Kenny is another year older and was looking pretty broken towards the end of last year, but I feel he is a little undervalued by the fan base.
He was strong bringing the ball back from kicks (I felt more confident when he brought it back then when Laurie or any of the other wingers did), he had some handy highlights under the high ball, and obviously was well respected by the playing group to be one of the many captains under Madge.
I think it will be a good result if he takes up an offer in super league, but just wanted to acknowledge his contributions and value to the team.
Im a big fan of junior tupou and looking forward to him stepping up at some point.
Well said, Ken’s hard work and effort are worth acknowledging for sure 👍 I think though that it might be time for him to transition to the Super League.
Biggest issue for me is he is so slow turning around to chase a kick in behind him. I am ok with everything else but this is a big problem.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
From the Pom
The club submitted its “final” offer to Mitch Moses this week. 4 year deal outright. Apparently last deal was 3 year + 1 year mutual option.
$5mill over the 4 year period. His management indicated a decision will be made next week.
well that’s about as high as possible so we can’t really have tried harder
From the Pom
The club submitted its “final” offer to Mitch Moses this week. 4 year deal outright. Apparently last deal was 3 year + 1 year mutual option.
$5mill over the 4 year period. His management indicated a decision will be made next week.well that’s about as high as possible so we can’t really have tried harder
I imagine there would be a TPA or two involved too.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Sounds like there’s plenty happening. Seems like big Ken might be the man to make way for Brown.
Seyfarth would be another one that I’d be releasing early.
- @tigerlily he’s an energy guy off the bench IMO. He’s not a starter . He can come on , charge a kick down , make a try saving tackle , put a hit on , back up through the middle for support , and basically turn a game in its head through 1% plays .
The more he plays though , the less that is going to happen , and the more tired mistakes creep into his game .
But those types of players , like a Nigel plum , Trevor gillmeister type , are not as as common as you might think . Even Nathan Brown , was that at south’s before he moved to the eels .
It’s a curly one , because what value do you put on that ? I’m sure some coaches would swear by that player , and others would see it as wasting a roster spot .
But I will say this . Would you rather a Seyfarth type who I just described , or a man mountain like Musgrove ?! And when I say like Musgrove I mean exactly like him . Puts on a hit occasionally , often injured , can run for 170m once a year , but more often runs for 70m and misses 7 tackles , either through the stat sheets or , just being lazy out of marker and not getting to your position in the defensive line .
For me it’s a no brainer .
Every good team needs a red head in the forwards.
Not the most talented, but as you say makes the effort plays and can create a nit from 15mins of every
Top 8 2023
- @tigerlily he’s an energy guy off the bench IMO. He’s not a starter . He can come on , charge a kick down , make a try saving tackle , put a hit on , back up through the middle for support , and basically turn a game in its head through 1% plays .
..... Would you rather a Seyfarth type who I just described .
I would LOVE a Seyfarth type you just described, Ive never seen one though. Do you know of any?
Why Bateman signing is a gamechanger for Wests Tigers
The Tim Sheens revolution continues at Wests Tigers, with an influx of talent coming to the club. However, one signing may make all the difference. All your questions about the Tigers answered here.
There is a new air of optimism at Wests Tigers for 2023 with the Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall combination working to bring in some exciting signings for last year’s wooden spooners. So what can we expect from the team from the West in 2023? Find out here.
2022 RICH 100 REPS: 5
Luke Brooks (No. 9, $960k), David Klemmer (28, $800k), Adam Doueihi (78, $560k), Joe Ofahengaue (87, $550k), David Nofoaluma (91, $500k)
FREE AGENCY WRAP & RATING
The club’s biggest coup is Englishman John Bateman on a four-year deal. Bateman’s competitive edge and nature, his unwavering desire to win, makes him the most important signing for the club in recent times.
He was not only the buy of the year back in 2019 but a cornerstone in the Canberra’s run to the grand final that year. Bateman’s work ethic, tenacity and ability to lift others around him will be the difference between another disappointing season and a competitive Tigers outfit.
