General Matt Elliot End Of Season Report Card

[tajhay]

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This thread follows on from a poll we had after rnd 9. You can read about it and view the results here.

With a full season under his belt as charge of the NZ Warriors, what are your thoughts on him? Is he the man to turn it around? Has he done enough? Is he really an upgrade on Bluey? Has he done better than you had expected?

 

[KerryKatona]

Hes done enough for my liking but he has to get this team mentally tougher and put a real killer instinct into them as a unit. Too many starry eyed talented footballers drifting in and out of games

 

[Defence]

D- Still a long way to go- jazz it up however u like- end of the day they finished 10th

Edit- 11th- even worse

 

[Richie]

I said D, because there is undoubtedly a long way to go, but to be fair, since it was some kind of improvement on 2012, we don't need a turn around so much as we do a massive acceleration and solidification of the improvement made this year. I like to think that I'm hard but fair.

 

[smc]

Somewhere between D+ and C- would be where I'd put him.
11th out of 16 teams, lost more than they won, team of mental weaklings. Not entirely a coaches fault but he has to find a way to fix these problems, so D Need a major turnaround next season
A mid season turn around happened, before they fell to pieces again. Credit to the coach for the turn around, it was enough to suggest he may be the right coach for us if he can get them playing that way consistently next season, so C Havent seen enough to suggest he is the right coach for us

 

[blcu2003]

as a coach, he's aight (alright). you know what I mean. he's aight. not a super star coach, and not a terrible coach. he's aight.

now the question, what does he need to do, to be more than just aight. and more to the point - how is he going to do it?

taking the warriors coaching job must be one of the toughest jobs in the nrl. its right up there with coaching Parramatta, which is probably why Stephen Kearney stayed well away from us when approached with the offer. so the what question has now been answered - that is, coach the warriors into contention for a premiership title. Sounds simple.

Now the million dollar question is - how is he going to do it?

from what I have seen this year, he is still learning about this club and what makes us click. He's identified a psychological problem with players - but I dont think you needed an einstein to figure that out. Next year will be interesting. I think the likes of Tomkins will be a breath of fresh air to the club. But that fresh air better win us games or we'll be having this same discussion again next year...

 

[edd]

I would have given him a B until the last game.... He totally failed to notice the boys putting in a half ass effort, jogging back to the D line, looking for the highlights reel on every offensive play.

His half time call was, just do the little things better.. WTF. I think something more like 'get your fucken heads out of your fucken assholes and do some fucken work out there you over paid spoofters'... Lessons from the armchair.. Ha Ha....

But if he says something like that he's out of the in crowd now isn't he...

So, because of his failure to stand alone, he gets a D from me....

And also because of his horrible dance moves...

 

[kavafred]

as a coach, he's aight (alright). you know what I mean. he's aight. not a super star coach, and not a terrible coach. he's aight.

now the question, what does he need to do, to be more than just aight. and more to the point - how is he going to do it?

taking the warriors coaching job must be one of the toughest jobs in the nrl. its right up there with coaching Parramatta, which is probably why Stephen Kearney stayed well away from us when approached with the offer. so the what question has now been answered - that is, coach the warriors into contention for a premiership title. Sounds simple.

Now the million dollar question is - how is he going to do it?

from what I have seen this year, he is still learning about this club and what makes us click. He's identified a psychological problem with players - but I dont think you needed an einstein to figure that out. Next year will be interesting. I think the likes of Tomkins will be a breath of fresh air to the club. But that fresh air better win us games or we'll be having this same discussion again next year...

Yeah I think Elliot has figured out the players biggest problem (In the heads) but he is def the right coach for this team. So glad Kearney didn't get/take the warriors job cos he is a rubbish head coach. That is why he is back doing the yards as an assistant. Can't beleive he is still coaching the kiwis tho?!! A Stacey/Awen coaching team could do better.......maybe.

 

[Hitman82]

Did you see footage of Elliot's half-time address? I think Elliot is probably more perceptive than you suggest.

I went with B.

Elliot picked up a nightmare of a team with an unbalanced roster, poor attitude and also a nasty injury toll. Some people like to point out we made the grand final in 2011, but they forget all the experience and combinations we lost between then and 2012 / 2013.
The players in our squad today have not been in top collective form for a long time. Elliot was also appointed far too late in my opinion and didn't have enough time to train or recruit for his vision.

There have been negatives, mostly in how Elliot handled the spine and interchange bench at times. I do not blame him for the players' inexplicably wilting attitudes at times. I mean, if you can't look within yourself and motivate yourself to perform at home against a team who thrashed you by 60 the last time you met, there is no hope for anybody else to do it.

One or two more close wins (there were so many fucking close losses) and we would have been finishing deep in the Top 8, which would have been a remarkable turnaround from the bottom placing in 2012. I don't think Elliot should take the whole, or even majority, or the blame for his players putting in half ass efforts at critical times.

I saw marked improvements in attacking plays, depth running utilised for the first time in forever, and tries scored from something other than the Kick-to-Manu.

