How much of our situation are the players alone responsible for?
Are they letting TS and Agar down?

I'm not shying away from pointing a finger at Captain Hill no matter what the Leighther who thinks I'm a plum says. He's been bang average at the very best, captains knock my backside, he spends more time giving the opposition cheap penalties and having weekends away.
On the last couple of seasons showing...he's overrate.....or is it part of some sneaky plot....?



I've a feeling theres a conspiracy from senior big earners to condemn us to relegation and so be able to walk and get another big fat signing on contract. Don't they all stand to profit big from failure?

The players have to be responsible for their poor showings. However, things go stale. It is also up to the coach to motivate and get the best out of his players....this is obviously not happening either. So in answer to your question, it is a bit of both IMO.

As for Hill. Never a captain in a million years. Top player, hes been great for us. Yes, hes been poor this year. Apart from Atkins (and im not his biggest fan) and Julien, who hasn't been poor? For me, Hill moans too much at the officials, back chats, when no matter what the decision he needs to be bollocking his players....'you've seen the ref is giving us nothing, dont give him an excuse to penalize you'.

Personally id have Ratch as captain.

A lot.

I'm not saying that to back up your conspiracy theories on voiding contracts and we will never really know the full facts on player unrest with the coaching team BUT where is their professional pride, why can't they play for each other and us?

Very disappointing and that's putting it mildly, has anyone of them got anywhere near never mind even met their expectations?

Bar some of the youngsters Atkins is the only player who can hold his head high this season - the rest have ranged from below par to absolutely woeful.

Well, we don't know what is being said and done behind the scenes but Longbarns answer would be mine as well. The coach has to carry the can for the abysmal results this year, but the players also have a responsibility, and we seem to have gone from a situation where bad form predominated early season, to one where the majority of the players are not putting in the effort on the field. In Clark, Hill and Ratchford we have 3 internationals, yet living in the basement of SL. Even though we have weaknesses in key positions, logic would say we should be at least in the top 5 or 6 this year. It sounds as though the players have given up.

Hill has had a very poor year. And starting to get niggly with the officials and giving penalties.

I'd be happy with Ratchford as Captain. Captain material but not a fixed position. Only Warrington.

The players shoulder all responsibility on the field with the coaches shouldering the responsibility for keep them to plan, when it starts to go wrong the coaches have to step up to the plate and turn it round. Currently they have not turned anything around. I can only see that Brown is the only real change from last year, is it that the chaps are upset with him and/or his package?

I think that the players will sort themselves a scrap through to SL next year.

Hill was never a 'captain', great player (this season aside) but just not a captain.

In many respects I believe the extra responsibility of this role has actually harmed his performances.

I don't know the fella personally but to me he seems more of the 'strong and silent' type, not traits that lend themselves well to geeing the lads up..(insert further captains role here)

Just as much as smith and agar!!

There has been something not quite right from day one! Smith n agar cannot get out there make the tackles create space run lines get to dummy half for the play the ball players are just not doing it with any enthusiasm it's too late to debate the reasoning however if they are playing for new contracts then they are not doing a good job of it I feel that the split is over people getting new contracts and others not and their performances have reflected that

I'm not a fan of smiths game plan and how we're playing ATM and the players probably not over enthused about itvbutbthey have a choice stick to the plan or play what's in front of them! If they really wanted to win then they would play to win and they are not which is why in part barring a handful I wouldn't be bothered if they were here not here next year want professional players who's desire to win is greater than any kind of disgruntlement!!

Which clubs are going to take any of Warrington's players on fat contracts for next year, then? Most sensible clubs would be steering well clear of the vast majority of the current squad on this year's evidence.

Look at any business that's had a change in fortunes.

The business is doing well, staff performing well, rewards being reaped.

In time, business starts to falter and less rewards are reaped. Head of business doesn't respond to changing market conditions and persists with old business plan.

Does HE get replaced? Or do the STAFF get replaced?

I think the players are are bit 'Leicester City' in all this...... my money is on getting rid of Smith a seeing a COMPLETE turn around in attitude.... Smith has lost them. None of them are enjoying playing rugby at the minute, and that's the main problem.

New coach, new ideas, new start.... im amazed were still persisting with this current suicidal plunge to the championship.

