Agree, would have been nice if Vicki just mentioned Chris in the interviews rather than just saying "the past is in the past".

Is that you Vicki?

#177277, I hope you are joking. That's a disgraceful comment to make. Moose is spot on, Vicky did win a championship on a ready made team for her. As far as I'm concerned its just as much Lucas' victory as it is hers. A talented team like that could have been coached by anyone and won the championship. The real test will be next season if the roster changes. To get full credit for the championship, she needs to be part of the team from the recruitment stage. All the same, she did a great job to steer the team in the right direction but I would never underestimate Lucas' input.

Vicki coached the girls to the title - how likely was it that the Lightning could've dropped their collective bundle and completely screwed the season:

Q: Should Lucas get credit for Vicki's W/L ratio???
A: No.

Lucas was the coach - he got sacked (in what i think where shit-house circumstances) - Vicki got the job - the success (or otherwise) of the team from that point on is Vicki's!

im sure he would have recieved support from the players after they one, it wouldnt have been forgotten on them

Championship aside, the whole circumstance in which Chris got booted out was shameful to Adelaide and the League.

As far as im concerned, it is Chris's Championship.

Chris's championship, What a joke? What happen to all the tools on here coming on and saying how everyone was going to leave after the season and not wanting to play for Vicki or Vince? The girls obviously forgot about Chris pretty quickly hence having a great season. And why should have he got credit for the team? What did he do over the last few months except stir shit up in the background? Good job to Vicki and the girls.

#177310 referring to this quote:

"The girls obviously forgot about Chris pretty quickly hence having a great season. And why should have he got credit for the team?"

Is this a fact or this an assumption? How qualified are you to make such a statement? How could the girls forget about Lucas when each and everyone of them signed on to the team with Lucas as the coach? You ask what he did over the last few months to get the championship. Not very much really (joking) considering he put together the championship team. We have had considerable arguments in the past about Phil being a bad coach and delaying the changes needed to get the season back on track for the 36ers. In the same breath we talk about how much more the 36ers would have been successful if Hodge had arrived earlier. No change to the coach was mentioned.

Lucas was robbed of the opportunity of winning a championship. If the girls didn't feel they could do as well under him, they would not have signed to play under him. The sacking was a result of conflict with the owners daughter.

Let Lucas go and help his buddy Scott at the sixers.

He's history and deserves no credit - He is the reason they didn't win in previous years.

Let him coach some one else - yesterdays man, deserves nothing.

Well done Vicki

(#177334)&(#177277) the old winners are grinner's and the losers can please themselves routine?

Good luck in sport and life; you deserve everything that is coming your way.

Build a bridge and get over him - he's long gone.

Typical of SA ball - lives in the past.

Would he be an assistant for Ninnis?

He could not do it himself in the past and now you want to give him credit for someone else's achievement. Feeling inadequate? - serves you right for stirring up dirt on the club all season. Just disappear and let us enjoy the VICTORY.

OK so here are my thoughts.

W/L Ratio: Vicki Valk

Grand Final Game: Players and Vicki Valk

Offensive System: Chris Lucas

Defensive System: Chris Lucas

Players Recruited: Chris Lucas

Game Philosophies: Chris Lucas

In my opinion Vicki and the players deserve credit for winning the championship. However it would have gone over well if she at least credited Chris for the initial period. Having said that, having that much talent in one team does not always equal a guaranteed championship. It takes the day to day operations of the players and its coaching staff to get it done.

Credit where credit is due.

For what its worth, Valk did not win Coach of the Year.

While Chris did well to build the team, it was Vicky who made them championship winners.

You don't see this debate happening in the AFL - say with Malcolm Blight and the Crows for example. Now I'm not saying I'm an expert on the subject, but AFL clubs recruit and develop players for years in advance. Blight comes in and wins a premiership (two in the end) with a list of players which would have been established (the majority) well before he got there. It was Blight who got them to play well and win a championship.

While the comparisons don't marry up exactly, it is an interesting look at it. No sport ever really gives credit to past recruiting, it is the coach of the day who gets them playing well.

How many times do you see a strong playing list on paper but they never really gel on the court/field? While I quite liked Chris, I think Vicky should be given a fair bit of the credit for this title.

EC you really don't know what you are talking about.
Suddenly you're the expert on everything Lightning, yet you don't go to any of the games, and had to ask last week why the Grand Final was not being held in Adelaide.
Perhaps you should stick to `Dusty is the greatest' type posts.

This will rage on for ever when owners have daughters playing for a team they own.... and then have the youngest daughter posing like a stun rabbit in welcome home shots from the air port. Takes the shine off sadly for the other girls i say in the team.

Stunned rabbit even....

Camel 97, its the childish crap I would expect from someone who has nothing worthwhile to contribute nor the brain to speak with some intelligence. My comments were quite legitimate in that Lucas had some involvement in the current talented team's result. Stick to the subject at hand. If you want to start Dusty threads, do that separately and don't involve me involuntarily.

If you don't agree with what I said, then say so. Don't resort to insults. Everyone has the right to their opinions and everyone has the right to agree or disagree. Its not an open invitation to personally attack.

I Stand by my original comments EC, If you feel my previous post was `childish crap' you should understand that it was your previous posting history that fueled it.
You clearly have no understanding of the situation other than what you have read on here, which is no way to form an opinion on something you have already admitted to knowing nothing about.
Try basing your comments on fact, not fiction and people might take you more seriously.

Honestly Chris does deserve some credit because it is after all a team he did recruit (besides Angela).

Anyone else noted that the "anti-Lucas" posters resort to personally insulting anyone who has an opinion different to theirs?

Very true.... no chance I would think of getting a new owner because who can you find with deep enough pockets, sadly money talks and you can buy integrity

CHRIS WHO?

hmmm, how true you speak. Camel 97, when did I say I was speaking facts? It was merely an opinion I am entitled to. I don't have to have an in depth knowledge of the Lightning to arrive at the conclusion that Lucas deserves some of the credit. I know for a fact that Lucas was the coach for a few games early in the season and then he was sacked by the owner. As far as I am aware, the team did not change at all when Luces left and Valk entered. Therefore it stands to reason that Lucas was involved with the current team that won the championship and therefore I believe he should get some credit. I don't know how much more plainly I have to say this. Lucas laid the foundation. A damn good one that was strong enough to see the girls achieve the result they did instead of just crumbling down. Valk continued on that foundation and also did a good job.

Camel 97 you may also have noted that there are some other supporters of Lucas, therefore my comments do not stand alone. You know why that is so? Because everyone is entitled to their opinion. And as hmmm said, its the anti Lucas posters that have to resort to insults. Just because my opinion is different to yours, it does not mean I think I'm right and you are wrong. There is no right or wrong, just opinion. Correct me if I am wrong but I thought that was the whole idea of this forum.

For your information, I have attended some of the Lightning home games in the last 4 years or so, particularly the ones played at Forestville. I am not experienced in the finals format and that's why I needed to ask the question.