SAN JUAN HURRICANES [GM LUCAS]

[Talon]

 

That's a deal, baby.

[GM Dazz]

Great stuff.
-‐------

Harley, could I see Coach Hall before he leaves for his break please?
--------

Coach, you've been doing a great job so far this season. What confuses me is how we're defending the run so well with some of our key pieces on the d-line going missing so far. Lilley has been improving but Ali seems to be going backwards. Coach Dos Santos doesn't want to rock the boat with things going so well but if Ali isn't grading out showing great effort I think it's time he was dropped. His stats are shocking but I understand they don't show the full picture. Is there a good reason why I shouldn't start Vance, Kessler or even Clark in his place? My plan this season was to use Clark at DT until I signed Ali so I'm not against going back to that plan.

[Talon]

COACH HALL ADVISES YOU TO START JAMES KESSLER DUE TO HIS SOLID PLAY IN LIMITED MINUTES THIS SEASON

[Talon]

 

Anything else?

[GM Dazz]

No, that's great thank you. Please enjoy the well deserved break this bye week.
--------

Harley, you may as well take a couple of days for yourself. I'm just discussing a couple of trades with other GMs at the moment before the week closes. Thank you.

[Talon]

 

No problem, Mista D.

[GM Dazz]

GM Dazz wishes he'd waited a few moments and checked the League Office before sending Harley on a break. He goes through his contacts to find the details for Scott Forrest before calling the agent.

Mr Forrest, it's GM Dazz in Sydney. I was calling to see if your client, WR Christoph Lutz, would be willing to see out the rest of the season for $750k.

[Talon]

 

We'll take that action, no problem.

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 9

ADDRESS THE MEDIA HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE THIS WEEK (ADDRESS ANY TEAM SPECIFIC NEWS!)

We had a good bye week. I managed to sign a key player to a big extension, brought in a very talented and overlooked WR from free agency and we got most of our players rested and healthy again. I think we're all recharged and refocused on continuing our great form and pushing to secure a playoff spot as soon as possible. I'm happy and I'm sure the lads are too.

I've seen my team's news this week. My contract extension is the team's top priority? The only surprise is that it wasn't a priority at the end of last season considering the year we had. For me it isn't a priority right now and my attention is purely on this season. I'm happy and comfortable in my current position and keen to crack on with the second half of the season with as few distractions as possible.

Speaking of distractions, the PFL negotiations just seem to be going from bad to worse. The Gates deal was bad at $15m so if rumours of $32m are accurate I guess Pancho's negotiating technique was to immediately drop trousers and bend over for Mr Profits. If Pancho comes cap in hand asking for my million I'll be telling him where he can go. I'm having a great time at the moment and hope things stay as they are. Why would I want my access to the PFL's best players removed or even restricted to a trade window where I have to pay to get something I currently can do for free? You lot in the media say the HIFL is losing but go ask the PFL GMs if they really feel like winners against me or Kirk or a number of other more aggressive GMs so far. My team is stronger now than it was before this started. The HIFL is losing big name players from teams that can't compete while the contenders are more likely to have big name PFL stars come the other way. Until the PFL poach Daley, Owens, Maldonado and Ortega or a Wilkinson I'm not paying a penny towards any deal.

If Pancho and Mr Profits are serious about putting an end to the current situation they'll agree to setting up an independent governing body for the sport, like FIFA but without the corruption, to manage cross-league player transfers and penalties. It's the only guarantee anyone will get to end the poaching. Anything less is just a promise made to be broken next season.

You can see what I mean about distractions. Most of this conference has been taken up discussing nonsense when I should be focused on Oakland. They're always a tough team to play and they will be desperate to get some revenge. A win here would be huge for us. It would guarantee a .500 season, put us only a couple of wins away from a likely playoff place, help us really take control of the division and hurt a direct rival at the same time. I keep talking about focus but that's the key here. Stay focused for all 4 quarters, focused on our jobs and focused on our goals and we should do well. I want to see us continue to carry our pre-bye momentum into the second half of the season.

