Sean Long

[rhinos78]

New assistant coach at Leeds from next season, good hire for the Rhinos?

[Robin Evans]

Longy went ok at fev. Very popular with the brethren. Loopy like!!

[Hughsehhh]

So he was assistant at Saints, left to be assistant at Harlequins in union, a supposed step up (why else would you leave the club you played for). Does that mean he's stepping back down to Leeds? What happened in union?

[Robin Evans]

3 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said:

So he was assistant at Saints, left to be assistant at Harlequins in union, a supposed step up (why else would you leave the club you played for). Does that mean he's stepping back down to Leeds? What happened in union?

I read all clubs are shedding staff.

[Manx RL]

Thought this was another West Wales signing being announced

[JohnM]

Assuming confirmation, then yes, of course it's a good move. Former players of his capability have much to pass on to younger players. Couldn't stand the guy or the club he spent most time at (though I don't know his opinion of me) but his contribution to the success of Saints was immense.  Hope it all works out and that he becomes another successful British coach eventually  (but only after I've gone, please. .)

[Man of Kent]

Glad that he’s back coaching in the game. 

Could be a good move by Leeds. They clearly have lots of talented players but there’s a lack of creativity in their attack that makes it hard to warm to them. 

Long could get their attack firing.

[Tommygilf]

Replacement for James Webster who can't work at Leeds and Fev next year for Covid reasons.

[Moove]

Worked wonders with our attacking play alongside Holbrook. By all accounts though he left Saints after being told he wouldn't be getting the head coach job when Woolf was appointed so its a strange move in that sense. I'd have thought Agar would have bought himself a bit of time with the Cup win.

Good to see him back anyway, just a shame it's at Leeds and as assistant.

[Rupert Prince]

11 minutes ago, Moove said:

Worked wonders with our attacking play alongside Holbrook. By all accounts though he left Saints after being told he wouldn't be getting the head coach job when Woolf was appointed so its a strange move in that sense. I'd have thought Agar would have bought himself a bit of time with the Cup win.

Good to see him back anyway, just a shame it's at Leeds and as assistant.

Are you saying there might be friction in the camp (for a change)?

Certainly to me Leeds seem a bit of a one trick pony with Gale.

[The Future is League]

He never stays anywhere very long.

My money would be on him staying about 2 years max, but i want him to prove me wrong

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, The Future is League said:

He never stays anywhere very long.

My money would be on him staying about 2 years max, but i want him to prove me wrong

In fairness he's being signed to replace Agar's favoured assistant, James Webster, who, but for Covid protocols, would be fine to continue his work next season

[Tommygilf]

9 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

Certainly to me Leeds seem a bit of a one trick pony with Gale

I don't think its as simple as that. Gale is nowhere near as effective without dovetailing with Lui. Having Myler at Fullback has been another important string to that, with it being noticeably different with Walker on the pitch instead.

[Hughsehhh]

25 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think its as simple as that. Gale is nowhere near as effective without dovetailing with Lui. Having Myler at Fullback has been another important string to that, with it being noticeably different with Walker on the pitch instead.

What is the deal with Walker at the moment, is Myler just the de facto full back right now?

[DoubleD]

8 minutes ago, Hughsehhh said:

What is the deal with Walker at the moment, is Myler just the de facto full back right now?

Myler is currently favoured in that position. Walker has not evolved or improved much over the last couple of years, albeit he’s been riddled by injury. He’s promising but he’s got a lot of improvement to do and a bit of competition won’t harm

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, Hughsehhh said:

What is the deal with Walker at the moment, is Myler just the de facto full back right now?

Injured and coming back into the squad.

To be honest I've never been fully convinced by him at FB, particularly his positioning, game awareness and general defence. He's clearly talented, but I'm not sure how he can improve these aspects without dedicated coaching. 

I did fear that he would be put straight into the cup final side and Myler would be dropped but thankfully that didn't happen.

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

Replacement for James Webster who can't work at Leeds and Fev next year for Covid reasons.

He’s an improvement in Webster, that’s for sure, who I’ve never been impressed with.

I’ve never liked Long much but he’s certainly seemed an effective coach wherever he’s been and has a good understanding of the game, particularly from an attacking sense. We need to keep our brightest coaches in the game so I’m glad he’s coming back. Hope Gleeson comes back too

[Rupert Prince]

1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think its as simple as that. Gale is nowhere near as effective without dovetailing with Lui. Having Myler at Fullback has been another important string to that, with it being noticeably different with Walker on the pitch instead.

Life is never simple

[Tommygilf]

28 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

Life is never simple

And Leeds aren't a one trick pony

[Rupert Prince]

53 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

And Leeds aren't a one trick pony

I was generally agreeing with you, Leeds have some good players, but Gale is nonetheless the player they very much need.

And I am pleased for him, he had 2 years of terrible injuries, and before then he was settling in to a place in England.

[Cheshire Setter]

3 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

James Webster, who, but for Covid protocols, would be fine to continue

What is the reason he can't continue? 

[Tommygilf]

18 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

I was generally agreeing with you, Leeds have some good players, but Gale is nonetheless the player they very much need.

And I am pleased for him, he had 2 years of terrible injuries, and before then he was settling in to a place in England.

Yeah he's clearly v important to us and has been a great signing!

[Tommygilf]

10 minutes ago, Cheshire Setter said:

What is the reason he can't continue? 

Covid protocols mean you can't switch between bubbles (hence DR being banned for next season too). He's coach at Fev too.

[Cheshire Setter]

34 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Covid protocols mean you can't switch between bubbles (hence DR being banned for next season too). He's coach at Fev too.

I see. Cheers!

 

[Cheshire Setter]

27 minutes ago, Saint 1 said:

Hard to assess any assistant coach really. Attack looked good when he was involved under Holbrook at Saints, but it also did under Holbrook when Long left. He was a good player though and that'll be enough to buy him credibility as a coach amongst the fans. 

I don't know why, but it will seem a very unlikely coaching partnership seeing Agar and Long sat together in the stands. Maybe the fact that one has a very steady personality and the other a chequered history will provide the best of both worlds. 

Agar is very popular with the players and apparently technically very good with an individual's coaching. Maybe Long's success with Saints could help with the tactical team approach and also motivation.