Bateman is the cherry of a strong recruitment drive, which includes the signing of former Penrith dummy-half Api Koroisau to solve the side’s No. 9 conundrum.
No player has been able to own the position since Robbie Farah’s retirement in 2019. The Jacob Liddle, Jake Simpkin combination did not reap results and while Harry Grant starred there in 2020, he wasn’t a Tiger.
But Koroisau’s is more than an elite rake, he brings with him the one ingredient that has been missing at Concord – winning. The club must do everything to harness that side of the three-time premiership winner’s game.
The hit to backrow stocks, in Luciano Leilua, Kelma Tuilagi and Luke Garner, is remedied by the signing of grand finalist Isaiah Papali’i. The club is rightly backing it’s own talent to rebuild depth putting faith in the likes of Shawn Blore and rising star Justin Matamua.
David Klemmer’s arrival from Newcastle adds much needed aggression to a forward pack that has lacked physicality.
Overall, the club has made some astute signings but the inability to keep Jackson Hastings, who was their best in 2022, when halves stocks are thin should sound alarm bells. Only results driven by Koroisau, Papali’i, Klemmer, and Bateman, will ease the fears of Tigers faithful.
Rating: A-
COACH STATUS AND SAFETY RATING:Tim Sheens (2024)
It’s been over a decade since Tim Sheens last coached in the NRL, but talking to the premiership winner, you wouldn’t know it. Sheens‘ knowledge, garnered over 50 years in the game, is unquestionable.
He’s signed for two seasons and for the sake of stability and the side’s rebuild, the club have no choice but to stick with Sheens for the duration.
His assistants, and club legends, Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall have dabbled in specialist coaching but are otherwise untried at the NRL level.
Despite their inexperience, Sheens must lean on them, Marshall in particular, whose time as assistant will double as an apprenticeship before he takes over for the 2025 season as head coach. Getting rid of Sheens early, will raise questions about whether Marshall has had enough on the job training to be at the helm.
The more experienced David Furner has also been added to the staff, where his know-how in both attack and defensive structures will be an invaluable resource.
Rating: A-
LIKELY DEBUTANTS
Apisalome Saukuru – ‘Lome’ is a star of the future. The 20-year-old backrower is big and physical and is developing well in the lower grades. His path to the NRL was clearer when Kelma Tuilagi and Luke Garner moved on but the talented rookie will have to bid his time behind the likes of Shawn Blore and Isaiah Papali’i. Lome is part of a rising crop of second row forwards at Concord, including Henry O‘Kane and Brandon Tumeth, who will push for debuts over the course of 2023. All three are on development contracts.
Josh Feledy – Feledy, 18, is young but the Tigers were willing to blood seven rookies last season, including winger Junior Tupou, so a debut for the centre in 2023 is a distinct chance. On paper, the Tigers have plenty of outside back options with experience. But even the spot of veteran David Nofoaluma, who was demoted to NSW Cup, in the side wasn’t a certainty. There are spots up for grabs and Feledy, the try scoring machine, who crossed for 29 tries from 17 games across Harold Matthews and SG Ball, would not look out of place in an NRL side – when the time is right.
WHO TAKES THE NEXT STEP?
Tommy Talau – Fully fit, the 22-year-old has a round one starting spot in his sights. Ken Maumalo is in our best 17 but his defensive efforts and reads, particularly in the back end of the season, were not up to standard putting his place in jeopardy. It’s a chance for Talau to force a shake-up in the outside backs. Talau was supposed to be the antidote to the crushing blow of losing fullback James Tedesco, according to Benji Marshall. The early signs were good, skilful and capable of finding the tryline, he scored 19 tries in 35 games. But an ACL injury meant he didn’t play a single game in 2022.