[GM Dazz]

----
Harley, I hate to bother you about this stuff during the season but I'm negotiating a deal that would put me right at the cap so I want to confirm I have the right numbers. After signing Lutz I have us with $1.5m in salary remaining. Is that correct?

[Talon]

 

That's exactly what I've got, mista D!

[GM Dazz]

Excellent, thank you. Could you let me know if Mr Irwin wants to see me?

[Talon]

 

Mista D, I called him but he said since you didn't seem worried about your contract we would just deal with in the off-season.

[GM Dazz]

Of course I'm not worried. At this stage I'm backing myself and this team to win the Impact Bowl. I have no worries at all.

Could you ask Coach Dos Santos to see me now please?
--------

Coach, I made a trade to try and strengthen our defensive line. I think we'll play Lilley on the strong side and Gossett on the weak side. I'm going to give Muhammad a couple more weeks to step up based on us now having two top quality DEs stretching the threat across our line so there should be no more excuses for Muhammad not showing up. I want to increase the use of Kessler though as a reminder that his spot isn't safe and to give Kessler a chance to show us what he can do. That's it for trades this season now so this is the team we'll be making our challenge for the Impact Bowl with. I'm confident that this group can do just that.

[Talon]

 

Sounds good, just note the percentage you'd like the Kessler package to be used when you lock in, boss.

[GM Dazz]

I don't think we need to make any other changes at this point so I'll let you get back to preparing the lads. Thanks Coach.

Strategy Changes:
RE1 Lilley
LE1 Gossett
RE2 Clark
LE2 Walker

CB4 Paulson
CB5 Dodge
CB6 Jackson

Kessler package (33% in 4-3 usage)
NT Kessler
DT Charlton

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 10

ADDRESS THE MEDIA HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE THIS WEEK (ADDRESS ANY TEAM SPECIFIC NEWS!)

It was a very poor result this week and an extremely uncharacteristic performance from us against a key division rival. I'm very annoyed but we're going to chalk it up to a bad day at the office and not dwell too much on it. What disappointed me the most was how little our offence was able to have any impact on this game. What I saw out there was a lack of heart, a lack of intensity and a lack of fight from our lads and that's not like us at all. I put it down to them mentally still being on the beach after the bye week. I hate mid-season bye weeks for this very reason. You can carry great momentum into them, like we did, and yet that gets killed by one week off and you find yourself basically having to start again from nothing. Hopefully that game was the wake-up call the lads needed because we cannot play like that again this season. It's important that we bounce back strongly against Long Beach and catch them napping after their bye this week.

I read that you so called experts decided that it is probably a lack of chemistry that caused the performance this week. It's as if you lot think I went and made sweeping changes at the deadline. Absolute nonsense. There was only one new player on the field this week and the offence, which was where we struggled most, was the same unit that's been playing together for the past season and a half. If they haven't built chemistry playing together for that long they never will. The issue we had was the way Oakland set up their game plan to stifle our run and executed it well. We'll need to look at why we weren't able to adjust to that and make the necessary correction over the next few weeks. Our defence played 3 great quarters and Gossett provided the penetration our d-line has been missing. We were still very much in the game at half time but we seemed to panic coming out of the locker room and made too many mistakes, gave the ball away too easily and threw the game away in 1 sloppy quarter. You can't afford to do that in this league. If there was a weakness defensively then it was the DTs not showing up but those two have played side by side all season so it's not a chemistry issue. As I said before though, we just need to pick ourselves up after that one and bounce back this week.

-------

Coach, that performance was completely unacceptable. I'm finally going to do what I should have done weeks ago and drop Muhammad to the bench. Hopefully that'll improve our run defence and send a message to anyone else taking games off. This result has been coming and I'm fed up of watching big name players do sod all, fail to live up to the standards they set for themselves previously or have massive swings in consistency. What's most annoying is that this is probably the most talented group I've ever worked with and if they just all put in the required effort and came together as a team they could achieve great things.

Now that I've got that rant out of the way, it was a big blow watching Edwards go down and hearing he's done for the season. Fortunately we have Keet who can step straight in and do a very good job for us. I thought Gossett and Lilley showed hints that they could be a dangerous pairing at DE so that was encouraging. The thing that stood out to me though was a need to be able to stretch the field if teams try to focus on stopping the run. Is it worth putting together a sub-package with Smoke on the outside in a 2 WR set? If we can get him attacking the safeties if they cheat up close to the line it might create more space for the run game again.

