Surely it's time some serious questions are asked of Mark Wright & his schizophrenic coaching style? It's interesting to watch when his team is struggling on court & how his poor body language falls apart on the sideline. When was the last young player that he developed? O'Hea & Kunek came from other programs & Tom Maher fast tracked their development. This model of constantly buying in top talent & hoping that they gel is a flawed model. You can't have such a high turnover of players from year to year & expect some stability & continuity to flow. Out in straight sets 2 years in a row! Some questions need to be asked now...

What's to be positive about? They lost 5 games in row to end the season. His two imports got 5 shots put together. Time to move on.

Need to get some fresh eyes to come in and look at the program. Definately got the cattle but there record doesnt reflect that.

who would be in line to replace wright next year?

Firstly I not a fan of Joey. I don't think he has ever overachieved considering the strength of the lineups he has had.

BUT starting an inferior player while leaving the bench rotation intact is nothing new. Look at what Pop does at the Spurs. His main two sparks off the bench Manu and Mills rarely get a starting gig. Lessor seldom used players are promoted to start.

FWIW Creek has also failed to live up to his hype so far. I also think he made a huge career mistake knocking back an opportunity to play for the Hawks.

Why not too after the Townsville coach himself..if you can't beat em....

*go

'Mitchell was a good find', yes she was, but at what expense?

the Rangers have finished 3rd our of 8 again, with the likes of O'Hea, Kunek, 2 imports, Ardossi and Downie on the bench, am thinking that Clydesdale could've achieved the same result as Mitchell, maybe with less panache initially, but given the chance to develop at that level, who knows in the following years what her style would grow to be?

as has been pointed out, these younger players deserve an opportunity to play, if they prove to be no good, fine, but we need to know, especially in the pg position, Kristi will be 50 and still starting for the Opals, because we will not have developed anyone to challenge her for the spot.

obviously Cheryl Chambers has proven herself at the wnbl level, her not being reappointed at Bulleen had nothing to do with her as a coach, it was simply that Tom Maher was available

didnt Larissa Anderson coach rangers SEABL womem to 3 GF wins on the trot?

I'm not sure how Downie got pulled down here with the Mark Wright Coaching Train Wreck? Downie IMO 'plays the right way' & has shown outstanding loyalty to the Rangers over a long period of time. In yesterday's game I've never seen her shoot the ball so well? Tenacious defender & always compete's on every play. Perhaps a few of team mates should adopt a few of Downie's traits? I thought Fadjevic was extremely lucky to not be hit with an upsportsmanlike call with her blatant swinging elbow in to Downie's mid-section!

Larissa Andaersons name has been mentioned a couple of times in the above discussion.As a casual observer couldn't believe she wasn't appointed as coach of the Dandenong national team 2/3 years ago.After her coaching record at Nunnawading and then,more significantly,pulling off the threepete at SEABL Dandenong,couldn't believe she was overlooked when Mark Wright was first appointed.

agree 100% with you Samcro in regards to Downie, any team would be lucky to have her to bring in off the bench!!

casual observer - unfortunately basketball appointments in this country tend to be made on 'profile', whoever is seen by the often 'mums and dads' who sit on boards, to have the best profile ends up with the job. or, are mates with the decision maker. Mark Wright clearly has a bigger profile than Larissa, thereby shadowing the amazing results she has achieved.

how else do you explain appointments like Kennedy Karema, Sabres SEABL job on the back of an almost winless Albury position, followed by a WNBL job on the back of another almost winless couple of years at Sabres (even with the likes of Mikaela Cox and Bridgett Ardossi on his roster). he's the NZ head coach though,and that's all it takes.

At least Kennedy was appointed after they had advertised the job and conducted interviews though, since then they've appointed Dean Kinsman to replace Crivelli, Stephen Hoare to replace Kinsman, Palazolo to replace Karema and Flynn to replace Palazolo all without any sort of process of advertising and interviewing.

this is how quality coaches get overlooked, they aren't in the 'boys club', so they don't get asked, and they can't apply for a position that is not advertised.

one wonders if Leanne or Michele Gaze both excellent basketball minds and coaches were even sounded out on taking the head coach position (as Alex's assistants) before the job was offered to Flynn?

