My opinion of potter

Wandering Tiger

Wandering Tiger

Active member
this just my opinion.

but its hard to like coach michael potter when we are last. over the course of 10 rounds this is what i have seen and dont like/understand what michael potter has done:

1\. Benching our beloved captain Robbie Farah who is an 80 minute player. The current origin Hooker throughout the game.
2\. Benching marhsall from starting line up and replacing him with a 2nd rower
3\. adam blair at lock, then 2nd row and now prop. how are you not seeing how bad he is
4\. The amount of time it took to realize teddy should be at fullback
5\. he still havent worked out that sironen is not only not a 5/8 but he definately isnt a halfback. HE IS A BACKROWER! ever heard of a ball playing forward?
6\. he said something along the lines of im not always going to be on players good side but im doing what needs to be done for the team. Where is the unity?
7\. he need to sack your conditioning staff. the injuries… every year the injuries. do some damn research and get better people for the job.
8\. although he can be applauded for trying new things however if these new things always backfire then maybe its time to go back to the basics, with a formula that is tried and true then maybe try it a lil later in smaller doses until you have a better success rate.
9\. so far its pretty clear his lack of any NRL coaching experience is shining bright and its to date very clear why we are last.

im hoping things start picking up, i would love nothing more for tigers to start turning things around. this would all be moot. ill always support the tigers but man im not digging our coach. sorry harry.

:wtf
 
All your points/issues all stem from things out of potters control.
He inherited a team and staff and is doing the best he can with it.
Cap room is limited due to the decisions of the previous coach and CEO so some players are playing out of position due to injuries and poor form of incumbent players.
He cant hire new staff because the current staff would need to be paid out and we cant even afford to pay out our old coach so that won't happen.

Potter needs to time to build his squad and bring in his staff. Whether the board recognises this or punts him early time will only tell.
 
All i want Potter to be is assertive.. call a lemon a lemon and not sugarcoat things.
How he manages the team is really his business as he has been given the job to be the coach.
The only negative i have is he seems too much of a nice guy. I want him to get his angry face on and deal with the issues that are clear, Blair for one, getting the team ready mentally as well. Farah was devastated after the souths game, down and out and Potter still didnt look pissed off at the conference.
 
It's hard to have an opinion of him having never met him. He appears to be a no nonsense, quiet achiever. Nobody's 'best mate', doesn't get outwardly excited, shout and carry on. Methodical. Really what counts is; does he understand attacking and defensive team structure? Does he understand individual and team motivation. Is he a straight talker?

Personally I think it's ludicrous to try to evaluate his performance after such a short time especially, as per BeeJay's comments, with the teams fitness etc situation this year. And with the increasingly obvious chaos in the 'organisation' above him, you would have to forgive him for thinking wtf have I gotten myself into? At least, in spite of all that, it looks like he's having a dig. As I said in another thread; this trial of fire could just be the making of a great coach. Give him time.
 
Mick Potter doesn’t' have the respect of the players.
He has the wrong attitude of a coach I clearly heard him say on the Sunday footy show after he dropped Benji that he doesn't have to be the player’s friend.

When you’re a coach if you want to create a great club culture you have to be their coach their friend and you just about have to be a father figure to the young guys.

I know that’s what Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett and Tim Sheens did previously for the Wests Tigers. You can't just walk around like King S$%T and say I’m the coach I’ll do whatever I want.

It's not just the injuries why we are losing it's the fact players are turning up to the game with the wrong attitude because the coach has failed to establish himself on the team.

Potter thinks he is Warren Ryan….newsflash.....Your a dud
 
Why is it some players still turn up and put in?

I would rather keep Potter and punt every lazy, slacking piece of crap we have under contract.

Our culture is a disgrace and has been for more then five years.

Apart from that how do you presume to know what he is like at Concord when you are not there?
 
