Wests Tigers Podcast episode 0212

Good podcast guys. Hastings is a must.

Great pod though I don’t agree with much that was discussed (no surprise there… lol)

Here are my 1-5 thoughts of why we got the Wooden Spoon in 2022.

1-MANAGEMENT

Completely incompetent. The financials are good and we got the COE but that’s where the success ends.

We have two fan boys running the club who basically know nothing about Rugby League. They are so naive they listen to any dribble that sounds like it is meaningful.

It’s OK to surround yourself with experts but If you can’t tell they are actually experts or what they are telling you is valid you basically have the Wests Tigers. Following is a litany of recent management failures. (I’m sure I’ve left out a few as well).

A) End of year Review - Sacked assistants but kept Maguire. Sacked Maguire midway through season WITHOUT a replacement already signed and ready to go. This was Sheens responsibility. Sheens record is 1 premiership - 1 Wooden Spoon = Zero

B) Could not sign their preferred coach replacement in Crialdo

C) Didn’t get the two points for the Cowboys win. All bluster but when push comes to shove they folded like a cheap suit

D) Pushed to challenged Hastings suspension. Didn’t know what they were doing and Hastings ended up with an extra week suspension.

E) Hire a 70+ year old to look after pathways, good move. Makes him GM of football, bad move. Could not land a coach so now he is coach as well, very bad move

F) Could not finalise deal with Latrell Mitchell

G) Scared off Josh Addo Carr returning to club

H) Putting Bret Kimmorley in as interim coach

I) Agreeing to ‘Tales From Tiger Town’

J) Having a public spat (lawnmower gate) with Josh Aloiai

K) Allowing players like Luciano Leilua to leave or loan midway through the season with no significant benefit to the current run on side.

L) Leaving re-signing players like Hastings, Doueihi and Joffa to the last minute or not re-signing them at all.

M) Extended Nofo’s contract beyond reasonable period

N) No member representation at the executive/board level

O) Very poor media presence / perception / reputation

P) Continually unable to secure funds for Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown Sports Stadium making them the worst grounds in the NRL

Q) Papali’i gate. Still not convinced he will be here in 2023.

R) They basically gave up on this season so can’t blame the players for doing the same. 

These are only recent. The list is even longer if you go back several years.

2-ROSTER

Poor squad. Not enough football brains, skill & maturity. Maguire’s hands were tied trying to undo the the mess that Clearly left. The CAP was in a real mess and the squad seriously unbalanced. Players available were not of the quality needed with a few exceptions ie Joffa & Doueihi. Only this year as he is sacked was Maguire able to add quality to the squad. Hastings now, Api & Papali’i for next year.

3-INJURIES

Make no mistake injuries to players like Steff, Doueihi, Laurie & Hastings effected results significantly this year. Let’s also not forget Blore & TT out for the season. 

4-COACHING

Wests Tigers are soft, there is no denying it. No team fears the Wests Tigers. Maguire tried to harden up the squad and got sacked for it. Trying to get the squad to believe in themselves and their capabilities and to change the culture. Some players didn’t like being told (Joffa’s words). This is still and will be a major problem going forward as now the players know they just need to outlast the coach and they can relax again. This is the Wests Tigers way and now I don’t see that ever changing. Sure Maguire wasn’t perfect but attitudes needed to change. People blame game plans but I think with the squad we had were not capable of implementing any plan, good or bad and basically went to pieces when the going got tough.

5-BAD LUCK

Unconscious (and sometimes conscious) bias… I’ll just leave it at that.

Winning starts at the front office and ours is broken.

What was that keys in the bowl thing at the end?

Really enjoyed the podcast again guys. You put a lot of creative thought into the content and they come up really well.

I enjoyed the discussion on the source of our problem and also ranking our next priorities.

IMO the roster ranks as the highest problem so I agree with most of what was said. If we had another coach then its likely we could have attracted some better players and this would have helped fans overlook incompetent management which I think is a separate issue (but comes in number two all the same). I am interested to know whether Madge pops up at another club as head coach in future and whether he'll be able to attract players. 

In terms of highest priorities, Hastings should be halfback and captain for the next 3 seasons. He's carried us this year. 

One point that I hope you discuss on the 'end of year podcast' is this

- the response to the Cowboys defeat from Ben Gardiner. He showed a lot of class in that press conference. He responded the way a professional coach should. He was very well spoken and it was his first press conference as coach!

Compare Gardiner's class to the carry on from Lee H afterwards in threatening to sue the NRL. He's starting to get carried away with his increased media profile and I was hugely disappointed with how he handled that.