Daine Laurie – Laurie has to find another gear if he is going to ward off new recruit Charlie Staines, who is also gunning for the no. 1 jumper. For Laurie, it’s the difference between starting every week at fullback or fighting for a spot on the bench as a utility. He’s a natural footballer and has played at five-eighth but Adam Doueihi is the better option there. Though, the Tigers are skinny in the halves and Laurie will inevitably provide cover there over the season. It’s less of a do or die scenario for Staines, who will take up his place on the edge if he doesn’t win the race to the fullback spot in round one.
THE THREE BURNING ISSUES
Luke Brooks – Brooks has had one foot out the door for 12 months with constant speculation about his future but the club has instead opted to cut arguably their best playmaker, Jackson Hastings, to the dismay of fans. Benji Marshall has always been an advocate of Brooks’ but if assistant can’t take help mould the halfback into the player the side needs, it’s time for the Tigers to let Brooks move on, so both he and the club can have a fresh start.
Halves depth – With Hastings following Jock Madden out the door, the Tigers halves stocks risk running thin. There’s no obvious graduate from the NSW Cup side to fill the gap and the best external offering is former Bulldogs playmaker Brandon Wakeham, who is currently without a club for 2023. Daine Laurie can provide cover in the halves, and he played there with competence for Penrith in the NSW Cup. Even if Laurie takes up a utility role, Sheens will have no option to dig into junior stocks. At this stage only forwards Christian Ma’anaima and Kitione Kautog, and centre Josh Feledy have been added to the development list.
What does tigers DNA look like?
There’s been a lot of talk about people like Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall injecting Tigers DNA back into the club. But what does that actually look like? Whatever is going on at the club, and in the last decade, isn’t working. Micheal Maguire tried to install a DNA based on tough love and hard work and that fell flat. Winning hasn’t been part of the club’s DNA for a long time. To win you need hard work, just ask any of the dominant sides in recent years Penrith, Roosters, Melbourne. So where does that leave Sheens and Marshall? In a very difficult place of coaching success into a roster that has barely tasted it. Both will need to lean on Bateman, who oozes tenacity, as a shot in the arm to their DNA endeavours.
CRYSTAL BALL
The Tigers have recruited well enough to avoid back-to-back wooden spoons. How far off the bottom of the ladder they finish will be determined by how much of a winning culture can be created in a single summer. Injecting three-time premiership winner Api Koroisau, Isaiah Papali’i and John Bateman will help. So too, coaching duo Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall. But will that be enough to rid the joint of the stench of a decade of failure? Eventually yes. Immediately, it rests on how quickly Bateman and Co. can drive cultural change.
PREDICTION: 14th
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Why Bateman signing is a gamechanger for Wests Tigers
The Tim Sheens revolution continues at Wests Tigers, with an influx of talent coming to the club. However, one signing may make all the difference. All your questions about the Tigers answered here.
There is a new air of optimism at Wests Tigers for 2023 with the Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall combination working to bring in some exciting signings for last year’s wooden spooners. So what can we expect from the team from the West in 2023? Find out here.
2022 RICH 100 REPS: 5
Luke Brooks (No. 9, $960k), David Klemmer (28, $800k), Adam Doueihi (78, $560k), Joe Ofahengaue (87, $550k), David Nofoaluma (91, $500k)
FREE AGENCY WRAP & RATING
The club’s biggest coup is Englishman John Bateman on a four-year deal. Bateman’s competitive edge and nature, his unwavering desire to win, makes him the most important signing for the club in recent times.
He was not only the buy of the year back in 2019 but a cornerstone in the Canberra’s run to the grand final that year. Bateman’s work ethic, tenacity and ability to lift others around him will be the difference between another disappointing season and a competitive Tigers outfit.
Bateman is the cherry of a strong recruitment drive, which includes the signing of former Penrith dummy-half Api Koroisau to solve the side’s No. 9 conundrum.
No player has been able to own the position since Robbie Farah’s retirement in 2019. The Jacob Liddle, Jake Simpkin combination did not reap results and while Harry Grant starred there in 2020, he wasn’t a Tiger.
