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Random Tigers articles from the media

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Not worth starting a thread for every minor story, but probably worth collecting them here for the archive and in case any points are worth discussion.
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
West Tigers look to return of Farah after loss to Gold Coast Titans

Steve Zemek
Published: March 20, 2016 - 10:42PM
The return of veteran Robbie Farah's calming influence could not be timed better for the Wests Tigers. Captain Aaron Woods admitted his team dropped their bundle against a resurgent Gold Coast as the Wests Tigers juggernaut came to a shuddering halt away from home on Saturday night.
But Tigers coach Jason Taylor said seasoned hooker Farah would help rectify that on his return from a knee injury, ideally against Parramatta in the next round.
"We hope he is right for the next game," Taylor said. "He has done what is needed up to this point to play next week. We will have a few more boxes to tick over the next week but there is no reason why he won't be right to go come Monday week." There was a time when it seemed Taylor could not wait to see the back of Farah. The veteran hooker fell out with Taylor when he was told last August that he could explore a release or risk being demoted to NSW Cup if he remained.
Months of drama and speculation finally looked like they had ended when Farah was named in the Wests Tigers' leadership group in December.
Farah will be a sight for sore eyes when he returns for a Tigers outfit that blinked when challenged by Gold Coast. The visitors were found wanting after the Titans turned a 10-0 deficit after 15 minutes into a 30-10 second-half lead. "We just wanted to calm down," Woods said. "The momentum swung and we didn't handle it too well." Taylor said Farah's injection would make a difference. "We've got some really calm heads in the team," he said. "Woodsy is a calm guy and [fellow forward] Tim Grant has added something really special in regards to our leadership. Robbie is another one who can help us."
At one stage, Gold Coast defied humid conditions to run in four tries in 17 minutes.
Taylor dismissed rib injury fears for centre Kevin Naiqama who landed heavily in scoring his third try. Backrower Chris Lawrence is in doubt for next week's clash with the Eels after he was placed on report for a dangerous tackle on Ryan James.
AAP
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...oss-to-gold-coast-titans-20160320-gnmrga.html
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Mark O'Neill returns to Wests Tigers with flashbacks of 2005 Michael Chammas
Published: March 23, 2016 - 8:19PM



The prodigal son has returned home with a sense of deja vu.
Mark O'Neill is back in Tiger Town in charge of a roster that has given him flashbacks to 2005 and that premiership-winning team.
It's that very roster that has lured him back to the club after an eight-year stint inside NRL headquarters, unable to control his excitement about the potential of the crop of players at coach Jason Taylor's disposal.
O'Neill has been entrusted with heading up the club's football department, but don't mistake his return as the resurfacing of the ghosts of yesteryear.
His priority? Ensuring an environment that will keep halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks at the club beyond this season.
While he's been asked to unite the football department, he won't shy away from making the tough decisions and holds full accountability for the club's direction.
There has been great conjecture about the future of his former teammate Robbie Farah over the past two years, and while Farah is now settled back into life at the Tigers, O'Neill has shown his cards by declaring his personal relationships won't cloud his judgment.
"Robbie is a great bloke, and yeah we have been friends, but if anyone thinks that friendship will undermine my performance here at the Tigers in my professional role, they are mistaken," O'Neill said.
"Bear in mind my charter is to act in the best interest of the Wests Tigers at all times, so if anyone was to be of a different understanding, well they are severely underestimating my capacity.
"Robbie is happy. He's been a great servant of this club and still is. For that I have nothing but glowing reports to say about Robbie. Even in my short time here, he's been exceptional. I'm looking forward to seeing him back out on the field this week."
O'Neill has spoken with Moses and Brooks and while conversations have been positive, he believes it's the actions of the club and the culture that will determine whether they remain.
"My conversations with them have been informal at the moment, but it's pretty much been around 'What can I do to help you become the best player you possibly can?"' O'Neill said.
"I want to know how I can help them. I want to know how I can provide every opportunity for them to reach their potential. They are a special breed those two. If you sit there and watch what they do on the field, at training and what they do just as people – they are very impressive guys. It is a high priority and an importance of mine to retain them.
"If you simplified my charter, it would be to act in the best interest of the Wests Tigers at all times. I would think making sure Brooks and Moses stay would be acting in the best interest of the Wests Tigers. The whole playing group appear happy and enjoying each other's company – so we can tick that box."
O'Neill, who sought advice from Daniel Anderson (Eels), Brian Canavan (Titans) and Frank Ponissi (Storm) before taking on the job at the Tigers, is believed to have been in line for the NRL head of football position vacated by his mentor Todd Greenberg when he took up the chief executive's job.
O'Neill will play a key role in the recruitment and retention of players and coaching staff.
"I'm passionate about the organisation, but I'm more passionate about the playing roster we've got here," the former second-rower said.
"The roster we've got, it's just so exciting to come to have an opportunity to work with these guys and see what we can achieve. In many ways it's similar to when I left. There was a young playing group back in '05, and I can sit and talk about '05 forever. It was such a great time and great memories and the club's first ever premiership.
"But I think that's a bit disrespectful to the current roster and the current group we've got now because who is to say they can't achieve more than what has already been achieved in the past, no matter who the players were."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-with-flashbacks-of-2005-20160323-gnprg8.html
 

