WAS it a shock to hear about the departure of Paul Rowley from St Helens last Thursday morning?
It was a surprise, but not really a shock, given the way the St Helens supporters seem to have been so strongly critical of the team and its coach.
The crowds have been declining and we saw on Friday night that fewer than 2,000 made the trip to Wigan for a game that they probably expected to lose convincingly.
I suspect that the fans’ reaction was crucial as a rationale for the decision. They were clearly antagonistic towards Rowley.
When the fans become so critical of the coach it’s hard to stop it in any way other than by sacking him.
It’s interesting to reflect on St Helens supporters and the success they have been so accustomed to.
Saints fans seem to believe that anything less than winning a trophy every year is failure.
That’s an interesting contrast with some other clubs.
Hull fans, for example, probably think that a win coming from anywhere is success given their current position in Super League.
But the Hull fans stick with their team through the bad times while a fair proportion of Saints fans don’t seem to.
Maybe there is a danger in having too much success.
But what will the St Helens directors do now?
To put it bluntly, they need to appoint someone who will win back some of those supporters who are doubting the club.
I suspect they will head to Australia to try to find another Justin Holbrook or Kristian Woolf, who won four Grand Finals between them between 2019 and 2022.
And on the other hand, one famous assistant NRL coach is Brian McDermott, the current England coach, who is an assistant at the Gold Coast Titans.
Brian was the Leeds coach who won a sackful of trophies at Headingley, including their victory over St Helens in the 2011 Grand Final.
Would St Helens want him and would he want to come to St Helens Who knows?
But whether it’s him or someone else, it’s a vital appointment.
What about Paul Rowley?
His situation is reminiscent of Daryl Powell at Warrington, when Daryl went there on the back of a successful time at Castleford but for some reason it didn’t work with the Wolves.
But since then he has taken Wakefield to second place in Super League.
Some coaches aren’t a good fit at some clubs, whereas at others they can do very well, as Powell has clearly demonstrated and no doubt Paul Rowley will hope to emulate.