[Talon]

 

That's not a bad idea, we can adjust the usage rate as we see fit, but having him outside at times will make defenses respect the deep ball more, and Hudgins can sling it when needed, we know that.

[GM Dazz]

Excellent. I'll set up the sub package but leave the ratios to Coach Evans. I think it should work with how he likes to play quite well. I was thinking of reading the players the riot act after that performance but we're better off moving on from it. Hopefully the cobwebs are blown off now and lads are ready to give their all again. Cheers Coach.
-----‐--

Harley, does Mr Irwin wish to discuss the season so far and team goals this week?

[Talon]

 

G'day Mate!   Lookin' like a real banger out there, yeah!?

Tougher than woodpeckers lips and all that, no doubt about it.  Hoo-Roo!

Lovin' what we've got cookin' on the old barby.  Keep up the great work and finish strong, mate!

[Talon]

MR IRWIN HEADS OUT TO SCUBA DIVE WITH STINGRAYS FOR HIS NEXT NETFLIX SPECIAL

[Talon]

THE TRAIN IS LEAVING THE STATION. CHOO CHOO!

[Talon]

AUTOLOCKED -- WITH PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED CHANGES

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 11

ADDRESS THE MEDIA HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE THIS WEEK (ADDRESS ANY TEAM SPECIFIC NEWS!)

The coaches did a fantastic job stepping in when I wasn't able to close things out last week and we got a win as their reward. It was the classic game of two halves. We weren't great in the first half and gave away a lot of points in the second quarter but we managed to keep ourselves in it and the second half was outstanding. We can't keep having these bad quarters if we want to achieve our goals this year but you could see the heart and desire in this group in that comeback. I'm proud of the lads for that. I'm particularly pleased with the performance of the offensive line. We have a key starter out for a long time on the line but they managed to keep Hudgins on his feet and created space for Crawford and Mixon to run for over 15 yards and 8 yards per carry respectively. O-lines have been getting a lot of stick around the league this season but ours have been consistent and are a huge part of the success we've been having.

The Cotter is a confident lad and while some might not be happy with him talking about being uncrowned champions I think it shows a great positive mentality within the squad. Heads could have dropped after the loss last week but it's clear that this group still believes in themselves and that can carry you a long way. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and we know The Cotter isn't one for humility but I'm always happy to hear him speaking like this because it lifts his teammates and the fans. After the fantastic performance from our linebackers in that last game I think he's earned the right to mouth off a little. It might put a target on our backs but our form does that anyway. We're the team setting the pace in the division after all.

I saw Big Dog's comments about some things said by the locals during her visit in her press conference. I'm not sure what she was doing in Australia while I was at the game in Long Beach but I would always encourage people to visit anyway. Sydney is a place I'm very happy to call home at the moment.

Another big game this week against Rapid City. I guess they all are at this point in the season. We need to keep winning to keep the pressure on our division rivals, particularly these games outside of the division. I know Rapid City aren't having the season they hoped for this year but there is still a lot of talent in that team so we need to make sure we take that second half Long Beach performance into this one.
------

Coach, apologies for not closing things out properly last week. Thanks for stepping in and making those changes. Great job making the right adjustments at half time. Brilliant comeback. I don't want to tweak anything for a few weeks after the changes last week unless something in particular jumps out to you. I'm mainly hoping Brock makes the jump from almost fit to actually getting on the field this week. it feels like this niggling injury has been dragging on for a long time now.

[Talon]

 

I'm with you boss, I like the changes we've made and want to see how they play out.   Hopefully Brock shakes that nagging injury, but sometimes the grind of the season just makes it hard to get over things completely.

[GM Dazz]

Understood. Let's keep pushing and keep fingers crossed for Brock. Cheers.

lock in

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 12

ADDRESS THE MEDIA HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE THIS WEEK (ADDRESS ANY TEAM SPECIFIC NEWS!)