Well,if what the above (clearly they are close observers) say is true,that appointments are made based on the "boys club" or through methods other than merit,then the WNBL,which constantly moans about the coverage they get,deserve what they get.I would hope the above described unsavoury form of politics within sporting clubs might have been left behind at the junior level and clubs at the national level had a genuine desire to succeed,by appointing coaches and support staff based on merit. Apparently not!!Until the WNBL grows up, netball will continue to outgrow them.

right you are anonymous, they probably wouldn't be allowed out of the kitchen anyway

Look, I'm not an avid WNBL-er but how about Dandy just got beaten by a better team on the day- not like they got blown out or anything. Yes, may be Mark Wright may be useless but ultimately it was the players who didn't execute. They still finished higher than all the other teams (bar GF teams).

^Wow!^ If all those players were still at Dandenong I doubt any side would beat them! Did all those players leave because of their 'no faith' in Mark Wright as a Coach?

Gee, hate is such a strong word! Surely not every player that has left the Rangers hate MW? What is it specifically about his coaching style that leads to players leaving in droves & apparently never wanting to return whilst he is coaching?

Haven't you heard how Mark Wright categorizes a great coach ? You get a great team. And he has had the cash to continue year after year to buy what would be a great group of players but he can't seem to get them to play as a great team. Not all teams can win the championship so that in itself should not be the only measure of the success of a year. But why is it that there is a mass exodus from Dandenong every year when the players are arguably overpaid? If you ask the players it is because he has his favorites and plays them, even if they are in foul trouble. In fact, he goes to a zone when they are in foul trouble so he doesn't have to take them off. He instructs the other players to get the ball into their hands and then if the opposition shuts down Jenna, then the Rangers are in trouble. As a player this must get frustrating. So frustrating that they forgoe their $50,000 and choose to play for less at another club.

The pattern continues unabated but if no one in management says no to Mark Wright, then he will continue to overpay players in the hope that his "bought" team will at some stage play well enough , despite his coaching, to win a final. Surely Jayco will pull back on the cash and demand it is used more wisely. Better still, close those purse strings and let's see who wants to play at Dandenong for limited money. Not even Jenna would do that...

Heard Lucas been approached already, there goes the rest of your local players Dandy , he gets rid of them and brings in outsiders, Not one player in fire is from Townsville anymore. So development for local players is the same as Dandy .
Anonymous #46045 to say "The likes of molloy and chris show how good coaches get it done with less talented rosters..." yes Molloy but ridiculous comment about Chris, are you saying the fire didn't pay for Suzy, Cummings, Newley, McCully, Standish, Cox, Thompson. Get Real.

Chris Lucas closer to home. Oh come on hasn't he been away for about 6 years.

If Poppens comes back, i'd love to see Mijovic with the Boomers.

Few edits and deletions in this thread at the request of a representative of Dandenong. Please note that your posts are your responsibility and I will comply with legal requests received that could lead to you being identified and pursued legally.

If you wish to contribute to this or any other discussion, please ensure that you keep all of this and the line between opinion and defamation in mind. There is a way to offer your thoughts (including criticism) without it being unfairly nasty or positioned as fact.

Amused to see Molloy and Lucas included together as good coaches. Other threads are correct, Townsville do have a well paid team, as does Dandenong, so it is expected that they make finals. So well done to them. The amusing thing is the coach. When the Boomers went up to play their semi-final in Townsville, Lucas personally called every stadium/venue in Townsville and told them to deny Melbourne a court to train on the day before the game. You're kidding, I hear you say. Not kidding. He was compelled to allow the Boomers to use the court on game day as it is in the WNBL rules. Luckily for Melbourne, a kindly Townsville Crocs allowed them a court.

Secondly, the shuffle offense. Molloy's via Alabacov. Yeah, I know, no one owns an offense but all the same. Teaching methods etc. Next, 131 zone offense against Dandy. Molloy again. Good coaching to pick this up from Melbourne I hear you say. Agree with that, who wouldn't. Rumor is that Lucas will use little white prompters cards in his pocket during the GF. Watch and see on Sunday. Molloy again. And if Lucas turns up in a white shirt then I will roll around in hysterical laughter.

Lucas, you can't copy someone to get coach of the year, you have to be a good coach.

