Smith has already said that isn't the case.

Agree W Poaching was left with poor squad turned the team round by bringing in younger players and forwards who could defend ,Think he was worth one more year .May be he was no good at golf

He still has to add to his back room staff, unless GE is going to stay. If not then where would he go. He could also be number 2 to Brian Mc?

What a f disgrace we had 5 years of tourcher with chezzy but mc sacks WP and fc why ?:

I blame vastman he said he can’t coach wrong again he can but with more money which I hear was an issue vastman wrong again

Yeah, by the end of the season I thought he was worth another year, just because maybe he had learned where he had gone wrong earlier in the year. But we don't know what was happening behind the scenes and the actual reason for the turnaround in form,

I guess we'll only know how good a decision it is come this time next year

I can’t say I’m not bemused by todays announcement but I’ve got to comment on the amount of fans that have been so vocal.

We’ve got to presume the club have done this for a reason and on the basis that whoever is on their way will take the club further than WP could.

Comments like “Absolute joke, do the club seriously think we can pull someone who’ll do a better job?” will be interesting to look back on in a week or two.

Well only a short while ago when we were staring oblivion in the face ,nearly everyone to a man wanted pochings head on a plate , now he’s got shown the door those same people are now aghast , fickle springs to mind . Hopefully our new coach will be installed pronto , and get on with planning and recruiting for next season . Batten down the hatches over the coming days/weeks as everyone and his dog will have their names banded about for the job . Let’s take a deep breath and just wait for an official statement on our next leader . FWIW I was talking to the dad of a member of staff a month or so ago , and when asked what was thought of Poching, his words were smashing bloke but too soft , make of that what you will .

Agree 100%

As Schunter says above, I think the time to judge will be in a year's time, not a couple of weeks at the announcement.

If the 'standard' of coaching was that bad, how come they managed to play well at the back end of the season?
Toulouse was a big game to lose and that can't be blamed on WP.
I remember the last time the players at Wakey complained about the coaching/training!
That led to a superb honeymoon period for CC, then performances gradually deteriorated until JK was brought in and we looked like a team again but after JK left, the performances deteriorated once again.
Think WP has been given the s#!tty end of the stick on this one.

Only time will tell

If the stats are correct Willies record in all games is
played 36
Lost 19
Won 17
Win ratio of 47%

What were they expecting him to do win the Grand Final

Which is better than kear, agar and chester

I must admit I was shocked when I heard the announcement, this is a massive change of identity within the club losing a large and influential chunk of our squad and removing the coaching staff. I believe that this decision has been made for some time and that said coach has a better recruitment strategy/contacts.

If so, you would expect an announcement in the next day or two because they should be ready to sign. Fingers crossed

I’m just guessing (hoping) like most on here. It’s really taken me by surprise this, but clearly Willie didn’t fit the picture of where we need to be next year. The thing for me is he simply hasn’t had his contract renewed, so this might of been dealt with after we beat KR? Surely if you don’t renew someone’s contract there’s obviously other people in mind to take over. The Infamous Trinity rollercoaster continues…….. all aboard.

I find it hard to believe the club don't have someone lined up having made this decision, if not already agreed. The club will have been considering this for months however... the timing seems odd. The announcement for example could have been made prior to the last game to give Willie a send off so can assume they have only just made the final decision - so has someone come available that the club couldn't miss an opportunity on? And the club and Willie have already spoken about recruiting together for enxt season which I find odd.

Having put down my phone for the rest of this season and the closed season… I have to return for these new developments…

I was mildly surprised when I saw the news… six games ago I think this would have been nailed on.. but a few good wins and some against weaker ‘end of season’ teams changed the horizon a little.

I like Willie as a person.. but I’m not close enough to assess his management, his coaching methods or his interpersonal skills…

The next few weeks will be very revealing.. could be very very good or very very bad… naturally the nature of being a trinity fan leans us towards the latter!

Agree with this. Genuinely wouldn’t surprise me if it’s someone like Brett Hodgson.

Shocked by this one if I’m honest.

Out of curiosity, did Featherstone hold their press conference.

Brian Mc was interviewed when Chester left, but was his character too strong for MC at the time.

Who knows maybe that struck a chord, as did the player revolt earlier in the season, and the thought was this could have been avoided with a stronger character on board, and maybe now trying to address the situation.

Certainly feel sorry for WP, as I think he’s done ok with what he’s had to work with

Fev press release delayed till tomorrow. Contract extensions expected. Bit of clever mischief by the Blue Wall there I reckon.

Three contract extensions, the two they signed from Toulouse and the Australian centre,

Wonder if this new owner, or investor shall we say, mentioned in another thread this evening wanted a stronger mindset in the training camp, to be more in line with the top end clubs.

If that is so, then I can see some logic in it