It's easy to suggest that Potter is part of the problem, especially when we're losing. I believe though that Potter is the answer. He arrived after all the planning for this season was done and has had his squad demolished by injury at a time where our back up players are predominantly young guys a year or two out of nyc. Salary cap pressures only add to the perfect storm for Potter. I also think too many people are reading far too much into Potter's comment that "he doesn't have to be friends with the players". It's not like he stated he was at war and was enemies with his players. The coach is coach first and foremost and that was the point he was making.
 
@smeghead said:
Why is it some players still turn up and put in?

I would rather keep Potter and punt every lazy, slacking piece of crap we have under contract.

Our culture is a disgrace and has been for more then five years.

Apart from that how do you presume to know what he is like at Concord when you are not there?
Click to expand...

Why is it Most Don't put in? Why is it that the team look totally lost when we have been training for 8 months with Potter.

I think its easier to get a new coach rather than punt 20 players and 10 officials.

Benji is not going anywhere so the culture will not change. Potter v Marshall only one winner.

I would rather get rid of Potter and get someone that can motivate the players 2013 style not 1980 style. No way would we be last if Sheens was still there.

Mick Potter doesn’t' have the respect of the players and they are turning up to the game with dud game plans.

Lets get Manly tired then bring Robbie back on…..dud
Lets bring Benji off the Bench after 20 minutes...dud
Spence playing instead of Groat....dud

What's to come next in the great game plans Potter style.
 
Most didn't put in last year, or the year before that, or the year before that.

The problem is that 80% of the squads have been building to what is now the dominant side make up while we have recruited back rower after back rower and gone backwards year after year. When Benji was younger and more elusive we got away with it because that is how special he was. Times change, Benji is slowing down and without forwards to bend the line he has less space. Who do we see about that? The current coach or the senile muppet ho single handed bought this squad to the shambles it is

It wont matter who you bring in to coach.

That won't change until you start turning over those players
 
@smeghead said:
Most didn't put in last year, or the year before that, or the year before that.

The problem is that 80% of the squads have been building to what is now the dominant side make up while we have recruited back rower after back rower and gone backwards year after year. When Benji was younger and more elusive we got away with it because that is how special he was. Times change, Benji is slowing down and without forwards to bend the line he has less space. Who do we see about that? The current coach or the senile muppet ho single handed bought this squad to the shambles it is

It wont matter who you bring in to coach.

That won't change until you start turning over those players
Click to expand...

Once again good call Smeg.
 
@Irvine said:
Mick Potter doesn’t' have the respect of the players.
He has the wrong attitude of a coach I clearly heard him say on the Sunday footy show after he dropped Benji that he doesn't have to be the player’s friend.

When you’re a coach if you want to create a great club culture you have to be their coach their friend and you just about have to be a father figure to the young guys.

I know that’s what Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett and Tim Sheens did previously for the Wests Tigers. You can't just walk around like King S$%T and say I’m the coach I’ll do whatever I want.

It's not just the injuries why we are losing it's the fact players are turning up to the game with the wrong attitude because the coach has failed to establish himself on the team.

Potter thinks he is Warren Ryan….newsflash.....Your a dud
Click to expand...

Really? When Bellamy rips strips off the players at halftime do you really believe he is being their friend? When Bennett doesn't speak to the players for a week because they didn't put in is being their friend?

I disagree. You are there to bring the best out of the players…not feed their ego!
 
Potter can't be his own man in control of Sheens team. IMO Sheens' coaching staff still have a significant bearing on the attitude and make up of the line up. Nothing will change until Potter is given the opportunity to establish a roster he is comfortable with and put his own stamp on the team.
 
one thing i do like about potter is that he is quick to realise his mistake and then rectify it.

benching robbie : he hasnt done that again
bodene in the centres: hasnt done that again
benching benji: even though not a mistake, he got what he wanted from that benching imo… good call

it takes time to make friends when there are quite a few egoes around. potter doesn't care about how he is portrayed in the media.. he is the boss.
in saying that, i agree with some that he does need to earn respect of his players.. that will come when some of the calls he makes work out and they realise that the coach is right. it shouldnt come to this, but with the culture there is in the team, it has.
 
