It would be great if he did win something but ,for me,he has given us 'the Saints' back and I love the guy for that. I remember seriously considering jacking in my season ticket a couple of years ago.
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It would be great if he did win something but ,for me,he has given us 'the Saints' back and I love the guy for that. I remember seriously considering jacking in my season ticket a couple of years ago.
Completely turned the mentality of the club round and made us into a top team again. That, more than anything, got him an NRL gig. In any sport though if you've been clearly the best team for 2 years in a row and don't come away with any of the major trophies it is deemed a failure. As nice as it would be to win the challenge cup we have to win the grand final this year for the season to be deemed a success.
He doesn’t have to for me. It’d be really disappointing if he left the club without a CC or GF victory, but he has made watching Saints enjoyable again.
If wire lose today have we won the league leaders sheild?
Funniest thing was when MacIlorum ripped off Chris Hill’s headgear - and then his reaction
I think thatÂ’s arguable. They are both knockout cup competitions. One is open to all teams and to surprises. The other is open to the top teams with, this year, a built in bias in favour of the top two.
The Challenge Cup is usually but not always, played in good conditions for skilful rugby whereas the Grand Final is sometimes played in more difficult conditions and on a tricky pitch with a short in goal, which is not ideal. I think itÂ’s all down to perceptions but for the participating Super League teams they are both knock out competitions.
In reality, the LLS is the reward for playing well for the rest of the season although, under the current system, we will have a big advantage in the knockout stages.
Justin Holbrook has been a breath of fresh air and I think the fact that he has got us away from the grind and playing entertaining rugby is the key thing. However, from his own point of view, he needs to win the CC or GF to prove that he is a top class coach. The treble would be brilliant.
IÂ’m extraordinarily sad that heÂ’s leaving and I hope for his sake that he isnÂ’t making a mistake. He has made me smile and from what I can see from a distance heÂ’s not just been good for the club but also for the town. He seems to be a genuinely nice bloke.
I agree with comments made about JH and what difference he has made to the team, the club (and maybe even the town) since his arrival - all positive and it will be a shame to lose him as coach as he has brought so much. I do feel to win at least one of CC or SL trophies are needed for him to cement some kind of status as a successful coach - especially as memories fade, but the record is more obvious.
I think he has a harder gig at Gold Coast especially with only an initial 2 years - and if he achieves something there in that time, he will be in much demand I would think across the NRL. If he isn't so successful at GC, where will that leave him? Who knows what will happen at Saints in that time - but I wonder if people at Saints (the club and fans) would welcome him back? It's quite rare for coaches to come back to a team.
One out of three! Mission accomplished!
Will be interesting to see how JH manages the team from here on in. This run in to the end of the season he has the potential to learn a lot about big game mentality and how to achieve success on the pitch in crucial matches and in terms of silverware... I'm just hoping he learns from successes rather than mistakes.
We haven't quite managed to get over the line the last two seasons in the big matches and I hope JH and the team has learned enough from that to earn the big results and come out on top. They've certainly learned how to be consistently the best over a sustained period - but these months will be the difference in being almost there again and becoming a champion team! COYS!
We need to get our attacking structures a lot better in this end of season build up, we have been disrupted in that department with rotations and injuries. You could say we are winning games based on our solid defence, I would like to see more attacking shapes and set up plays but we can't do that at the moment with consistency because the team selection is continually changing. Hopefully we can strengthen the team over the last 8 or 9 games.
You can't have it both ways though. People criticized Holbrook last year for not rotating, players playing through injury and limping into the playoffs.
I prefer it this way tbh. Get everyone back for Leeds or the cup final and throw everything at it. Then regroup again for the playoffs.
Definitely need to win one at least. If Saints win the cup and then lose to Wigan @ Old Trafford it would ruin the season.