But Koroisau’s is more than an elite rake, he brings with him the one ingredient that has been missing at Concord – winning. The club must do everything to harness that side of the three-time premiership winner’s game.
The hit to backrow stocks, in Luciano Leilua, Kelma Tuilagi and Luke Garner, is remedied by the signing of grand finalist Isaiah Papali’i. The club is rightly backing it’s own talent to rebuild depth putting faith in the likes of Shawn Blore and rising star Justin Matamua.
David Klemmer’s arrival from Newcastle adds much needed aggression to a forward pack that has lacked physicality.
Overall, the club has made some astute signings but the inability to keep Jackson Hastings, who was their best in 2022, when halves stocks are thin should sound alarm bells. Only results driven by Koroisau, Papali’i, Klemmer, and Bateman, will ease the fears of Tigers faithful.
Rating: A-
COACH STATUS AND SAFETY RATING:Tim Sheens (2024)
It’s been over a decade since Tim Sheens last coached in the NRL, but talking to the premiership winner, you wouldn’t know it. Sheens‘ knowledge, garnered over 50 years in the game, is unquestionable.
He’s signed for two seasons and for the sake of stability and the side’s rebuild, the club have no choice but to stick with Sheens for the duration.
His assistants, and club legends, Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall have dabbled in specialist coaching but are otherwise untried at the NRL level.
Despite their inexperience, Sheens must lean on them, Marshall in particular, whose time as assistant will double as an apprenticeship before he takes over for the 2025 season as head coach. Getting rid of Sheens early, will raise questions about whether Marshall has had enough on the job training to be at the helm.
The more experienced David Furner has also been added to the staff, where his know-how in both attack and defensive structures will be an invaluable resource.
Rating: A-
LIKELY DEBUTANTS
Apisalome Saukuru – ‘Lome’ is a star of the future. The 20-year-old backrower is big and physical and is developing well in the lower grades. His path to the NRL was clearer when Kelma Tuilagi and Luke Garner moved on but the talented rookie will have to bid his time behind the likes of Shawn Blore and Isaiah Papali’i. Lome is part of a rising crop of second row forwards at Concord, including Henry O‘Kane and Brandon Tumeth, who will push for debuts over the course of 2023. All three are on development contracts.
Josh Feledy – Feledy, 18, is young but the Tigers were willing to blood seven rookies last season, including winger Junior Tupou, so a debut for the centre in 2023 is a distinct chance. On paper, the Tigers have plenty of outside back options with experience. But even the spot of veteran David Nofoaluma, who was demoted to NSW Cup, in the side wasn’t a certainty. There are spots up for grabs and Feledy, the try scoring machine, who crossed for 29 tries from 17 games across Harold Matthews and SG Ball, would not look out of place in an NRL side – when the time is right.
WHO TAKES THE NEXT STEP?
Tommy Talau – Fully fit, the 22-year-old has a round one starting spot in his sights. Ken Maumalo is in our best 17 but his defensive efforts and reads, particularly in the back end of the season, were not up to standard putting his place in jeopardy. It’s a chance for Talau to force a shake-up in the outside backs. Talau was supposed to be the antidote to the crushing blow of losing fullback James Tedesco, according to Benji Marshall. The early signs were good, skilful and capable of finding the tryline, he scored 19 tries in 35 games. But an ACL injury meant he didn’t play a single game in 2022.
Daine Laurie – Laurie has to find another gear if he is going to ward off new recruit Charlie Staines, who is also gunning for the no. 1 jumper. For Laurie, it’s the difference between starting every week at fullback or fighting for a spot on the bench as a utility. He’s a natural footballer and has played at five-eighth but Adam Doueihi is the better option there. Though, the Tigers are skinny in the halves and Laurie will inevitably provide cover there over the season. It’s less of a do or die scenario for Staines, who will take up his place on the edge if he doesn’t win the race to the fullback spot in round one.