Elliot brought Laumape in and showed faith in the guy when hardly any fans rated him - and he looks like a star in the making. Ditto Matagi; I cannot help but doubt super-conservative Cleary would have even considered giving an ex-con a chance.
Elliot also has helped the Fish finally reach his potential, and crafted Hurrell from a very rough product into one of the most feared ball carriers in the comp. We've made 5 top quality signings in my opinion, recruiting in all the right areas.

So we will hit next season with:

• Hurrell and Fish in increasingly dangerous form.
• Matagi and Laumape with a heap of experience under their belts. Even Taukeiaho looked a great prospect.
• A powerful running second rower who is replacing one of the dreaded tacklebots.
• A high quality depth halfback with over 17 games of NRL behind him.
• Two of the ESL's most highly rated young forwards, in a cunning plan to shake up the NYC atmosphere.
• AND arguably the best player England has produced in a generation.

All because of Elliot and Bell. When you balance the above development and recruitment against 2012, there is simply no comparison.

Elliot has also pulled the NYC and Vulcans teams into his grasp and will utilise these in far more efficient manner than his predecessors could.

So I will rate the guy on what he's doing holistically, not just on a missed Top 8 position thanks to a bunch of fuckwits who choose when to bother showing up and forget how to hold the ball or follow the coach's instructions.

Elliot has addressed the poison at the root of our club. Already he has publicly noted there are mental issues with the players, as shown in his declaration that the sport psychologist will be busy during the off season. I am confident that if players do not shape up, Elliot will weed them out for the betterment of others.

Longterm, Elliot will become our footballing manager and we will get a more modern, cutting edge coach with more tactical nous. But in the meantime I believe Elliot is and will continue doing a solid job of both roles.

 

[Gizzyfan]

I think Matt has done a pretty good job when you consider the train wreck he inherited. At least we know the team can compete with any team in the comp, if they turn up mentally.

That is the next step. I want to see a brutal pre-season, have them making decisions under the stress of fatigue and toughen them up mentally and physically. They have to realise making FG is the start of the work, if not, see ya later. I think Matt will provide that and have a real emphasis on the mental toughness required.

I don't think Matt will deliver us a premiership but he can put the pieces in place so it can be acheived. The Warriors could have done a lot worse than Matt. All in all, well done.

 

[blcu2003]

I gave him a C.

End of the day, you're judged by the results, and we came 11th.

If we got into the top 8 - it would have been a B.

Top 4 then an A.

Grand Final A+

NRL Premiership A++.

 

[Tim burgess]

All our eggs are been Placed in one basket With signing of Tompkins.

I just wonder what effective he will have on team, it could be a master stroke or could work against the team if he under performs, which I have a feelin one of the English imports is due to it fail which could leave the club with a highly paid player and team of unhappy players who already struggle with mental frailties.

Not sounding negative but it's a realpossibility we could end up with a sandow or benji marshall. I honestly believe money would have been well spent on signing a leader, not a razzle dazzle type player.

Again this is a prime example of Matt Elliott building a team around a couple of players like at penrith and leaving the club with numerous issues.

 

[KPWarrior]

As with the first round of polling, I went with D. It's a cut throat business and he'll be judged on end results, not the incremental progress!

I've given ME a lot of leeway this year, on the understanding that half the shit we're going through wasn't even his problem to start with, next year won't be so kind.

With the overall sub-standard of footy across the board in the NRL this year, fucken Mary Poppins could've coached this roster into the top 8 (guess she can't play halfback and coach at the same time!) There's been some positive signs in the playing department throughout the year, but this team is, without a doubt, mentally deficient when confronted with any kind of adversity, expectation, or even a change in the weather, in this regard ME has a lot of work to do.

I'm nowhere near calling for a new coach, in fact, if the Warriors announced another 2 year deal for ME tomorrow, I'd be perfectly happy with that, but I want to see a coach's authority stamped on this team, I want to see attitudes changed or out the fkn door, regardless of name, status, salary or position. We've fucked around for too many years to be persisting with the same crap attitude from players we give far too much credit to!

 

[blcu2003]

"nightmare of a team" ' " train wreck". ? really?

Mate the team wasnt THAT bad. If you really want a rabble of a team, populated with players who honestly are reserve grade quality, then that club is Parramatta.

The Warriors however, we're like a Ferrari. Just missing two wheels and a full tank of gas. Once we get those two missing wheels the full tank. she'll be good to go!

So bring on 2014 I say. And let see what sort of wheels Matty Elliot has found for the Ferrari!!!

 

[KPWarrior]

The Eels beat the fucken Dragons man! FFS.. the Warriors were a fucken lawn mower with no spark plug! fuck this silver lining crap!

 

[eudebrito]

B- or C+, it's easy to forget how incompetent they were at the start of the year, he has to wear that to some extent, yes they had injuries but ET the hooker and Carlos the centre were terrible ideas from day dot.
Since round 10 (penrith), it's kind of been warriors business as usual - an above average, but inconsistent team that can either foot it with the best or shoot themselves in the foot, with no real way of knowing which it will be week to week. Which is frustrating, but nothing new.