Tigerm

First Grade
Messages
8,902
Mark O'Neill returns to Wests Tigers with flashbacks of 2005 Michael Chammas
Published: March 23, 2016 - 8:19PM



The prodigal son has returned home with a sense of deja vu.
Mark O'Neill is back in Tiger Town in charge of a roster that has given him flashbacks to 2005 and that premiership-winning team.
It's that very roster that has lured him back to the club after an eight-year stint inside NRL headquarters, unable to control his excitement about the potential of the crop of players at coach Jason Taylor's disposal.
O'Neill has been entrusted with heading up the club's football department, but don't mistake his return as the resurfacing of the ghosts of yesteryear.
His priority? Ensuring an environment that will keep halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks at the club beyond this season.
While he's been asked to unite the football department, he won't shy away from making the tough decisions and holds full accountability for the club's direction.
There has been great conjecture about the future of his former teammate Robbie Farah over the past two years, and while Farah is now settled back into life at the Tigers, O'Neill has shown his cards by declaring his personal relationships won't cloud his judgment.
"Robbie is a great bloke, and yeah we have been friends, but if anyone thinks that friendship will undermine my performance here at the Tigers in my professional role, they are mistaken," O'Neill said.
"Bear in mind my charter is to act in the best interest of the Wests Tigers at all times, so if anyone was to be of a different understanding, well they are severely underestimating my capacity.
"Robbie is happy. He's been a great servant of this club and still is. For that I have nothing but glowing reports to say about Robbie. Even in my short time here, he's been exceptional. I'm looking forward to seeing him back out on the field this week."
O'Neill has spoken with Moses and Brooks and while conversations have been positive, he believes it's the actions of the club and the culture that will determine whether they remain.
"My conversations with them have been informal at the moment, but it's pretty much been around 'What can I do to help you become the best player you possibly can?"' O'Neill said.
"I want to know how I can help them. I want to know how I can provide every opportunity for them to reach their potential. They are a special breed those two. If you sit there and watch what they do on the field, at training and what they do just as people – they are very impressive guys. It is a high priority and an importance of mine to retain them.
"If you simplified my charter, it would be to act in the best interest of the Wests Tigers at all times. I would think making sure Brooks and Moses stay would be acting in the best interest of the Wests Tigers. The whole playing group appear happy and enjoying each other's company – so we can tick that box."
O'Neill, who sought advice from Daniel Anderson (Eels), Brian Canavan (Titans) and Frank Ponissi (Storm) before taking on the job at the Tigers, is believed to have been in line for the NRL head of football position vacated by his mentor Todd Greenberg when he took up the chief executive's job.
O'Neill will play a key role in the recruitment and retention of players and coaching staff.
"I'm passionate about the organisation, but I'm more passionate about the playing roster we've got here," the former second-rower said.
"The roster we've got, it's just so exciting to come to have an opportunity to work with these guys and see what we can achieve. In many ways it's similar to when I left. There was a young playing group back in '05, and I can sit and talk about '05 forever. It was such a great time and great memories and the club's first ever premiership.
"But I think that's a bit disrespectful to the current roster and the current group we've got now because who is to say they can't achieve more than what has already been achieved in the past, no matter who the players were."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-with-flashbacks-of-2005-20160323-gnprg8.html

Well, he is certainly saying all the right things, about time someone was.
 

