a week to week basis.

Not in origin.
there is no excuse for not being up.

[Freddy]

If you can’t get yourself up,for a game of origin you should net be there.
we all love Latrell but he can’t dish up a performance like that on THAT stage.
Bothe Freddy and Trent did their respective jobs well in dealing with the issue

Agree mate. We all love Latrell and hope he stays at Easts forever but he needs to be able to cop criticism and he deserves it after the form he has shown lately including Origin. I know he’s young but whether he likes it or not he is a star player and will attract negative publicity if he doesn’t give his all.

Freddy is probably right but he shouldn’t of mentioned the club. Of course Robbo is going to stick up for his player.

[Freddy]

If Fittler and Gould had Latrell's best interests at heart they would be making their point to Latrell privately and not through the media. Little wonder Robbo is pissed off - those 2 Panthers are just starting up the media circus around Latrell again, and then they wonder why he's bloody distracted!

There seems to be some hidden agenda behind Fittler and Gould and their tag team criticism of Latrell. It's as if they actually want him to falter and fail. Which is a pretty sad state of affairs. And certainly not what a SOO coach should be involving himself in. There were plenty in the Blues who underperformed in SOO1 and publicly naming, shaming and placing additional pressure on only 1 player is pretty ordinary in my view.

Hopefully Latrell can regain focus on footy and regain his form from earlier in the season. And if Fittler doesn't want Latrell in his side for SOO then that's fine - good luck with winning the game with the ineffectual golden child No. 7 that did jack shyte in the first game, especially if he makes the mistake of persevering with Walker, who is not SOO material.

Mate think Freddy was just upset at losing and that he’s star player pretty much lost the game. Agree he should not have spoke publicly and even mentioned our club.

Freddy is not a panther.. He is a Roosters legend and loves our club. Was just disappointed.

[Louis N]

It would not have mattered one iota whether Fittler or Gould said a word about Latrell's form leading into and after origin. The media would have jumped all over it and there would be plenty of others coming out of the woodwork to bag out Latrell's lack of effort.

Blaming Freddy is like shooting the messenger. Origin is the pinnacle and our game and if someone is not willing to put in then they shouldn't be there. They're letting the team down and in a match so close, we could be one up in the series. We know Latrell can play a lot better, so what was the problem?

Whatever it was Gould jumped on it early as he could see Latrell wasn't putting the work in during the play. For Freddy to single him out, meant he was mad as hell about it. So somehow he has been let down. Freddy has wound back his comments somewhat. He knows Latrell is a hot head when it comes to criticism and probably doesn't want to fracture the relationship. Freddy also cares for Easts and may regret saying what he thought so blatantly.

I have only one criticism of Freddy re game one. His team selection. Cody Walker would not have made my side for his dismal defence for starters. I would have seriously considered leaving Latrell out too after that Newcastle game, plus his hot and cold form all season.

It's all under the bridge now and hopefully Latrell can put it behind him too.

[Johnny Tobin]

It would not have mattered one iota whether Fittler or Gould said a word about Latrell's form leading into and after origin. The media would have jumped all over it and there would be plenty of others coming out of the woodwork to bag out Latrell's lack of effort.

Blaming Freddy is like shooting the messenger. Origin is the pinnacle and our game and if someone is not willing to put in then they shouldn't be there. They're letting the team down and in a match so close, we could be one up in the series. We know Latrell can play a lot better, so what was the problem?

Whatever it was Gould jumped on it early as he could see Latrell wasn't putting the work in during the play. For Freddy to single him out, meant he was mad as hell about it. So somehow he has been let down. Freddy has wound back his comments somewhat. He knows Latrell is a hot head when it comes to criticism and probably doesn't want to fracture the relationship. Freddy also cares for Easts and may regret saying what he thought so blatantly.

I have only one criticism of Freddy re game one. His team selection. Cody Walker would not have made my side for his dismal defence for starters. I would have seriously considered leaving Latrell out too after that Newcastle game, plus his hot and cold form all season.

It's all under the bridge now and hopefully Latrell can put it behind him too.

Latrell is getting way too much blame for that left side defence. Walker is getting way too little.

[BUDDY]

Latrell is getting way too much blame for that left side defence. Walker is getting way too little.

That's just Freddy and Gould justifying their stupid decision to pick him and their stupid decision to stick with the Golden Child. I read somewhere that in his 4 games Cleary has not scored a try, not made a line break and not had one line break assist. Imagine what would have happened if it was Pearce instead of Cleary.

Funny how there has been no mention that the whole week was all about not singing the anthem and whether it had an impact to those players and others in the team. Nobody would dare bring that up.