Michael Maguire facing the axe as Wests Tigers call crisis meeting
By Michael Chammas
April 25, 2021 — 6.51pm
Wests Tigers officials will hold a series of crisis meetings over the next 48 hours that could see Michael Maguire sacked as coach of the embattled club.
Fed-up Tigers officials have ordered an internal review after the club’s finals hopes were all but buried in Sunday’s humiliating ANZAC Day demolition at the hands of Manly at Bankwest Stadium.
The club is now trying to determine whether Maguire will continue as coach or if they would be better parachuting the likes of John Morris or Shane Flanagan into the hot seat after their sixth loss from seven games to open the season.
It appears the only thing now saving Maguire from the axe is the embarrassment some club powerbrokers want to avoid by parting ways with their fifth coach in nine years.
There’s a feeling inside the club that the Tigers have a better and more balanced roster than they did in 2020, yet they are going backwards at a rate of knots. One of the questions set to be asked in the coming days is why perceived improvements in the roster aren’t being met with improvements in performance.
The Herald can reveal Maguire has a clause in his recently inked two-year extension that will allow the club to part ways with him without much of a financial impact on the club. It’s understood there is a cap on a potential pay-out should the Tigers terminate Maguire’s deal.
Sunday’s loss saw this current crop of Tigers become the worst defensive team in the club’s history through seven rounds, not to mention the worst in the NRL for points conceded this year.
The Tigers have gone from ninth in Maguire’s first year in charge to 11th last year. They are now equal last with Brisbane and the Bulldogs after seven rounds.
