Of course there's all sorts of potential unforseen snags to scuttle a season (oh Treacy, Treacy, Treacy), but enough goes right and we should be primed to tear a hole through the comp next year.
In some ways it's dealing with the uncontrollable that separates the great from good coaches. But what Longmuir has done with such a young team this year (and previous) should not be dismissed lightly.
Agreed, he did get a fair bit right this year. Those uncontrollable snags really did compound his/the team's flaws though.
The good vs great coach is very relevant too, especially looking at our current situation compared to Port's. Hinkley's a far better coach than Longmuir (at this point) but I'd much rather a mediocre coach who shows they're not up to it relatively quickly over someone who's good but clearly not good enough.