Ciraldo at the Dogs gets so many advantages with Gus Gould at the helm. Being able to poach Galvin just being the latest example. Even Ryles at Parra is not a fair comparison given the advantages he has going for him: i) wealthy leagues club, ii) good juniors pathways and iii) Center of Excellence, etc. Fitzgibbon at Cronulla also had a stacked premiership ready roster to work with on arrival. Coaches need to be evaluated not on the absolute results but on their value add: how much they improve a team conditional on the roster they have.
I think a better young coach comparison with Benji is Andrew Webster at the Warriors. Both Benji and Webster started at roughly the same time and arguably, you'd say our roster has been better than the wahs over the same period. Maybe I am just being brainwashed by the many wahs fans I am surrounded by. But from the outside looking in what Webster has done over there is quite incredible. He's on track to make 2 top 4 finishes in his first 3 years as coach. Only Bellamy and Cleary has achieved that feat over the same period. Their cup side has lost 2 games all year and they are the 2 time reigning Harold Matts champs.
Contrast that with what Benji has done with us over the last 2 years. Galvin shenanigans aside, we had our chances to make the 8 this year. We were still 5-4 before the Melbourne debacle. Maybe things improve next year but if they don't, throwing the kitchen sink to get Webster back to the club wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.
