Chris71: mwindass: Rohan Smith was clueless at Leeds which didn't help. They played with no structure which wouldn't have helped Sezer.
Not getting too excited yet, but us signing Sezer but it looks like we've got the right player with a coach who can get the best out of him. Asiata is controlling the middle and giving him a load of space too
Like you I'm not getting too giddy yet, however crucially for me we finally have a proper Head Coach who has vast experience at the highest level in the todays game. Cartwright Snr is one of the best bits of business the club has done in years, a tough competitor with a will/desire to win, knows how & when to communicate to his players and staff.
We are also starting to see the benefits of the structures that Cartwright has implemented with his staff something we haven't had for years.
I'll admit I was dubious to say the least when Sezer was signed but so far I'm happy to have my doubts proven unfounded.
Sure there'll be bumps in the road as we go through the season but the difference in the whole club in 6-7 months verses the past 6-7 years in huge.
As you say Chris, the appointment of Cartwright has been the key moment in the rebirth of the club, and it really is beginning to feel like a rebirth, we look like a club that has re-found its historic identity. All the good signs that we are seeing so far would seem to emanate from the coach's attitude and application in how a modern day RL club should be run.
Watching his post-match interview on Saturday night I was struck by the quiet authority he radiates when speaking, the way he shifted the praise for the win onto the players, downplaying his own considerable contribution to what is happening around the club since he arrived, not wishing to put the spotlight on himself too much.
Listening to him speak gave the impression of a man who commands huge respect in the dressing room from his players without the need for him to be heavy-handed in any way. I suspect that when he speaks, the players listen as one. These are the type of coaches that can get players to run through brick walls for them, even if the players don't even realise they are running through walls. I reckon if he told me to get running I would be shifting my aging legs into gear as fast as I could (not very fast these days!!!).
A little over six months ago we were humiliated by London at Magic weekend in a performance so pathetic it had many of us wondering if the club was about to disappear through the floorboards and into oblivion. Like you say, the difference in every single aspect of the club in just six months is nothing short of incredible, and a significant amount of credit for this about turn in fortune has to go down to Cartwright and his ability to get the very best out of who he is working with.
Still an enormous amount of work to do for us to be right back where we all want to be, along with the usual bumps in the road, but we increasingly look to have found the right man for the job ahead. Never underestimate the quiet man who knows all along exactly what he is doing is right. Fingers crossed, we would appear to be on our way upwards once more.
