Raiders confirm what we already knew

I’ll point the finger to Don Furner as much as Matt Elliott. IMHO at the end of the day he (M.E.) should have the final decision as to the direction his team is moving. If that is not the case than I suggest that the club is in real trouble.

I think you are entirely correct about Jason Smith, and this illustrates the problem with the Raiders; they are the Rugby League equivalent of a one horse town. An let’s be honest, the horse they do have is only a season or two away from the glue factory.

The reason we are a one man operation is beacuse of piss poor planning. Terrible recruiting and developement is to blame. Maybe this is attributable to the Mal’s coaching days?

The senior board has been around for a long time and in my eyes have done a terrible job marketing the ACT and the Raiders to players who could consolidate the team.

I’m not calling for his head as I think Matty is a great bloke and a top coach, however I would suggest he is at least partially to blame for the clusterf*ck that is the Raiders. He needs to sit down with Don and the rest of the board and have a big long talk about direction and strategy as the Raiders are doing his career no favours (yet he still sticks around).

Talk about a skills shortage in the ACT; can anyone play footy?

I think it was only a once off jersey that had something to do with abbo reconciliation.

Matty Elliott would have some influence over the Raiders’ recruiting decisions. But other people on the board would also be making decisions. If anyone wants to do finger pointing then don’t forget them as well.

Jason Smith was always going to be a big gamble. He showed early in the season how he can be devastating. But I think the Raiders relied on him too much. When he’s out with injury things go pear-shaped.

It’s called scapegoating, it’s been around for years and it’s a shitty way to go about change.

Truth be told the Rabbitohs are playing some pretty good footy at the moment. However;
If they want to sack Matty Elliot we begin the hunt for a coach who would be prepared to take on a pretty ordinary team. I’m not convinced that there would be many first grade coaches willing to do this based on the poor developement and the lack of recruiting power.

Maybe these fundamental problems are in fact the fault of Matt Elliot. Surely he has a say into how the club fields a team. IMHO it’s these areas which are letting the Green Machine down.

Bring on Season 2006 beofre it gets any worse!

PS: What did you think of the alternate playing stip on Saturday night? Can’t say I’m a fan at all but I’m interested in other people thoughts.

I agree. Elliott took the Raiders to the finals last year and to 4th place the year before. The Raiders have missed a tonne of players this year due to injury (and silly suspensions). You can’t blame Matthew Elliott for that.

The Raiders forums are full of rabid pronouncements of Elliot’s incompetence. I tend to agree that there is a problem in the structure, but am not convinced of the role Elliot plays in this.