Willie reckons Sharks need Ricky
WILLIE MASON
The Australian
THERE is no doubt in my mind Ricky Stuart has been hard done by. But what an opportunity for a struggling club such as Cronulla to get a hold of a man who can turn around their fortunes.
I know Sharks coach Stuart Raper has another year to go on his contract, but so did Ricky. Contracts mean nothing to an NRL coach. They can get ripped up at any time.
I think the Sharks need a change. Cronulla was coming third 10 weeks ago and it has lost every game since, so something can't be right. It doesn't seem capable of maintaining full intensity for 26 rounds. Someone like Ricky would change that.
The Sharks certainly have the calibre of players to be successful and they breed good juniors. If Ricky joined the club, they'd attract better players because he's the Test coach.
When I was off contract, the only reason I was interested in going to the Roosters was because Ricky was the coach. They might struggle to attract quality players now.
They even might end up losing players because some of the current crop will want to go where he ends up. And I feel sorry for blokes like Braith Anasta and Nate Myles, who only signed with the Roosters because Ricky was the coach. I know Nate went there to be coached by Ricky Stuart and he's having second thoughts about it now. We keep giving it to him about it.
When Ricky went to the Roosters he started to change the way they trained and the way they approached games. I still can't believe they have let him go, he's such a great coach.
Ricky arrived in 2002 and won a premiership in his first year and they played in two grand finals after that. With that resume he will definitely go to another club and be successful. I know the Roosters have had a couple of lean years, but I can't see how letting Ricky go will help turn things around. It's a bad move in my eyes.
They're going to be big shoes to fill. He's been so successful. I thought his assistant, Shane Flanagan, was going to get the top job, but the club has flicked him as well.
The Roosters are in need of a coach that fits in with their culture. Their blokes train hard and play hard. There has been talk of Daniel Anderson but I'm not really sure. They're going to have to find the right person.
I've heard the rumours about Ricky being too intense and players being over-coached, but I don't think they are true. I know some of their players pretty well, like Craig Fitzgibbon and Anthony Minichiello, and they have never whinged to me about him.
Maybe some players who moved to the Roosters from different clubs were not used to training hard. I don't think those types belong at the club, if they can't keep up.
Ricky raises the bar and that's just like it is at the Bulldogs. Our intensity at training is unbelievable and that's why things don't change too much for me when I'm coached by Ricky at other levels.
I suppose I shouldn't be too shocked at what's happened because that's the way the Roosters do business.
It's a business-oriented club, not a traditional football club, where old footballers are running it.
They are all businessmen and they get involved when they need new players and when they need a new coach. I don't think loyalty is an issue for them but, to be fair, I don't suppose it is for any club.
And what would have made things tougher for Ricky is the fact he had no control over his destiny. When your contract is coming up as a player you can determine how much loyalty the club shows you by how well you play. But as a coach, you have to rely on 17 players on the field doing that for you.