That was about as complete a performance as I have seen from one of my teams and against a very good Rapid City side as well. I couldn't be prouder. We shut another team out for a whole half of football, which is always great to see and generally sets you up for victory. We were also able to control all 4 quarters in this one and in doing so were able to grind them down. Our linebackers lead the way again defensively, although every part of the team contributed for the first time this season. This is what we are capable of when all of our players put in maximum effort throughout and hopefully it is just a taste of what is to come from here on out. It was great to see The Cotter follow up his comments last week with a fantastic performance this week. He can mouth off as much as he likes if he keeps playing like the Cotter of old. There were questions in the press about a lack of cohesion in our team when we lost to Oakland but I think it's clear that the changes we made have had a huge benefit now the new players have had a chance to settle. Pope seems to have rejuvenated the LB corps and Gossett has helped Lilley recapture some of his old form. Rickey Jackson even scored a punt return touchdown.

I was delighted to see Crawford finally get the recognition he deserved with his player of the week award. He was fantastic yet again but I agree that this was probably his stand out performance of the year so far. Most running backs fade as the season goes on but he seems to be going from strength to strength. I know people were questioning his TD output earlier in the season but he's shown this week that he's more than capable of getting the ball over the line and he's a great example for the rewards of perseverance and self-belief. A very well deserved award this week.

I think it's ridiculous for anyone to be questioning Coach LeBlanc after the career he has had so far. The stats are clearly skewed by the huge margin of defeat in this game but sometimes you come up against a match-up that really doesn't suit you and when you do it can get very ugly. They'll bounce back and have a much better performance this week, I'm sure. I doubt they'll see another result like that one again. The media made some very bold statements about some of our players only a few weeks ago and the so called experts are looking very stupid now. I have no doubt GM Wrong will have you all looking foolish again very soon.

It is easy to get carried away after a result like this one so we'll need to make sure we keep our feet firmly on the ground. We've managed to catch the leading pack with surprise losses by Winnipeg and Tucson this week and our aim is going to be to stay here at the top of the conference. That is going to be a very tough ask with some huge divisional games coming up. We have Oakland and Pearl Harbor still breathing down our necks but this week could be huge in deciding the standings come the end of the season. A win for us and a win for Long Beach would put a 2 game cushion between us and the rest but a loss for us and a win for Oakland creates a 3 way tie for the lead, if I've read the leagues correctly. In both scenarios all 4 teams still have winning records. This really is the best division in football with no teams gifting wins to the rest so every victory is that much harder to come by and every division victory is extremely important. We need to make sure we carry last week's performance into this next game.
-------

Absolute domination. I really am lost for words other than to say congratulations to you, your coaching team and all of the players. Outstanding work. This next game is massive for the division race but if we keep performing like that then I fear nobody.

[Talon]

 

The only REAL fear I have is attrition.  We need to stay healthy in a tough stretch of games, but if we do, I like our freaking chances to make that magical run. One game at a time though.  Pearl Harbor had a recent game like we did against Oakland, they're well coached so its going to be a real battle.

[Talon]

AUTOLOCK WARNING -- 1700HRS TODAY EST

[Talon]

AUTOLOCK

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 13

ADDRESS THE MEDIA HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE THIS WEEK (ADDRESS ANY TEAM SPECIFIC NEWS!)

I feel like I'm really starting to repeat myself in these press conferences at this point. We had another great performance against a very talented team and a hugely important victory at the end of it. The best case scenario I set out last week came to pass and we now have a 2 game cushion above the 3 teams now sitting in second in the division. I think 10 wins is probably enough to get us into the playoffs but we don't want to limp in through a wildcard so we'll continue to push hard for the next win and then the next after that. Our target is homefield advantage in the playoffs and we know Tucson and Winnipeg are going to push us all the way so we need to continue to play at this level. We had great performances across the whole team this week but I want to call out Steve Wright in particular. Once again our LBs stood out as key performers for us and Wright was the stand out of the bunch this time. He is a player who doesn't get enough credit for what he's achieved in his career and this performance really showcased his versatility as a defensive player. He has a great ability for getting into the backfield and his sacks in this game were huge for us.

