@helmesy Agree. Its nice to see someone in rugby league who has some class.
I wrote a comment in the other thread the other day about him having class. When I first saw this article I thought "Oh no...he is about to prove me wrong" haha!! But still all class
I wrote a comment in the other thread the other day about him having class. When I first saw this article I thought "Oh no...he is about to prove me wrong" haha!! But still all class
I thought the same thing 😆
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Is it just me or does Michael look 5 years younger or what?Full credit to Madge, he could have put the boot in but he’s acting like a gentleman 👍👍
Is it just me or does Michael look 5 years younger or what?Full credit to Madge, he could have put the boot in but he’s acting like a gentleman 👍👍
He is looking fresher, yes 👍
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Bump
Bump
The debate has commenced. As I might of outlined on the last pod, I was happy to wait and see how we do this year but I’m starting to get really worried that a rookie coach at this club is not a recipe for success.
i don’t see any real tangible improvement in any area of the game and the only thing that seems to work at times is the natural ability of guys like Galvin and Bula.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Galvin’s body language the last month has started concerning me. I always assumed he was gone when his contract was up but I agree with the pod that this has very similar parallels to 2016. If you look at our juniors there has actually been zero success stories that I can think of the past decade of talented kids who have actually made it through. The current crop of Matamua, tumeth, Feledy etc look to be destined to go place NSW cup elsewhere and try and rebuild their career but the Galvins/TDS/Luallili could easily be picked off to play first grade in a decent system. Also concerning that we haven’t announced a Pole resigning.
I assume the calls for Benji’s head will subside somewhat if Richo comes out with a load of roster turnover that gives Benji another shot next year but if this rebuild blows up and the kids leave we are cooked. They should move us to East Brisbane
Well I said this time last year to relocate to Queensland … word could spread 😎😬😅Galvin’s body language the last month has started concerning me. I always assumed he was gone when his contract was up but I agree with the pod that this has very similar parallels to 2016. If you look at our juniors there has actually been zero success stories that I can think of the past decade of talented kids who have actually made it through. The current crop of Matamua, tumeth, Feledy etc look to be destined to go place NSW cup elsewhere and try and rebuild their career but the Galvins/TDS/Luallili could easily be picked off to play first grade in a decent system. Also concerning that we haven’t announced a Pole resigning.
I assume the calls for Benji’s head will subside somewhat if Richo comes out with a load of roster turnover that gives Benji another shot next year but if this rebuild blows up and the kids leave we are cooked. They should move us to East Brisbane
I know that I am contradicting some of my other recent comments, but I think we need to give Benji next year. Do the right thing by Luai and see if Benji can grow as a player and the squad grow as well. I have zero confidence however.
We need to sign 3-4 decent to good players and a new support staff for Benji and then go for next year.
I’m sure there’s going to be some very d&m discussion between Richo and Benji… that’s if it hasn’t happened already because Benji looked like he’d aged about 20 years in the box yesterday.
As has already been mentioned in the game day thread the club really needs a Bennett, Robinson or Bellamy type but in reality I think the best we can hope for is a Neil Henry type - older, experienced, able to manage players well and capable of stepping into a caretaker roll should Benji get tapped on the shoulder.
I think he should get another year but should have pressure on him and coaching staff to prepare the team well. The recruitment team should feel pressure as well. Richo said the team is shooting for top 8 next year and the NSW Cup should be successful. For me to accomplish that they need to move on Tumeth, Naden, Bud, Bateman, Feledy and Faagatu on top of that sign a prop, second rower, lock and centre ready to play 20 games consistently. Most with first grade experience. I think there’s a top 8 team in there
with those additions
- Bula
- Stains
- Olam
- Turuva
- Galvin
- Luai
- Klem
- Api
- Samuela
- TDS
- Pole
- Twal
- Sione
Regarding the NSW Cup side, just using other top 30, train & trial and development players contracted for 2025 I feel we can field and competitive side with a few additions.
- Mason (Dev)
- Lobb (Dev)
- Doueihi
- Toa
- Luke L
- Latu
- Sezer
- Sayfarth
- Miller
- Sukkar
- Porter
- Kit L
- Johannssen (T&T)
- Matamua
Other Cup players like Lachlan Broederlow, James Valevatu, Charbel Tasipal have played a fair bit this year and there is young players like Saukuru, Makasini, Willet, Onitoni Large that they like have to accommodate some way as well.
for me there’s a lot of pressure on Richo and the coaching staff to get it right as there’s no reason the they cant get a roster to reach their goals
I think he should get another year but should have pressure on him and coaching staff to prepare the team well. The recruitment team should feel pressure as well. Richo said the team is shooting for top 8 next year and the NSW Cup should be successful. For me to accomplish that they need to move on Tumeth, Naden, Bud, Bateman, Feledy and Faagatu on top of that sign a prop, second rower, lock and centre ready to play 20 games consistently. Most with first grade experience. I think there’s a top 8 team in there
with those additions
- Bula
- Stains
- Olam
- Turuva
- Galvin
- Luai
- Klem
- Api
- Samuela
- TDS
- Pole
- Twal
- Sione
Regarding the NSW Cup side, just using other top 30, train & trial and development players contracted for 2025 I feel we can field and competitive side with a few additions.
- Mason (Dev)
- Lobb (Dev)
- Doueihi
- Toa
- Luke L
- Latu
- Sezer
- Sayfarth
- Miller
- Sukkar
- Porter
- Kit L
- Johannssen (T&T)
- Matamua
Other Cup players like Lachlan Broederlow, James Valevatu, Charbel Tasipal have played a fair bit this year and there is young players like Saukuru, Makasini, Willet, Onitoni Large that they like have to accommodate some way as well.
for me there’s a lot of pressure on Richo and the coaching staff to get it right as there’s no reason the they cant get a roster to reach their goals
Great first post.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
I’m really at a loss as to what type of coach we need. Benji seems to have respect of current more senior players in the game but I’m less certain about the next generation. There aren’t any out and out winning coaches available right now. demteriou never demonstrated he could win without Bennet and his man management was highly questionable as was his standards. Arthur’s stuck it out but he also had precious little success with a much better squad. Griffin is a fossil in the mould of sheens. There really isn’t much in the way of established coaches. I would probably have a go at payten if he was shot and Benji stepped down but the politics of that situation are also fraught. Ciraldo was the right target, just a massive shame that the last two fools couldn’t execute it.
The chat of 2016 has me worried. I was never convinced by JT nor the team running the club at that stage, but letting JT run roughshod over the squad and then sacking him 3 games into a season was utter amateur hour, as bad as anything the club has done over the last decade.
The similarities are compelling, though obviously without the big recruitment wins we've already made for 2025.
If there was someone like a Cleary out there, I'd be more than happy to change course. I don't think Brad Arthur is that guy though, so I'm not as desperate to make a change there.
As for the kids getting itchy feet, you can hardly blame them. Not only is the FG team a shambles, but there still doesn't seem to be any joined up thinking in terms of pathways and player development. We've got guys being promoted into FG from NSW Cup, and it's like they're playing a different sport.
The good systems have similarities in the way they play all the way through the grades. So that someone coming from Flegg to Cup to FG can know their role if they're thrust through the grades for whatever reason. We are all over the shop from one team to the next, so of course the kids and journeymen are struggling when they do make the step up.
For that reason we really need an experienced football manager to come in and smooth the pathways (among other things), make it easier for our club to forge an overall identity.
