The Cairns Taipans were on the back foot before season began
Taipans coach Mike Kelly should not shoulder the blame for the Snakes’ misfortunes early in the season, as he did not have the opportunity to recruit well.
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WHEN losing sets in at a professional sporting club, fingers start pointing to assign blame.
The fans of the club need someone to blame for how poorly the team is playing and sometimes the playing and coaching group will be in on it themselves to pinpoint why they are not winning.
The coach, in any sporting league around the world, is usually the first to cop it between the eyes when his or her team is not performing.
Evaluating the share of blame that needs to go around following the Taipans’ 1-6 bottom of the ladder start to the season, new coach Mike Kelly would receive 1 per cent and the playing group even less.
Kelly’s attempt to put together a competitive roster on short notice and under a tight budget has been more than commendable.
He has built an atmosphere of positivity, which is tough when your team is losing, and from all reports, it is not just show for the cameras, the mood is like that behind closed doors, too.
A quick trawl of social media will find plenty of blame going Kelly’s way, which is unfair and unfounded.
What must be considered when looking at the Snakes’ current plight is the missteps that came before Kelly’s appointment.
The lack of decisiveness in regards to moving on former coach Aaron Fearne late last season is hurting the current Taipans squad right now.
Last season, Cairns were eliminated from playoff contention with six games to play, in the second week of January, but did not make a call on Fearne’s future until the first week of March.
As soon as the club was eliminated, a decision had to be made one way or another on Fearne.
It is not like Fearne was a new coach.
He had nine years in the gig; the people evaluating knew exactly what they were deciding on.
If the club waited to make a call on Fearne’s future until after the season to show respect, that is fair enough and justified, but the topic was ignored on presentation night and the news of his parting was near-on hidden.
Do not misconstrue this either: Fearne deserves zero blame as well; he put his heart into the job but was left in limbo for weeks.
Kelly was handed the job on April 13 with free-agency in full swing.
Cameron Gliddon, Mitch McCarron and Jarrad Weeks were already on the way out the door.
Compare that with the Taipans’ Queensland rivals Brisbane, who had their full local contingent — Matt Hodgson, Cameron Gliddon, Mika Vukona and Jason Cadee — signed just five days after Kelly got the job.
It was not just Brisbane.
Half the league had secured or was on the way to signing the best Australian talent.
Kelly is doing an outstanding job in his first few months but he was put behind the eight-ball from day one.
He has put together a competitive roster but it could have been much stronger, if he was given ample opportunity to recruit, like every other coach in the league.
Originally published as The Cairns Taipans were on the back foot before season began
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