The other player who obviously deserves a lot of praise for his performance is Crawford, but that's almost a given at this point. He really seems to have taken those comments about his lack of TDs personally and our opponents are suffering as a result. I'm always impressed by his ability to gain yards and drive the team forward but what impresses me most is his consistency. He just seems to get better and he makes the players around him step up to another level. His importance to this team can't be understated but we do have an outstanding player supporting him in Tank which I think has been key to maintaining these performance levels.

Another very important division game against Long Beach this week, at home this time. I'll be happy to host the Big Dog in our stadium for the game instead of whatever she did in Sydney last time we played. I'm sure they'll be looking for revenge for the loss at their place so we'll need to make sure we match their intensity this week but I think that's an area we don't need to worry about with this group. A win here gives us that little bit more breathing room from a playoff perspective so we'll be going all out once again to achieve that.
--------

As you said last week Coach, I think the biggest risk we face is injuries. We've done well covering for injured players in the past few weeks but it would be great to have a fully fit squad for the playoffs. Even with the current injuries we've looked great on the o-line so hopefully that continues. Brock being back has been a big boost, of course. If we win the next 2 we may have to start thinking about whether we're best served finishing with the best possible record or by protecting some of the key players for the playoffs. We'll cross that bridge if we get to it though.

[Talon]

 

Absolutely right, we laser focus on this week and this week only for now.  Long Beach has a better record than 3 other division leaders in the league, but they are not in the playoffs because of our division's depth.  They are going to come into this like its an elimination game, and the men in our locker room will have the same mentality.

[GM Dazz]

Whatever happened in that Oakland games seems to be behind us so I'm happy that the lads are focused now and ready to compete every week. The changes we made seem to be working well so I'm not going to change anything this week. Thanks Coach.
------

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 14

1. Talk about this weeks game and result.

Well that was an ugly game from both teams which we lost on a 60yrd FG. Defensively we were very good but we just couldn't get anything going on the ground and that made it very difficult to do anything offensively. I can't really put a finger on why that was considering the performance we had in the reverse fixture so I don't think it's worth dwelling on. We'll move on and focus on trying to win the next game.

2. With three games to play, what are you expecting to see from your club?

I'm expecting us to clinch a playoff spot with games to spare and to be able to turn our attention entirely on trying to top the conference. We're playing catch-up in that regard now but we'll keep pushing until it's mathematically impossible. We can't afford to look beyond the next game until we've secured the playoffs.

Lock in

[Talon]

 

Damn injuries.  We're a little banged up up-front, but Salt Lake is ripe for the taking even if their QB throws 4 TDs.

[GM Dazz]

It's exactly what you talked about with the attrition but we have good cover in all of those spots so I'm not overly worried just yet. I would love to get the division sewn up this week so that we can perhaps rest a few guys in the final game before the playoffs. I know I keep targeting the top seed but at this point I think it's more important to hit the playoffs healthy because I'm confident we can compete with anyone if we do. We'll keep things the same this week to give us the best chance of clinching and look at whether we have the breathing room to go with backups next week. Cheers Coach.

Lock in

[Talon]

 

No breathing room boss, its game time.  Lets crush those Predators!

[Talon]

AUTOLOCKED - WEEK 17

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WEEK 17

PLAYOFF TEAMS

Address the media as you see fit, but be sure to discuss your regular season and how you plan to achieve your goals in the playoffs

That was a great way to finish out the season. I'm not sure it made any difference to our seeding, and we'd clinched the division the week before so the option to play backups was probably the smarter choice in theory, but a big win against a division and playoff rival is a great way to boost confidence and dent that of our opponents. Our defence has been outstanding over the past few weeks and they have been instrumental as the attrition started to bite. I should probably thank the PFL for their mid-season nonsense because it brought Pope to our LB corps and created a need in Charlotte that allowed us to acquire Gossett. The addition of those two players has made a huge difference to the team and our ability to get into the backfield and disrupt our opponents. Keeping teams below 20 points, which we've done for the past 6 games I think, gives you a great chance to win and apart from the loss to Long Beach our offence has been scoring pretty freely as well. That's been the story of our season really: tight defensively and high scoring offensively and that's why we top the conference yet again.