Tigerted

Juniors
Messages
457
Buckets O'neill needs to be objective, persuasive & judicious to rectify our diabolical recruitment & retention since 2000.

We will remain an also-ran until we field a roster that has plenty of starch & the necessary work ethic & resilience that successful coaches like Bennett & Bellamy look for in a player.

Currently our roster isn't good enough or tough enough to improve much on last seasons 15th position.
 

BuffaloRules

Coach
Messages
14,270
This article seems interesting...

Marina flexing some muscles?

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=au

Wests Tigers vow to put own financial interests at top of list

One of the most important weeks in Wests Tigers’ history has begun with chair Marina Go insisting the club must prioritise its own financial sustainability over the game’s desire to find a compromise on the future of Sydney stadiums.

Go stepped into the chair role with the club at its lowest ebb but the Tigers now find themselves negotiating from a position of strength given the influence they wield over the potential allocation of government funding towards Sydney’s major venues.
The joint venture is among four clubs whose future scheduling of home games could prove the difference between the state government devoting the lion’s share of its $1.6 billion stadium funding to ANZ Stadium, or instead directing it towards a new ground adjacent to Allianz Stadium.
The NRL has until Friday to lock in 65 games necessary to ensure the funding is forthcoming — the same day a 50 per cent share in the Tigers is expected to hit the open market.
The Tigers currently play four games apiece at Leichhardt Oval, Campbelltown Stadium and ANZ Stadium but it is believed the NRL would like the club to commit at least eight games to one of the city’s major grounds as part of the new agreement.
Go declined to reveal the Tigers’ plans, other than to say any decision would be centred around the ramifications for the club’s long-term future.
We are going to make a decision that is based on the future financial sustainability of this organisation,” Go said. “That has to be a priority. It has been the board’s priority since day one. Some of our stakeholders know there is going to be some pain along the way.
“As a board we’re not afraid of that. We have made some bold decisions and will continue to do so.
“We’re trying to assess the full picture. That doesn’t mean we can’t make an in-principle decision around stadia. But clearly we need to make sure there is some financial gain for us in doing so.
“We’re not going to put our club in a position where we’re worse off because of a whole-of-game decision.”
Go confirmed the club had spoken to the NRL about helping fund a Centre of Excellence as part of the negotiations.
The Tigers lag behind some of the NRL’s superpowers in terms of spending on their football department — the gap is believed to be as much as $10 million between the biggest and smallest spenders.
“Clearly the conditions of our centre of excellence are not up to the standards we would like for a sporting organisation,” Go said.
“When you talk about equality of clubs ... you also need to think about facilities. This is a real priority for us at the moment. We certainly had a conversation with them around how they might help us. Clearly it is a big consideration for us. We have always said we wouldn’t make a decision around our stadia strategy until we were very, very clear about the right path forward for the Wests Tigers.
“We will make a decision that’s in the best interests of the Wests Tigers because that’s what we have to do. Of course we want to be part of a decision that grows the entire sport and is great for the sport.
“The NRL with good reason is anxious about missing out on this potentially great deal with the state government. But as clubs we have to do what is right for our club and our members.
“Hopefully the two will coincide.”
Go also rejected suggestions the club would fall into line with the game’s governing body because the Balmain side of the joint venture had been propped up by the NRL. That $5m debt is due to be paid by close of business on Thursday, meaning 50 per cent of the Tigers is likely to hit the market come Friday morning unless Balmain can find the funds.
“They don’t own our club,” Go said of the NRL. “They certainly can’t tell us what to do and we’re certainly not going to do what they want purely because they have given one of our shareholders a lifeline.
“Let’s not forget the loan is with Balmain. That is independent to the decisions we make around the Wests Tigers. I don’t view the NRL as one of our shareholders in the current situation because that is a loan to Balmain.
“From our point of view, we will not fall into line with anybody. We will make decisions around what is best for Wests Tigers.”
 
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3,211
Balmain set to retain stake in Wests Tigers as deadline extended

Wests Magpies are set to honour a pact made with Balmain when they merged in 2000 by agreeing to a deal that would enable their fellow foundation club to maintain a stake in Wests Tigers.
With the deadline for cash-strapped Balmain to repay a $5.4 million loan to the NRL due to expire on Thursday, there have been doubts over the future of one of the game's oldest and most famous clubs but Fairfax Media has been told Wests will not allow them to die and is prepared to offer the Leichhardt-based Tigers a 25 per cent stake in the joint venture.

