That’s Enough Robbo

[dice]

This is not a bad year. fmd we still have supporters that think premierships decided in April and May.

In a few weeks' time Robbo is going to have a major headache and it won't be our position on the ladder. It will be having too much talent in both the forwards and backs and deciding who to leave out.

Get on at $8 and enjoy the ride.

[Bansai Pipeline]

Chances of an aging Nick Politis sacking his successor are next to nil I'd say.

[bondi.boy]

This guy is no longer a good coach… that’s no longer up for debate

Somewhere between his first year and the present he has become so full of his own self importance that his own club has become secondary to his own ridiculously misplaced woke ideals… there are so many examples of this

That’s all good and fine in a vacuum but meanwhile his teams just continue to underperform… despite having the best list in football… in fact he can barely keep them above water

He is simply not a good coach by any measure anymore and absolutely needs to go… Uncle Nick please pull the trigger and put us out of this continual misery with this weirdo in charge

He does not have the best list in football...the list he has is a long way from the best.
He had the best list 3 times, and won us 3 premierships with them.

In 2020 the world, and footy world, changed forever.
We are still reeling from what happened...and are trying to rebuild a premiership winning standard team.
No easy task.
We've struggled with a massive injury toll.
When have we had our best team on the field for any length of time since Rugba Leeg started?

In addition, there's the "circus music and streamers" we encounter often on match days.

Not easy being our coach today.

[Headless Chook]

The only other coach around that I would want anywhere near our club is locked up at Cronulla for the forseeable future so unless Nick can wave his wand and get him out of there, I'm happy to stick with Robbo. I just can't see us ever wanting Maguire, Flanagan or Hasler anywhere near our set up.

[Steggles]

I agree that the stupid six-again rule has not been a kind one for this club. Robbo is one of the most respected coaches in the NRL and the thought of sacking him to me is ridiculous! If anyone has screwed up it was Uncle Nick - monumentally! - when he said 'see-ya!' to Lattrell! We would have won another comp by now with him in the backline in his rightful position at No. 4.

The inability of our team to hold onto the ball has been a major liability, as well as creativity in attack. Billy Smith's return game was promising in that regard, especially in the awful conditions. But we need a ball-playing five-eighth. Walker and Keary back to position and if that doesn't work, recruit someone new.

Robbo would have had Latrell playing hooker, so we’d probably have won jack shit.

[Steggles]

Adrian Lam goes ok as a coach.

[MKCS]

In 2016 under Robbo we came 15th out of 16th, almost copped the wooden spoon. Then a couple of years later we went on to win our double premiership. So this looks like another bad year and we should still support the coach and not expect to win a premiership every year. There will be bad years. True supporters stick by their team and coach in both good and bad times. Robbo’s record is so awesome it’s worth being patient for him to weave his magic again in a few years time. He’s proven he can take us there but just not always.

The difference between 2016 and 2023 is that in 2016 Robbo didn't really have the tools to get him to the finals. I remember Fergo playing fullback despite being a centre, I remember young Latrell struggling, I remember it was a season that started without Cordner, JWH and Pearce as well so we had people like Connor Watson, Hastings, Nikorima and Ryan Matterson making up our halves at one point. Roosters then went to market over a couple years, got Tedesco, got Cronk, got Keary. Latrell and Manu developed into superstars etc.

In 2023 Robbo on paper has a very strong team. The Australian Captain, a backline most teams would salivate over, a very hot prospect at halfback, one of the strongest forward packs in the comp. There will be no going out to market and picking up 3 star players if he fails this year. There will be no young players magically becoming superstars overnight (Especially with Sam Walker who is being wasted in reserve grade) if he fails this year.

I'm happy to support him and hope he turns it around but if we don't at least hit a prelim this year (Remember, most people expected us to win the comp with our roster) then you'd have to be asking the question of what the Roosters without Robbo would look like and if there is a coach out there that can win a comp with this team.

[Billy Gunn]

The frustration is we've had a roster that most coaches would kill for, and yes we have had injuries and excuses but at what point is it time for a change?

[A Country Member]

From what I see, we don’t have the team to enact Trents up tempo power game. A combination of bad handling, poor discipline together with defences having no issue with our attack. There are times when it clicks, which is what Trent would be hanging onto but it isn’t happening consistently.

I was surprised by our tactic’s yesterday, particularly with Trent on the sideline, that we didn’t play one out and out of dummy half more. I’ll give credit to the Cowboys defence, they were excellent.

[HunchoRooster]

I think Robinson remains one of the best coaches in the NRL but that largely comes down to how poor the standard of coaching is and how poor some lists are that no coach could get results out of. If you are measuring Robinson and the team against uber-successful, super high standards of wanting to win comps every year or go close (which the club claims is its aim) and be best in class, then absolutely there should be a discussion around the coaching.

I can't attack the bloke as a human being for his personal views, especially considering his personality has helped us transfer from a basket case cashed up fallen giant to a proud, historic and elite organisation int the space of a decade (using Easts more), honouring the original badge, identifying our culture and history, etc... for that I will be forever grateful. I do find his recent do-gooding and virtue signalling to be an absolute pain and an unnecessary distraction from his 9-5 which is to coach the Roosters to success, which is something he isn't doing.

