Don't be surprised to now get the usual "if a player wants to drink/smoke/dress up as a pillar box in their spare time then it's nothing to do with us, it's what they do on the pitch that counts" retorts.

I can well imagine that Saints/Leeds etc. expect a certain level of professionalism, which rules out habitual/constant smoking etc.

I would have thought you'd be hard pressed to enforce a smoking bad either practically or legally. The answer is to recruit the right type of person in the first place

You can enforce whatever conditions of employment you like (within reason), if people dont want to adhere, they can go elsewhere to be employed.

What would help is ending this practice of it being perfectly acceptable to be seen out and about drunk, having "Mad Monday" etc.

The "mad Monday" thing is not a problem for me, it's at the end of the season and they do need to "unwind". There needs to be a code of conduct the players should abide by. All it would take is one of the "big names" to fall foul and get binned, others would soon learn!

They don't own the players, they only employ them.

The players are not children - they are supposed to be professional sportsmen!

I do not know who is to blame, maybe Agar has his hands tied and cannot discipline as he would wish. Maybe the players know he is weak and take the proverbial. Maybe the players have no faith in him and cannot muster any enthusiasm - maybe it's all of the above and maybe it's none.

I dunno - I just turn up each week with a little optimism and come away feeling despondant. Maybe next week eh?

He is highly respected by the players, staff and within the wider game of rugby league.

the above quote picked from the official website.


hmmmmmmm i wonder

Like everyone on this forum i am not a RL coach, we like to think we know what the job of a super league coach entails, but in reality we don't. However, like some on this site i do know a lot about motivating a large workforce, some things are universal to all things. It is obvious to me that Agar cannot/ is not motivating the team. It is often mentioned by media commentaters that Agar is a good coach, i have absolutely no doubt that this is true. But Is he a good super league coach? the evidence so far suggests that he is not.
When you have demotivated staff there are several avenues to pursue, Identify the problem,
play to the strenghs of problem individuals,
state clearly what your aims and objectives are and have a clear plan to achieve them
ensure that everyone understands what it is,
isolate the akward people ( you may not be able to remove them from the club but there is a reserve team )
You have to work with what you have, Agars supporters make great play on the fact that it is not his squad. When you are the boss that excuse does not wash, you work with what you have if you are not prepared or unable to do this then you have no business accepting the job.
Next season despite the recent signings the omens are not good. Our style of play is poor and all the signings in the world will not alter this.
Some people are good number 2's but cannot make it at being number 1. All the evidence suggests that agar falls into the second category