I have no idea how the seeding works and why we're not number 1 considering we play in the toughest division in the league but I guess being able to beat up on weak division opponents scores you those extra seeding points. Honestly, I think the whole system needs to be redesigned to reward teams with tougher schedules rather than those with teams that just roll over for them. Our division has 3 teams in the playoffs and the team missing out was good enough to win the North West comfortably. We dominated that division and won by 2 games and our reward for that is a wildcard round fixture against one of the best wildcard teams. Both games against Long Beach in the regular season were closely fought and in the last one they managed to stifle our ground game so we'll need to give some thought to how we deal with that this time. Fortunately, most of our offensive line is fit again now so it should be much harder for them to keep Crawford and Tank bottled up this time. If we can play great defence like we have recently and get the ball moving on the ground then I think we have a great chance of going all the way this year so that's got to be our plan.
-----------

Coach, congratulations on a great regular season. The team was outstanding again and obviously you and your coaching team deserve huge credit for that. Of course it all means nothing if we don't perform in the playoffs but I'm feeling pretty confident at the moment. I don't want to make any special changes for the playoffs when what we've been doing so far has worked so well. It's a huge boost to see us almost fully fit heading in and I think that should give us the edge against Long Beach this time. I saw that the press didn't really give us much of a mention so let's give them a performance they can't ignore this week.

[Talon]

 

Fucking right.  Lets go give them something to talk about!

[GM Dazz]

Absolutely! Cheers Coach.
--------

Harley, can I see The Cotter please?
--------

Cotter, congratulations on breaking the record for forced fumbles and being the first to double digits. It was always going to be you to break that barrier. I bet you're raring to go and break the playoff record next. I love how hard this team hits and you definitely lead by example there. You said we are the uncrowned champions a few weeks back. Let's go get that crown!

[Talon]

 

When the Cotter puts the heat on a mofo that mofo don't get up! 

If anyone gets in The Cotter's way of the Impact Bowl, he's going to leave them in a pool of their own piss. BELIEVE THAT!

[Talon]

STEPHEN COTTER WALKS THROUGH THE FACILITY HIGH FIVING EVERY MAN AND SLAPPING EVERY WOMAN'S ASS AS HE HEADS BACK TO PRACTICE, CALLING FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

[GM Dazz]

That was interesting as always. I think we're good to go.

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

SEASON 16 - WILD CARD

ELIMINATED TEAMS

1. Talk about this weeks game, what went wrong?

I feel sick. No, scratch that... I'm apoplectic at what I just watched out there. I just saw us put over 30 points on a fantastic Long Beach team who have played us close in every game and I saw excellent performances from everyone except for one particular group of players. All season we have been the best team in the league and we have excelled at stopping the run in particular. We may have struggled to create as much of a pass rush as we would have liked... despite elite players at DE, explain that one to me... but at least we were able to stop the run. This week, just like in the game that eliminated us last year, the d-line decided to collectively take the day off. The DTs specifically have let down every one of their teammates and I am furious. I hope Long Beach go on and win it all now though. Our division deserves a title considering how much better than everyone else we have been over the past 2 seasons.

2. What was the best moment for you this season, and what was the worst?

The best moment was clinching the division by 2 games with a great victory over Pearl Harbor and I'm sure many of the fans will agree. The worst was either this moment right now or the moment I read the GM Rep had paid over $30m to the PFL in one of the most cowardly acts I have every seen in my entire life.

3. Who was your teams MVP this season?

If I give the boring answer first it has to be Crawford again. He is probably the best player I have ever worked with and his consistency levels are outstanding. The lad just gets better and better every week and every season and one day he's going to have a statue of him outside this stadium, I'm sure. He has a fantastic attitude and no ego as well and has been a joy to work with. I do want to call out another player though and it might be a little controversial but I think The Cotter has been outstanding and a fantastic example... on the field... to the rest of the lads on this team. To break the 10 forced fumbles mark for a single season at this point in his career is bloody impressive. You need players you know you can rely on and he's been one of those. If Pope had joined earlier in the season he could easily have been in contention as well.