We never have - and never will be - a guillotine organisation
Wests Ashfiield CEO Simon Cook

Negotiations between the two clubs are continuing and are set to go past the March 31 deadline but it is understood they are close to reaching an agreement that would result in half of Balmain's debt being retired and the 116-year-old club having a further 10 years to repay the rest.

In return, the Wests Group - headed by the powerful Wests Ashfield Leagues Club - would take control of the Wests Tigers board by appointing five of the nine directors.

Balmain would have two seats on the board and there would also be two independent directors.

Under the terms of the NRL licence agreement for Wests Tigers, the Magpies have the option of buying Balmain's 50 per cent stake in the joint venture if the Tigers can't meet Thursday's deadline.

However, it is believed Balmain will not only retain a 25 per cent stake but also have an opportunity to buy back the other 25 per cent if they get back on their feet.

Such a move would be in the spirit of the original joint venture agreement between the two clubs after they rebelled against attempts to merge Balmain with Parramatta to form the Parramatta Tigers and Wests with Canterbury to become the Western Bulldogs.

Despite being separated geographically, Balmain and Wests assured their survival when the NRL reduced the number of teams to 14 in 2000 by taking advantage of an $8 million merger incentive and becoming the Wests Tigers.

In doing so, the boards of both clubs decided that if one got into difficulty the other would help them out and Wests have been honouring that commitment since the closure of Balmain Leagues Club at Rozelle six years ago left the Tigers unable to play their way.

It is understood the NRL is so convinced that the two clubs will reach agreement on a new deal that they have extended the deadline for the $5.4 million debt to be paid.

Wests Ashfield chief executive Simon Cook confirmed that March 31 was not being treated as a red-letter day for the future of the joint venture.

Cook told Fairfax Media negotiations would continue between the Wests Tigers' three stakeholders - Balmain, Wests and the NRL - well beyond Thursday.

"I wouldn't be too hung up on the date," he said. "The talks are progressing and there won't be anything finalised on March 31st."

Cook said despite rumours that old Magpies diehards had a petition demanding for the club to rename itself the Western Suburbs Magpies he was yet to see it.

Regardless of the ownership structure, Cook made it clear that the NRL club's name would remain Wests Tigers and he said there would be continued and considered discussion about the future of the Wests-Balmain alliance.

"We never have - and never will be - a guillotine organisation that just chops something off without giving a matter due consideration and exploring all options," Cook said.

Balmain finance committee chairman James Myatt said the discussions had been constructive and would continue.

"There are ongoing discussions and all parties are engaged," Myatt said."It would be premature to put a position forward on what shape they may take. We're in the negotiation phase and I don't want to prejudice anything that's been discussed."




Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...e-extended-20160329-gnte78.html#ixzz44Hphr1O1
 

Tigerm

First Grade
Messages
8,902
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...moses-on-staggered-deals-20160330-gnufnx.html

Brooks and Moses are yet to decide whether to trigger contract extensions in their favour for 2017. If they wish to do so, the pair can remain with the joint-venture outfit for about $600,000, the price where the bidding war will need to start for potential suitors. They have until June to test the market before deciding whether to stay put, making them free agents alongside fellow playmakers Benji Marshall, Cooper Cronk, Corey Norman, Luke Keary, Cody Walker and Lachlan Coote.

The Tigers have little room to move under their cap for next season and are seeking to put together a package that will keep Brooks and Moses well beyond then.

On the rise: Wests Tigers halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
On the rise: Wests Tigers halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses. Photo: Ben Rushton

However, the club is mindful of the disruption of having two of its marquee names going through a negotiation process at the same time and would like to stagger the pair's future contracts to avoid the situation.

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The current scenario is similar to what Manly went through with Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans, who were both exploring their options last season after their deals lapsed. The ongoing uncertainty about their futures, coupled with a similar cloud about whether coach Geoff Toovey would be retained, dominated reporting on the club and proved to be an unwanted distraction. The Sea Eagles subsequently missed the semi-finals for the first time in a decade and had to produce a $10 million "lifetime" contract for Cherry-Evans to make sure both internationals weren't lost.

