From SMH.
Robbie Farah is expected be a Wests Tiger by the end of the week after the board rubber-stamped coach Ivan Cleary’s plan to bring him back to the club.
As revealed by Fairfax Media, Farah is poised to make the most unlikely of returns only18 months after the Tigers paid $750,000 to get him off the books. Cleary, who has a relationship with Farah forged during their time together with the Lebanon national team, pitched his case for a Farah return at a board meeting on Monday night.
Some of the directors who originally wanted Farah gone have done a backflip, backing the judgement of the coach in much the same way as when former mentor Jason Taylor wanted him out of Concord.
While there were some reservations, the plan was given the green light and Farah’s current club, South Sydney, are unlikely to stand in the way.
A deal is likely to be struck in coming days, giving Farah the chance to bow out alongside another prodigal son, Benji Marshall, at his beloved Tigers.
Farah was the long-time NSW hooker, but Damien Cook has won the race for his club and state jerseys. However, Cook couldn’t praise Farah enough for helping him to become a better player and believed he would become a huge asset for the Tigers.
“He’s got plenty
to do,” Cook said on Tuesday.
“When I was lucky enough to be in Origin he played in a couple of games. He got player’s player in one of the games and the coach’s award in the other. He made heaps of tackles and did really well.
“He’s got plenty in the tank to go. Obviously we’d love him to stay at Souths, but if he happens to end up at the Tigers - and if that’s how he wants to finish - then he deserves to finish the way he wants to with the career he’s had.”
Farah’s first game back in the black, white and orange is poised to become a huge event. With the NRL given a break this weekend due to representative round, Farah’s first game back will be against the Titans at Leichhardt Oval on a Sunday afternoon. The venue is one of Farah’s favourites and he will get the opportunity for a more fitting farewell than when he was forced to sit on the scoreboard alone after being overlooked for first-grade duties when last at the club.
Asked how much Farah had helped him at the Rabbitohs, Cook said: “He probably doesn’t understand [how much]. Just having his presence at the club, having the Tigers' Origin hooker coming in, being a young kid coming through I wanted to compete against him.
“You want to compete against the best and prove yourself. Having him there is healthy competition but to learn off him as well. He’s helped me with things like game management. I’m always practising my kicking game with him and little things around the ruck.
“Watching and being around those players at training is something that has helped.
“The calibre of player he is and everything he’s done in the game is everything I want to do. I’m very lucky to have him in my corner.”
The Tigers are desperate for a spark after copping a heavy defeat against Canberra. Mahe Fonua could be sidelined for the rest of the season with a broken forearm and the joint-venture outfit hasn’t settled on a hooker since Farah’s departure. Pita Godinet, Jacob Liddle, Elijah Taylor and Matt McIlwrick and Josh Reynolds have spent time at dummy half with mixed success, but the addition of Farah and long-time Bulldog Moses Mbye to the spine will provide a huge boost to their finals chances.
and I guess they pad them when a player is credited with a tackle when there are 2 or 3 in it but that would be the same for everyone wouldn't it?