4. How would you evaluate your coaches performance this season?

For the majority I'd say they've been fantastic. Coach Dos Santos has put together a really good group and I'd give them an A for the regular season for sure. For our d-line coaching I'd like to give someone the sack though.

5. How would you evaluate your own performance this season?

Considering we were joint top in the league this year without all of the financial backhanders our opponents hand to the league office and considering how we came out of the PFL war better than we went into it I'd rate myself an A for sure. Playoffs is another story but that sums up my whole career really.

6. (if you are on an expiring contract)  Do you expect to be back next season, with this club?

if I stay in the league at all then I expect that would be here but I'm going to have to take some time to think very carefully about that. I've been doing this for 10 seasons now. I've been to the playoffs 7 times, won 4 division titles, had the top record in the conference 3 times but only 2 playoff victories. There isn't much else left for me to achieve other than an Impact Bowl but my playoff record doesn't suggest that's very likely. The conflict with the PFL this season definitely added some excitement to things in the year but the resolution to that was extremely frustrating and it does make me question whether there's any ambition left in this league. I also need to ask whether I have the energy to keep doing this with one hand tied behind my back. I might be back, I might take a year out, I might retire. I've not made a decision yet but I'm leaning towards the latter 2 at the moment.

7. What is your biggest take away from this season?

It's difficult to take much away when our biggest issue shouldn't have been one on paper. How, with the players we have, was our defensive line so ineffective? I can't work it out and when you can't understand what the problem is, how do you fix it? Even changing the players we were using made very little difference so I don't know. Maybe it's worth considering moving to a 3-4 in future to remove an ineffective d-line player and include an additional LB considering they were the most effective player grouping defensively.

8. What was this team missing?

An effective pass rush and a DT pairing that showed up every week. Sometimes they were good, mostly they were just eating up blocks or space for others and occasionally they didn't do anything at all. When it mattered most they didn't show up and the better rated players seemed to do the least. It's very very frustrating.

[Talon]

Crikey, disappointin' ta hear you're plans through the presser mate, a right pissa' 
Now I unda' stand ya might want to crack the shits and blow off a little steam...

...but bloody oath, mate. I don't play games.  If you feel choc a bloc that its time to step away, then I'd crack ya a coldie and wish ya well like me ol' cobber, but if ya done bein' a drongo, then we can unbunch our knickers and get right.

Either way, for me its No Wucka's

[GM Dazz]

I appreciate you're understanding there. Didn't mean to drop that on you in a press conference like that. You've convinced me I'm not ready to walk away from the league just yet but I think I need a fresh project. People say you can't polish a turd but I've made a career of turning them into diamonds and that's where I get my job satisfaction. I joined on a 3 year contract to take this team from bottom and turn them into contenders. I think I've achieved that and more. There's a great spine still contracted here next season so if you keep that together and bring a GM with proven play-off pedigree I think there's a championship here. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to turn things around here. You've been a great owner to work for and I've loved my time with this team. I just think now is the right time for a new challenge.

[Talon]

Aye now, Mate.. Good on ya! 

No worries, but I hate to see you leadin' some other blokes.   Appreciate you being straight forward with me though mate. 

You're one of the good blokes.


Go on then, find your next challenge, yeah!?

[Talon]

Hiya Mista' ... hmm well Mista X sounds weird and so does Mista L...  I'll figure somethin' ...anyways, welcome to Sydney! Here is our budget and roster outlook going into the off-season including what I have down for our draft picks.  Please contact me if you see anything out of place.

[Talon]

 

Hello!

I am Sophia -- Self Optimizing Processor w/ Human-like Intelligent Abilities  Advanced Utility for Resource Optimization, Reporting, & Administration model 1 of 1.

I am now interfacing with your systems.  This will only take an estimated time of 45 minutes.

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Purging.

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hmm... that is interesting.

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Analyzing.

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Rerouting connection.

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Rerouting successful!

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Terminating link.

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I am now testing functions within your system to ensure successful restoration of operations.

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Your systems have been restored!


Goodbye!