The biggest point in his favour was the development of the young players Hurrell, Fish, Laumape, Matagi, even Johnson improved (still a ways to go but) and Taylor, though he is leaving, had a good year.
Balanced on the other side of the ledger by down years from the more experienced players (even if some of them are still young) Locke, Mateo, Matulino, (not bad, but judging him against a high standard).

I think he knows what needs to be done, but then lots of coaches can say that, its the ones who can get their players to buy in consistently that are the A grade coaches year after year.
How long is his contract for? Not that I want to see another regime change after next year, but if they continue to shit the bed against the bottom placed teams, that might be what we get.

 

[Hitman82]

"nightmare of a team" ' " train wreck". ? really?

Mate the team wasnt THAT bad. If you really want a rabble of a team, populated with players who honestly are reserve grade quality, then that club is Parramatta.

The Warriors however, we're like a Ferrari. Just missing two wheels and a full tank of gas. Once we get those two missing wheels the full tank. she'll be good to go!

So bring on 2014 I say. And let see what sort of wheels Matty Elliot has found for the Ferrari!!!

In the past two seasons, we had:

• our worst losing streak of all time
• our biggest single defeat of all time
• more capitulations than any other team in the competition

Shit, if that isn't a nightmarish train wreck then I hate to think what is.

We may have had natural talent on our books through this whole time, but due to injury, shitty attitude and poor management we've managed to make our supposedly stacked roster look utterly second-rate.

I think our roster has been pretty heavily overrated.

Ferraris are far more reliable than the Warriors. Fuck, even an early rotary is more reliable than us haha. We're more like a Lada Samara with sand in the petrol tank.

but yes bring on 2014

 

[Apus]

I don't know if our roster is overrated. I think we have one of the most talented squads in the NRL. For us, I believe it's purely down to our style of play and mental aptitude (or lack thereof).

Elliot has stated that he will "never stifle our natural game", or something to that effect, but is that really a wise idea? How long has our 'natural game' NOT worked for us? Everyone seems to get caught up with good old Warrior-ball, and trying to harness that skill without our seemingly inevitable shit games. I don't think that will ever work though, purely because of how Warrior-ball is played. Some days that will come off, a lot of days it won't. It is the style of footy that troubles the good sides, but realistically won't win a premiership.

I went with B. I think Elliot has done a reasonable job with a squad that really isn't his. He has made some massive changes and don't forget that he has done them with barely any time before our last preseason started. I hope that next season we start to see the fruits of these changes, though with what I said above about my thoughts on Warrior-ball, I'm not overly optimistic.

 

[Akkerz]

Somewhere between C & D
Not blaming the Coach for this seasons result .ME had to get to know the players on his terms and with this rabble that in itself would be a mammoth exercise.

By now he has had a chance to suss out who's worth keeping, who's under performing, who's taking it easy & living the dream and who's just fucking brain dead.
Imo it's not so much about ME bringing us a p/ship next year as about his ability to identify the issues, work with those that are keen to make a difference and without a second thought cut those who are not putting in - regardless of ability or popularity.

I think ME is the right person, he appears a bit soft at times but he's no fool & those that have treated him as such may be in for a sharp lesson. The cuddly rug needs to be pulled away from a few incumbents & the new signings are a great start How the Club as a whole works to eradicate this 'mental weakness' is up to them, but they only have 2014 or I'll be calling 'off with his head'.
.

 

[Buck777]

Matthew Elliot

Arrived at the warriors knowing he was 5th choice behind Bellamy, Kidwell, Kearney and Sheens. This is just great for your self esteem. To be given the job after being effectively dumped by two other NRL clubs.

Arrive at a club that is an absolute dogs breakfast. No trainers, no gear, no winning attitude, senior players who took down the last coach, young punks who think they can walk on water, injured players and players that were seemingly the love children of Tony Iro.

The season begins and you lose 9 on the trot. The NZ Herald reports falsely that the Warriors are secretly recruiting another coach, which you have to go on TV and deny



This culminates in the worst defeat in the clubs history by a cellar dweller club coached by a dumped Warriors coach with slack arse soft as guacamole ex warrior players scoring at will.

But it's then in the darkest of times, when all hope is seemingly lost the true Matthew Elliot emerges. Somehow he gets everyone together in a honest all in brawl session. Never had players been so honest, even when they told Bluey to F off when he tried to talk about off field habits in Sydney.

Then the miracle occurs. Manu, Shaun Johnson, Hurrell, Fish, TL, Friend, ET....all find their A game and we win 7 on the trot. RLW has at least two warriors a week in the 'team of the week'. Sydney fawns over us, loving us, loving Matt Elliott...even putting cameras in the coach box



At the end we missed the finals by a whisker, probably one win. But we were looking at having the worst season ever, to compete with parramatta. 2013 has been a rebuild season. It's turned out way better than some of us realists could have imagined. When we were looking at getting Bellamy, there was a possibility that 2013 would be a caretaker season until he joined us next year. I wouldn't want Bellamy now. Matt Elliott has shown he can turn a team around, a team with heaps of baggage.

So I humbly submit he is worthy of a B+ grade. I hope he makes NZ his dynasty with a GF or two in his belt.