With that in mind, Robinson's biggest flaw has and always will be his pride and his stubbornness. He persists with something over and over again until he is basically forced to change it due to external pressure. Everyone says he has some ruthless streak, but I don't see it. I think (and its only my opinion, I'm not an insider), that after 2-3 prelim losses with a gun roster and the poor 2016 with a view to the future seeing us fall short in big games again, Nick Politis and power brokers basically said to him what do you need to get this team to win the comp.... that leads to Cooper Cronk. I think if we don't win those comps, Robbo isn't here right now. He delivered on that occasion.

I think we are getting close to another 4-5 year cycle where Nick Politis, who it must be said for all his passion and power for the Chooks, is not the smartest RL mind, he is a businessman after all, will be saying to Robinson, OK mate what do you need to get the job done now.... a big signing will be imminent. If we fail after the investment is made, whoever and whatever it may be, Robbo gets the boot. That's my analysis. For all we know, that investment could've been Brandon Smith given the way we tossed Verrills to the side. So the clock could be ticking.

Robbo is not ruthless. If he was, Hutchison would be playing in reserve grade, Momorovski would be playing for the Castleford Tigers or something, Keary would be getting the tap on the shoulder and saying hey mate, about 2024, yeah I need to think of the long-term future of the Roosters so thank you for your services... but he won't. Its the club and the board that are ruthless, don't get it twisted.

I think from an on field perspective we have become stale and have failed to adapt to the 6 again rule. The "Roosters way" is all well and good but has become predictable and outdated, the defensive resolve has been non-existent. Not because of a lack of effort, but because a lack of adaptation. No adaptation to the increased fatigue in the game that the 6 again has brought. Robbo actually made a really really good quote the other day, "if you rely on week to week motivation to get results, you are in deep deep trouble". Most of his pressers over the last 18 months have been absolute pseudo-intellectual drivel but this one stood out for me. He is spot on and I think he is starting to realise saying to the boys "Roosters footy", "Bondi wall", "pride ourselves on defence" without actually changing the patterns or the system is not going to do anything. Just my 2 cents.

The only coaches I'd replace Robinson with is Fitzy or Bellamy. MAYBE give one of the assistants a crack at a stretch. Promote from within.

And to those saying that we are fairweather fans or not real fans because we don't mindlessly consume the rubbish footy dished up by our stacked team this year and respond with "Go Roosters, the boys are trying, can't win them all".... farrrk off and go and polish your participation trophies instead of following an elite club. We aren't the Tigers, Titans, Saints, we claim to be different. Act different. Judge them differently. If you don't want pressure, don't play for the Roosters. There are 3 clubs that can hold that claim: us, Melbourne and Brisbane. 1 of them has been utter shite for the last 5 years and have been on the front page of the paper for half of it as a result... now they are reaping the rewards. The pressure is always on to deliver at this club. Just because we were bad 25-30 years ago, doesn't mean we need to eat shite and like the taste of it.

[yeception]

Could definitely see Robbo in some leadership/executive/development role at the club. He has a strong moral compass and is a great big picture thinker. Unfortunately the detail of his coaching has become stale.

[Ray Stehr]

Robinson has taken the enjoyment out of watching the Roosters. I dread game day now, they're a rabble ATM and I have this terrible feeling that south's are going to win the comp.

[Tommy Smith]

Robinson has taken the enjoyment out of watching the Roosters. I dread game day now, they're a rabble ATM and I have this terrible feeling that south's are going to win the comp.

Souffs are morals to win the comp. Might as well get used to the idea now.

Where as we look nailed on to miss the Prelims for a 4th straight season.

And it's all Sam Walker's fault!

[Les Tricolores]

He does not have the best list in football...the list he has is a long way from the best.
He had the best list 3 times, and won us 3 premierships with them.

In 2020 the world, and footy world, changed forever.
We are still reeling from what happened...and are trying to rebuild a premiership winning standard team.
No easy task.
We've struggled with a massive injury toll.
When have we had our best team on the field for any length of time since Rugba Leeg started?

In addition, there's the "circus music and streamers" we encounter often on match days.

Not easy being our coach today.

We were second favourites behind the 2 time defending champions before the season… and even now are equal third despite some dreadful results

The list is the best… no team can match its depth

Which is why people always complain about our salary cap

The coach is underperforming and we are an extremely boring side to watch… that’s just the truth of it

[bondi.boy]

I think he's still a good coach but after a decade as head coach maybe he just isn't as motivated or excited about coaching as he once was, this does happen to people where they have phenomenal ability at something but they need a change of scenery or new challenges or just don't want to do it anymore.

I'm not saying Robbo doesn't want to do it anymore but I can assure you he isn't as motivated as he once was back in 2013 or even the 2018-2019 seasons when he had the challenge of going back to back. What does he really have left to achieve that he hasn't already? He's won grand finals, he coaches some of the best players in the world, coaches a "glamour club", he has a fat contract where he's made millions as a coach, he probably has a beautiful house, car etc. What drives him after a decade? Probably not too much.

Might be time for some new blood but not in a mean spirited way, if Robbo isn't getting the job done (You'd expect at absolute minimum a prelim this year) then maybe you do consider moving him on for someone like Jason Ryles, give Robbo an amazing send off and treat him like the legend he is.

Unfortunately for Robbo's detractors he's the head coach until at least the end of the 2028 season...

Of course, when the players you're given to coach can't pass and catch a football without dropping it much of the time, throw wayward passes that get dropped, can't catch bombs in the air etc,...what chance as the coach do you have?