The players are completely responsible. For all the complexities of modern rugby league, if you run harder and tackle harder that your opponents, you won't be far off. We plod into contact and drop off tackles. While the intricacies and details are for the coach to plan for, knocking your opponent on his back is a black and white science.

It doesn't matter if they are to blame. 25+ full time players vs 2 head coaches/assistant coach.

No brainer where the first change starts.

Lack of an enforcer type player or two has been mentioned as part of our demise, and probably so.

However our own team also seems to lack an enforcer type player or two to maintain a bit of a healthy fear factor within the ranks,

There is nobody to keep them all in line, they just do what they want, a bunch of celebs basically

The blame lies with anybody who is in a position to do something about what has been happening, the person with the most influence is obviously the person in charge of preparing the team for weekdays, if that's Agar then Smith should have stopped his methods ages ago, he is after all the head coach.

If then players are as unhappy as we are with the attacking structures and that is what is being coached then they should really be able to work together to find their own way, it can't go any worse! Even if it was mutiny against coaching our injury record would have meant that its not as though anyone could have been dropped, so they should shoulder some of the blame as they could have done something about it, it's far more difficult for them though without the risk of splitting the camp. A good example of this going well was when the Hull players shut Radford out of the changing room last year and then the subsequent response.

That said the lack of support play in attack and line speed in defence has been appalling and is basic stuff, if our players need to be coached that then they shouldn't really call themselves professionals. A lot of our problems seem to stem from lack of effort off the ball, if our coaches are calling them to play like that then they should have been sacked ages ago. For me though, it's still really up to coaches to get the best out of players in terms of performance levels, that's not been happening so the coaching staff have totally failed.

I feel most let down by Smith and Agar, I feel let down by the board for allowing it to go on without changing anything (they could have done something by now) and I feel let down by the players. I put the blame in that order.

Spot on, MDC. When I watched the televised game on Friday, it struck me how obvious it is that Castleford's players absolutely love their job. To a man, they were playing with a beaming smile on their face.

In contrast, we look utterly deflated. And that has been happening, in spells, since Morley left. Heads go down way too quickly; too often 13 men are stood beneath the posts in deathly silence. What's worse is that scoring first, early on, often tends to be the kiss of death.

But the real issue is that all this is glaringly obvious to anyone watching. Yet what are the repercussions? A player like Asotasi can steal a living for two years and never be at risk of being dropped. After those two years you can have one good game as you retire and that is enough in the eyes of the club management and many supporters to earn you "legend" status. The culture stinks, from top to bottom.

The players have had their fill of TS and RA its plain to see. If the Board had made the change at Easter or indeed after Newcastle we would probably be looking at a very different end to the season. The responsibility has shifted to the Board and they have performed poorly, changing TS and RA should only be the start for SM, the Board he entrusts have seriously let him, the fans and the club down!

A new broom is required once the season ends, but for now remove TS and RA to pep up the players going into the middle 8's!

Poor management throughout the club to let it get into this state ,men in expensive suits & flat cap ideas trying to run a business. No wonder Draper jumped on his bike.

Maybe it all makes sense Draper leaving. Did he walk before he was pushed as he wasn't prepared to sit back and wait for club to wallow in its own muck.

On other hand, it is known he was happy to spend the clubs money, and all we got out of it was a new badge.

IMO things have been allowed to drift and go stale at Wire. Failure in the GF last year was the signal to bring in a new man and some fresh ideas to take over from Smith and Agar. Smith's been around too long.

Draper probably left as he could see that Smith has too tight a grip on the club and therefore would struggle to get too many ideas through?

And fan engagement.
Membership
Surveys
Updated website
Social Media offering

What is odd is that 2 years ago the club appointed Draper because we needed a world class sports administrator who had contacts through the world of sport and politics, together with expertise and experience to handle budgets upwards of 8 figures. To re-model our offering and engage with the support base to build a world brand. Whereas now we need a novice lower/middle level manager.

Something definitely wrong at the Wire .

Memberships are season tickets by any other name. Surveys have gone with the wind.
The website is better, but my dog colouring in the floor with a crayon would have been an improvement. As for social media & we wouldn't be privy to an increased improvement in cost per click, can only judge in engagement, and you can hashtag whatever you want, if we're losing, it's going to be negative responses. Only thing that get positive responses seem to be picking the bands.