Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 12:01 pm  

After going round in circles on who i want, im settled on Tony Smith, be a challenge getting him to join immediately, but dont think it would be impossible if we really wanted him.

Love the thought of getting the next hotshot coach from NRL assistant ranks, but in our current predicament, the safest bet could be the best bet, thats Smith for me.

At the stage now that if its not Smith, il be disapointed.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 12:53 pm  

never go back.
sure thats what smith will be thinking. no pressure at rovers and looks settled and happy.
besides, he wont be the cheap option. and that worries me greatly.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 1:03 pm  

This stuff about the cheap option puzzles me. Hetherington always drives a hard bargain but he's never really skimped on head coaches when needed - when they brought in Mclennan, Sinfield, Furner these were all very expensive decisions.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 1:16 pm  

tad rhino wrote:

never go back.
sure thats what smith will be thinking. no pressure at rovers and looks settled and happy.
besides, he wont be the cheap option. and that worries me greatly.

Can't see Smith walking out on KR. I also think the never go back thing works both ways too.....

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 1:30 pm  

Smith’s not going to come back, why would he?

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 1:57 pm  

I've no idea why Smith would want to come back now. When he was between jobs obviously he was interested, but it seems to be going very well at KR. He's got a team playing close to their best and everyone seeming to enjoy what they're doing.

Why come to the basket-case that is Leeds, where there's nothing but hard slog and even harder decisions to make to turn us around? That includes pushing a number of players and staff out of the club, which is always difficult for anyone with an ounce of empathy. Not to mention that if he never comes back he'll always be the coach who turned us into winners and kick-started the Golden Generation. Come back and fail and that will take some shine off his legacy with Leeds.

If I were Smith I'd not even think about it. Size of the club etc be damned.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:04 pm  

christopher wrote:

Smith’s not going to come back, why would he?

Because we're a massive club, and if we started acting like one again, we would very possibly be too tempting to turn down. Unfortunately, we rarely act like a big club anymore, so your right, he probably wouldnt be tempted. He's who id be trying for if i was GH though.

People say theres no pressure at HKR, is there really that much here anymore, the expectation of the fanbase is at an all time low, finish top 5 every other season and avoid a relegation scrap in the others and the fanbase would be giddy. We'r arguably the biggest club in the country, but theres plenty that were happy enough with the 5 year rebuild thats just fell to bits, every year it was one more year until we'r ready to make our run, more relegation battles than title challenges.

Id say its an ideal time for a good coach to come in and build something, be that Smith or whoever else.

But again, thats on the prevision we start acting like a big club again, getting this appointment right and backing him with everything he needs.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:16 pm  

mattsrhinos1978 wrote:

the expectation of the fanbase is at an all time low,

I agree that Smith would be tempted back because when it comes down to it Leeds is always going to be a better long term bet for winning trophies than Hull KR. But this statement is silly - the club has been in much worse places before now.

Smith won't leave Hull KR mid season but he may decide to return next year because of the the apparent size of the task and the potential if he gets it right. This is a very different challenge to when he came in last time. Sorting Leeds out from where they are now after previously turning around Huddersfield, making Leeds and Warrington winners and now doing what he's done at Hull KR and his reputation and legacy as perhaps the greatest coach in British Rugby League history would be secure.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:29 pm  

I'd say his legacy is more than secure. Best coach in the game I've spoken to.

Re: 2022 | Head Coach talk : Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:29 pm  

The Ghost of '99 wrote:

I agree that Smith would be tempted back because when it comes down to it Leeds is always going to be a better long term bet for winning trophies than Hull KR. But this statement is silly - the club has been in much worse places before now.

Smith won't leave Hull KR mid season but he may decide to return next year because of the the apparent size of the task and the potential if he gets it right. This is a very different challenge to when he came in last time. Sorting Leeds out from where they are now after previously turning around Huddersfield, making Leeds and Warrington winners and now doing what he's done at Hull KR and his reputation and legacy as perhaps the greatest coach in British Rugby League history would be secure.

The state of the club and the expectation of the fanbase are 2 different things.

Even so,If we'r going back decades, maybe, but thats probably you taking the statement a bit too literal, to paint a clearer picture, its certainly the lowest the fanbase expectation has been in recent history, possibly the last 20 year.