There are alot of unknowns about Potter at this stage. He simply needs time and a good back end of the season as far as injuries go. HIs whole pre season has pretty much gone out the window in regards to attacking and defensive structures (half the team is injured).
I do have some worries with Potter though.

The first thing I think he needs to do after dropping Blair is remove Royce. I love the guys personality but he just hasn't cut it as an assistant coach, defensive coach or head coach. If we are moving forward he should go imo.
 
Aisde from benching our guns during games,his selections have me mystified..
\
\
He obviously wants to dumb down our game and earn field position,yet picks an innefective pack full of lightweights,ok if ur gonna spin the ball and use hands,but not so good slogging it up the guts.

If he sticks with this approach we need big boppers,Groat,Ava.Mr T…....and whoever else is big and nasty,and drop blokes that have no impact re Blair,Pettybourne,Thompson.
 
I would have this pack….

Woods/Farah/Ava.....Sue/Buchanan/Fulton.

Reserves.....Sirro/Groat/Mr T/BMM.

That's if POtter sticks with the grunt approach.
 
If you're going to be critical, first walk a mile in his shoes.

I've walked into a completely dysfunctional team, having (bravely or ignorantly) assured management that I had what it took to turn the team around. I had no idea what I was up against. Who was really performing & who was dragging the chain.

The first thing I had to do was clearly define my role to the players. The absolute last thing you want to do is come across as everyones mate. If you do, you've already lost the battle and might as well go home. You can't effectively and dispassionately evaluate what's going on if you're everybody's mate.

Then I had to develop my plan of where I wanted the team to be and communicate that to them, and watch carefully to evaluate who had what skills, who was putting in and who was dead wood. That said, I can see the value in changing players up (e.g. Bodene as Center) because early after my arrival in the team I did exactly the same, sussing out combinations. That takes time even in a relatively stable environment. The Tigers have had anything but a stable environment.

Gradually as my team plan started to sink in, the players who were putting in realised that something was starting to work and they were starting to build some team synergy. The slackers found themselves increasingly on the outer with the rest of the performing team and some drifted off of their own accord while others received encouragement to look elsewhere. I could then recruit into a halfway performing team that others wanted to be a part of.

Many commentators here talk about shifting this player or that player like its just a loose collection of individuals. It's not, and it's far more complex than that, building a team from a loose group of individuals.

In my situation, although we ended up with a very good team, i'm certain some of the individuals still don't like me. Nobody likes to hear that they're not performing!

While I've done this sort of thing before, I can't imagine being in the pressure cauldron of the Tigers at the moment. Give Potter a break. Let him do his job. I think he will do it well.
 
all very interesting points. i do agree we kinda need to see how this plays out… you guys could be right. he may well be a good coach just needs time to blossom. but i am more or less calling it as i see and i have see this many times over with other teams. i do hope for our sake it works out but as i said so far no good. players do need to take blame for our position. but its potter's job to squash egos that spiral out of control, its his job to bring the team together with upmost unity, it is his job to pick a side where players will benefit from the position they are placed in.

he has had a while to be with these current group of players. coaches have come into sides mid season and havent fallen as bad. those teams i am refering to were where we are now with injuries, in house fighting, board issues etc.

Potter like the players so far are the issue and as i said hope this issue is quickly resolved. as part of the modern game. coaches are first to get the boot when results are strickened!
 
I think Potter is doing the best he can.

He isnt out there missing tackles.

Positional changes is due to injury so thats a no brainer.

And dropping both benji to the bench and robbie earlier this year was correct also. I think there are a couple of senior players who think they run the shop and that needs to change.

Its not as if Benji or Robbie are having the best seasons and he has dropped them for nothing.

It astonishes me that people dont understand why Benji was dropped. It really does..

There are some die hard fans out there that only see the one off mircale plays he makes and not the 5 missed tackles a game and copius amounts of errors.
 
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