Is it me or was Kieron Cunningham watching a completely different game to me last night ?

He has to say something - can't see him seeing the season out tbh

Unless they win something, which seems unlikely, I think Saints have given up the right to be involved in this comp for a while tbh. Give their place to a Hull or something - at least there would be a decent crowd.

They should have drug tested him - he definitely sounded like he was on something!!

On last nights performance Saints would not have got with 12 points of the current Superleague's bottom club!!!!

Could be a long season for Saints, especially if their coach is satisfied with that

Sounded like a dead man walking to me.

T'was a bizarre interview and almost on a par with some of McDermott's early efforts (yellow rubber gloves notwithstanding).

Credit to Saints, they reduced the margin from last year.

The bounce of the ball, refereeing decisions etc had nothing to do with the result though. I know from speaking to Saints fans there's an enormous frustration with the way they play under Cunningham though, which might get covered over by good results but if they don't start picking up wins I can see him gone before Magic Weekend.

Think they need to announce one or two impressive signings this year to at least offer something to their fans to look ahead to in 2017. Quite a few underwhelming signings there recently, a bit like us early days McDermott with the likes of Richard Moore, Ben Cross, Weller Hauraki etc but then got our act together with the likes of Moon, Briscoe, Cuthbertson and Ferres.

It was utterly bizarre from Cunningham. I hope he was trying to manage his teams emotions and was just really bad at it. If he really means what he says then Saints have big problems. But either way he's made himself look very foolish.

I'm not sure, seems to be a reoccurring theme with his post match interviews. I know on the Saints board they were critical of his comments after the Salford game and some of our wins against them last year his interviews I thought sounded poor.

In terms of post match interviews he's becoming the worst in the league which is saying something considering some of the other coaches.

Agree, I was disappointed with Cunningham's comments last season. He seemed to fluctuate wildly from utterly, OTT lambasting his team to laying the blame on bad luck or bad reffing and often disrespecting the opposition.

It seems to me anyway that he can't really control his emotions, which is strange considering he rarely seemed to lose it when he was a player.

I've thought for a while that Saints have made some poor decisions with their staff. I think they made Mike Rush CEO very quickly considering only a few years ago he was just coaching the academy. I think they've got carried away with having ex Saints players on the staff. IIRC there's Sean Long, Tommy Martyn, Paul Wellens & Ade Gardner in addition to Cunningham. Not to mention I think Cunningham was put into the job very quickly.

It's why I'm not overally fussed about any of the 'Golden Generation' being suggested for head coaching gigs at Leeds after retirement. If they go away first somewhere lower down and show themselves to be quality then think about it. Can try adding one to the coaching staff if you really think it'll improve the staff and squad to do so. As good as some of our guys have been for us as players, history in sport is full of great players who failed as coaches.

Like you said it seems very 'jobs for the boys' over at Saints at the moment and they look to be heading backwards because of it. What will be interesting if it does then how long will they hold off on pulling the trigger on Cunningham and his boys. I just get the feeling because of his status there that they'll be much more relucatant to do it than if it was any other coach who didn't have a Saints legacy and thus they'll keep him potentially longer than they should.

Spot on. Daryl Powell is the best example of this. Club board members get obsessed with the continuity idea instead of accepting that a golden era has been and gone. Thought Saints were heading in the right direction with a great crop of youngsters, but sadly they are being led by an inept coaching setup.

Didn't Hetherington say a few years back that all coaches only have a shelf life of 3 to 4 years. It's in the clubs interest to keep it rotating. I know it's a bit off topic but I for 1 would love to see what a Trent Robinson could do with our squad. Not that he would come but there will be some great ones there. His tactical knowledge on Friday was outstanding.

We seem to have something of an obsession in this country with wanting our coaches to be people who played the game at the highest level.

Trent Robinson played four games in the NRL. Wayne Bennett played 7 times for Queensland in the pre State of Origin days, but never played in the much stronger NSW competition of that period. Brian Smith played 31 games for St George & Souths. There is no requirement to have been a top player in order to be a top coach, something the NFL shows over and over again.

Does it come down to pathways again? Are talented coaches with a depth of knowledge and understanding of the game being given the opportunity to test themselves in the professional ranks, or is having a "name" and a connection to the club more important? How do the likes of say Chris Plume get to be in an influential position at a top SL club, and what can we do to give more coaches within the community game an opportunity to cut their teeth ahead of ex-players?

Totally agree. Coaching skills and playing skills are very different. All you need playing wise is to have pulled in a shirt and played the game at top level, or been around that environment - Robinson may have only played a few NRL games but that probably included going through the system and being coached at top level for a number of years. That's enough to understand what RL players actually feel when they are on the pitch etc. Four games or 400 makes no difference IMO.

I wouldn't compare with the NRL though, it's very, very different and head coaches who haven't played will have several ex players doing the nitty gritty. Coaching teams are huge.

The NFL? Oh yeah, I know. Coaching teams will often include ex-players along the line somewhere, but a high percentage of those who move into coaching often do so because they've not made it as a player when they've left college. They'll start as interns or coaching assistants working alongside experienced coaches on short term contracts, then go on from there.

Have thought for a few years that their recruitment has been dodgy.

For me they have struggled to replace genuine quality leaving or retiring. Now I don't want to get too carried away only two games into the post Sinny and peacock years but that is a clear warning for us in my eyes.

Why? Who could do any better than what Brian Macca has done last season
?

The way it's going with saints at the moment, they'll be moving Kieran Cunningham's statue from outside Langtree park stadium to
outside the Wire ground.

not saying it is the case with Cunningham but think some great players are not always able to relate and improve lesser players than they were because they can't see/ understand the player's weaknesses or limitations. Unlike more workmanlike players.

In Australia there are good standard comps for coaches to learn at below NRL (Qld and NSW Cup), and most clubs have decent structures for bringing coaches through. Bellamy at the Storm is the best example, with other clubs knowing that his assistants are generally really high class.

There's a reason why Robinson and Maguire did very well in SL - they are damn good coaches. They are also a younger generation from when SL was getting the likes of Folkes, Simmons etc. They are seemingly far more technically proficient. Its probably no coincidence that NRL clubs seem to have jumped ahead of SL again.

The best older coaches are the likes of Bennett, who both keeps learning but also surrounds himself with quality assistants.

You seem to think I was criticizing McDermott??. I was very happy with what we achieved last season. I was merely pointing out a comment Hetherington had previously made and the fact that I would like to see what a good Aussie coach could do with our team. Apart from Murray we have never had in recent times what I would call a top overseas coach, who is very tactically aware, unlike most of our rivals. Not saying in the slightest that I want rid of McDermott.