THE THREE BURNING ISSUES
Luke Brooks – Brooks has had one foot out the door for 12 months with constant speculation about his future but the club has instead opted to cut arguably their best playmaker, Jackson Hastings, to the dismay of fans. Benji Marshall has always been an advocate of Brooks’ but if assistant can’t take help mould the halfback into the player the side needs, it’s time for the Tigers to let Brooks move on, so both he and the club can have a fresh start.
Halves depth – With Hastings following Jock Madden out the door, the Tigers halves stocks risk running thin. There’s no obvious graduate from the NSW Cup side to fill the gap and the best external offering is former Bulldogs playmaker Brandon Wakeham, who is currently without a club for 2023. Daine Laurie can provide cover in the halves, and he played there with competence for Penrith in the NSW Cup. Even if Laurie takes up a utility role, Sheens will have no option to dig into junior stocks. At this stage only forwards Christian Ma’anaima and Kitione Kautog, and centre Josh Feledy have been added to the development list.
What does tigers DNA look like?
There’s been a lot of talk about people like Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall injecting Tigers DNA back into the club. But what does that actually look like? Whatever is going on at the club, and in the last decade, isn’t working. Micheal Maguire tried to install a DNA based on tough love and hard work and that fell flat. Winning hasn’t been part of the club’s DNA for a long time. To win you need hard work, just ask any of the dominant sides in recent years Penrith, Roosters, Melbourne. So where does that leave Sheens and Marshall? In a very difficult place of coaching success into a roster that has barely tasted it. Both will need to lean on Bateman, who oozes tenacity, as a shot in the arm to their DNA endeavours.
CRYSTAL BALL
The Tigers have recruited well enough to avoid back-to-back wooden spoons. How far off the bottom of the ladder they finish will be determined by how much of a winning culture can be created in a single summer. Injecting three-time premiership winner Api Koroisau, Isaiah Papali’i and John Bateman will help. So too, coaching duo Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall. But will that be enough to rid the joint of the stench of a decade of failure? Eventually yes. Immediately, it rests on how quickly Bateman and Co. can drive cultural change.
PREDICTION: 14th
removed link
A lot of positive in that article to only have us rising to 14th. I’m not completely confident we’ll make the 8 but I can see big improvement in this side for 2023
@the-last-ronin I agree, I was surprised that person put us so low.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
@helmesy I think we have a good pack but I think we’re no better than a number of other club’s packs. What probably will gives us an advantage, should we get an advantage, is Api, in my opinion anyway. He could make the difference so I’m hoping he can play injury free. The backline isn’t flashy by any means but might do okay if everything goes as well as we hope it might in the middle. They’ve got a lot to improve on even to challenge for a top 8 spot. I’m sure they can but it remains to be seen.
@helmesy the journalist also had Henry o'kane still in our squad lol research is not part of her job description...
Rothfield’s instructions would be keep the Tigers down
We do have a better forward back, but missing a proven 13
But we are still lacking in the spine, in my opinion.
Look at teams with very strong packs and decent backbones that were missing a 7 -
Newcastle when Pearce left
Cowboys before Townsend arrived
I would say we were much stronger chance to make the 8 if we had of kept Hastings, and would be pushing for top 4 if we can sign Moses.
EDIT - just to clarify that this isn't a crack at Brooks or AD - but I think we all agree 6 is Brooks strongest position. And I think if AD is going to succeed at 6 he needs an experienced 7.
Top 8 2023
@frullens Yes our pack is better than ours from last year but it could be argued that there are 9 or 10 other teams’ starting packs that could match it, 5 or 6 could better it, on paper at least. There are certainly 10-12 clubs with backlines that could, at very least, match ours. It’s purely subjective of course, just opinions. I’d rate Penrith, Souths, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys the best packs. The Eels, Raiders, Broncos, Bulldogs & us (maybe the Dolphins) on a similar level then the others.
Someone asked The Mole on Twitter who Moses was going to sign with, he said “Tigers”.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
