: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:22 pm  

Indeed they did but it was very crude. Wingers like Lesley are not the norm.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:23 pm  

Red Hot Jalapeno wrote:

Well obviously it was Matthew Elliot who coached them for the WCC game before he left God knows how many years ago!

Or perhaps McNamara is a true coaching guru....

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:24 pm  

AJ wrote:

Bradford played some great expansive rugby at times and regularly ran in loads and loads of points. People use the "boring rugby" soundbite as easily as the "it wasn't Nobles team". He left with them World Champions, I wonder who was responsible for that.

World Champions is not really worth much though is it when one looks closer. Nobody thinks the team that wins it is the best team in the world. Well apart from Gary Hethrington.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:27 pm  

Charlie Seeling wrote:

World Champions is not really worth much though is it when one looks closer. Nobody thinks the team that wins it is the best team in the world. Well apart from Gary Hethrington.

Perhaps the Aussies don't take it as seriously, but Wests wanted to win that game, but if you wont have WCC then how about SL Champs then?

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:32 pm  

If everything was great why did he leave AJ? Maybe like a Harry Rednapp he realised the club/team had peaked and would be going downwards so he jumped ship before it sank.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:33 pm  

Charlie Seeling wrote:

World Champions is not really worth much though is it when one looks closer. Nobody thinks the team that wins it is the best team in the world. Well apart from Gary Hethrington.

So ok,how do you explain the GF wins he coached Bradford to along with numerous CC wins. It seems suddenly none of these wins are worth much. If Noble was as bad a coach as people make out with such little knowledge then there is no way he could of been so successful with Bradford. The fact is he proved himself to be able to coach a winning team. Wether you like his style or not is another matter. Personally i prefer defence orientated games rather than high risk Millward style.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:34 pm  

Charlie Seeling wrote:

If everything was great why did he leave AJ? Maybe like a Harry Rednapp he realised the club/team had peaked and would be going downwards so he jumped ship before it sank.

Everything wasn't great. He didn't get on with some directors at Bradford.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:37 pm  

Charlie Seeling wrote:

If everything was great why did he leave AJ? Maybe like a Harry Rednapp he realised the club/team had peaked and would be going downwards so he jumped ship before it sank.

That would be it. That and a souring relationship with the bosses @ the Bulls.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:39 pm  

Its pointless comparing us to when Noble was coaching at Bradford. They played very, very boring but had the biggest team in history.

They often relied on field position off the back of penaltys and barged over the line. We havn't got the players to play like that!

I am not actually very anti-Noble. I think he has a lot of strong points but we really need to employ a coach with some attacking nouse to help him out.

: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:41 pm  

Red Hot Jalapeno wrote:

So ok,how do you explain the GF wins he coached Bradford to along with numerous CC wins. It seems suddenly none of these wins are worth much. If Noble was as bad a coach as people make out with such little knowledge then there is no way he could of been so successful with Bradford. The fact is he proved himself to be able to coach a winning team. Wether you like his style or not is another matter. Personally i prefer defence orientated games rather than high risk Millward style.

You are equating coaching ability with winning trophies. The true measure of a coach is how much he gets out of the players available to him.

If I accept your premise then Ian Millward is a similarly outstanding coach and you would have to agree with that.

I think Brian Smith is a great coach. Neil Henry one of the top half dozen in the world but by your method of assessment both are abject failures.

IMO Brian Noble was in the right place at the right time and he was astute enough to not tamper with it but the groundwork of Brian Smith/Matthew Elliott and a then little known skills coach called Mick Potter laid the foundations. Without those foundations what would Noble have achieved? Carl Jennings the conditioner played a huge part too.