|
Season of woe thankfully at an end ... now for '08 |
|
Written by The almost tearful Fan in the Stand
|
|
Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
The season is over.
With the relief usually reserved for ceasing head to wall contact, it is time to review the Bay efforts.
What an abject performance by the formerly mighty Bay of Plenty Steamers to finish 13th out of 14, with only the dire Counties-Manukau saving us from the wooden spoon.
A solitary win against Tasman and losses to all other provinces including Manawatu. Luckily we weren't scheduled to play against Waikato or Hawke's Bay so our NPC unbeaten runs against those provinces remain intact.
By the end of the season, we looked a beaten side and a narrow loss to Wellington was way above expectation. We battled well on Friday night although there appeared to be a lack of belief that victory was possible.
So what went wrong in 2007?
The first place to look is the coaching fiasco which wasn't resolved until well into the year.
While other provinces were busy filling their rosters, we were navel gazing and working through a speculative list of all eligible coaches in New Zealand.
We were left with a playing squad severely lacking in certain areas, the second row the most obvious of them and our long injury list exposed a lack of depth.
Now, the Fan is aware of budgets and the fact that other provinces are spending up big just to attract journeymen and, ultimately, we have to balance the books with incomings equal to outgoings.
Our attendances in later games generated only enough revenue to power the floodlights.
However, surely we can expect a functioning line-out after three pre-season games and 10 games in the Air NZ Cup? What have they been doing all this time? Are they still at the theory stage and working it out on the blackboard?
For 2008, our pre-season planning needs to start now so we can at least show the competence of a side such as Southland.
The Bay is doing good work with their Academy and the future is looking bright in that area but we still have to recruit in order to keep the side strong - a crucial factor in developing players.
There were a few positives from the season. In the forward pack, Solomon King toiled away with great dedication, Simms Davison worked his socks off especially in the final few games and Colin Bourke was the ultimate Mr Fix-It.
In the backs Lance MacDonald showed he could be a very good player in the future. Mike Delany scored three rip-snorting solo tries and was always a threat while Charlie Baxter once again stepped into the breach making it a puzzle why he missed the original squad.
The backline injuries played havoc and no back was fit enough to start every game.
We can now look forward to the Chiefs squad announcement and the inevitable overseas departures that will follow.
The Fan in the Stand takes a break for a couple of weeks but will return in time for the naming of the Chiefs squad.
|
News and Opinion 