#461281 Let's see what happens at the end of the season. Who will stay and who will go? Should be interesting

you gutless pricks put your names to your posts your all tuff over the net but you don't have the guts to put your names to your comments

GUTLESS

Wow all these would be coaches , having a crack at mark wright. Do any of you stop to think if all these so called stars who left dandenong to go to other teams stayed how much court time would they ALL be getting. You cannot run every player the min 35 mins they all seem to want. Plus those who left are all very young and frankly inexperienced at the wnbl level , the average age is 27 of a good experienced wnbl player. Those that have reportedly left because they didn't like wright not giving them court time haven't got much more in the teams they went to with lesser players on the roster. Have any of you seen the rangers women twain, seen how they work. Mark wright can't be that bad as rangers have made playoffs every year he's coached. What they have lacked each year they have lost is a good strong experienced at this level big. That's been the difference. And as for the crap regarding ohea running the team, you have no idea, she has the least ego of anyone out there, but is asked to do a huge job. They did not get thrashed in the semi, they lost by 3 , it could have gone either way. Yes wright could and should use his bench more during the season so that his stars are not physically and mentally drained as much come finals, but he's not the only coach that does this. So get off your soap boxes and walk in his shoes for a year, then come back and see if YOU can win a championship.

Couple of facts for all you FACELESS cowards out there having a crack:

1. The Rangers WNBL team had a extremely successful season in what was effectively their first season together, to come within 1 shot of making the grand final is a credit to the players and coaching staff!
All players at the Awards night spoke highly of ALL coaching staff. And whoever thinks Jenna O'Hea runs the team for herself needs to get a life, one of the most unselfish and nicest athletes (male & female) you could ever wish to meet!

2. VISA's for the Rangers 2 SEABL imports HAVE come through as they were both expected too. This comes as no surprise to anyone that has half an interest in basketball and what goes on at Dandenong.

3. Three more Junior Championship teams registered for this year, taking the total from 37 to 40!

Those of you who keep hiding behind a forum and posting negative comments as "Anonymous" how about you pick up the phone and contact the administration at Dandenong, make an appointment with the CEO and talk about any issues you have face to face.

OK "FACELESS cowards", you've all been called out by someone called Anonymous.

I have to laugh...Anonymous talks about faceless cowards. i think it would be fair to say that Dandenong had the biggest budget of all the playing rosters in the WNBL and the talent to go with it. Yes twice they've come up short but if a few things go the other way you win two titles. I'm sure they will go through an internal review and look at what they can do better for next season. I believe Daequon suffered a knee injury the other night. Not sure how bad.

an anonymous coward post is different to a positive anonymous post and if you can't understand that then good luck to you!

LOL.. Hey Look this isn't the first time and wont be the last time people vent when their favorite team doesn't meet their own expectations. What this thread shows me is that people are paying attention and love their club like most fans do. I cant imagine James Hird going on a fan forum Last year and trying to explain and ask for post to be removed..it's just seems a bit beneath a class organization to go to these lengths to explain themselves on a fan forum. You would have to expect some criticism from your fans if the team under achieves in their mind...It actually means that you've made it. Try not to be so sensitive and rise above it and keep working hard to make all your fans proud. And remember every time you respond on here, post, or remove posts it just pushes it back to the top of the board for people to weigh in. This thread WAS dead now here we go again. Think bigger than a little mom and pop club. Dandenong is a professional WNBL club just like AFL people will have a go at the team, the coach, and management it's part of the job..get use to it or get out.

An anonymous poster has just as much right to an opinion as someone calling themselves "Anonymous".

By your own reasoning you are also a faceless coward for attacking the anonymous people for voicing an opinion.

If you can't handle people putting an opinion forward you should not be reading public forums at all, "Anonymous"

On the real "Anonymous" point 1. If you maintain the same retainment and subsequent recruitment policy, you will be running first season teams every year. Also players are hardly going to bag the coaching staff at an awards night. Everyone knows the right things to say at the right time.

Of course Mark Wright and the people that continue to employ him think there is nothing wrong with their strategy of overpaying players to attempt to win a championship. It is a fact that the Dandenong budget is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than every club except Canberra . Quite frankly, if they have a great sponsor that continues to pump money in then why wouldn't they pay good money to good players. But i think that this is the point people are trying to make. Give Chris Lucas or Guy Molloy the same budget to buy players and I bet they would have greater success than Mark Wright. Despite being able to buy pretty much whoever he wants he still doesn't win because he can't get them to play as a team or for him. But who cares! Great for the players who get paid, great for Mark Wright he stays employed and if all you have to out up with is some posts on a hoops forum, then happy days!

Agree that no player is going to bag the coaching staff on an awards night when they are yet to be signed but what you don't hear is what they say to other players in the league about what happens and the unhappiness in the coach. But of course, they are free to leave if they don't like it and, guess what, they keep leaving! Despite not getting paid the same money as when they played for Dandenong they find out that money can't buy everything. Not even a championship!