Mark O'Neill, a former premiership-winning Tigers forward, has rejoined the club as its football manager after a stint at rugby league headquarters. He has made keeping Brooks and Moses his top priority since starting his new role and is hopeful of putting together an attractive proposition to the pair, who share the same management agency. The halves have shown signs they are ready to fulfil their undoubted potential in a bright start to 2016. The Tigers won their opening two matches courtesy of a flamboyant style of play, with Brooks, Moses and star fullback James Tedesco combining strongly.

Brooks said he was focused solely on football and would put contract considerations to the side for now. "I'm still just worried about playing footy, I'm not worried about that too much," Brooks said last week. "I've still got a bit of time so I'll focus on playing footy."

Asked if money would be the motivating factor in any decision, Brooks said: "No, it's not about money at all. It's about what is going to best suit me and let me play my best footy."

While Brooks and Moses are the priorities, the Tigers are already looking at contingency plans should they lose one or both. Melbourne pivot Blake Green is a potential target, while a homecoming for Marshall could be another option depending on what happens in the latest halves merry-go-round.
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Jordan Rankin sees funny side to two-ball fiasco but insists Wests Tigers were dudded
Michael Chammas
Published: April 13, 2016 - 5:24PM
Jordan Rankin has learned to laugh at his own expense, but the Tigers winger remains adamant his team should not have been disadvantaged by the two-ball fiasco in Newcastle last Sunday.
Rankin, who has likened good friend Korbin Sims' left foot to that of Socceroos legend Tim Cahill, has become the butt of jokes at training. Even coach Jason Taylor has seen the funny side of what was a major reason the Tigers were unable to overcome the Knights last week, offering to throw balls at his winger while he was undertaking catching practice on Wednesday.
The Tigers were up in arms after Sims kicked a rogue ball in the direction of Rankin, who then dropped a Trent Hodkinson bomb as a result of the flying distraction.
"If you're a golfer and someone yells in your back-swing in the competition, it's not allowed," Rankin said. "Same thing on the footy field if there's a second ball on the field.
"All I remember is going up for the ball and I see this white thing come flying at me in the corner of my eye. I glanced down to see what was flying at me and it was obviously a second ball. By the time I glanced back up the ball had slipped through my hands.
"Unfortunately it ended up being a line drop-out. That's footy. It's one of those things you haven't seen before and one of those things you probably won't see again. In the heat of the moment I am saying that should be our ball. If he kicks a second ball at me surely it is a changeover or at least a play-the-ball 10 metres out from the line."
What further frustrated Rankin was the fact Sims is a friend of his and had plenty to laugh about when the pair caught up after the match.
"I know Korbin really well. I didn't know he was the one who kicked it at me," Rankin said. "He has a pretty good left foot on him. It's one of those things in the game, it was sitting there, congratulations to him on the quick thinking. I don't think many people would have thought of doing the same thing.
"Fortunately for Newcastle it paid off for them. They got the ball back and scored a try off it. Looking back on it, it is pretty funny. I can't not laugh at it when I look at it. That's footy and something everyone will remember for a long time."
"I spoke to him after the game. I didn't realise he kicked it at me until after the game. I heard him chatting with Freddie after the game about how he didn't know the ball was there.
"Looking back at it, he has a better left foot than Timmy Cahill. I had a good laugh with him after the game about it. ... JT [Taylor] was talking to me today about throwing a couple more footies at me while I was catching some bombs out here to make sure I get that second ball this time. We all had a good laugh about it."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...wests-tigers-were-dudded-20160413-go5j7j.html
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Wests Tigers look to extend Chris Lawrence's contract, but with a revised deal

Adrian Proszenko
Published: April 13, 2016 - 6:36PM
Wests Tigers want to tear up the final year of Chris Lawrence's lucrative contract, with a view to replacing it with a new one that keeps him at the club for two more seasons.
The Tigers are under immense salary cap pressure for 2017, due in part to massive back-ended deals for Lawrence and Farah.
Farah is on the best part of $1 million next year, while Lawrence is on $600,000. Those commitments alone make it difficult to retain several off-contract players they want to keep, let alone go into the open market.
While Lawrence is entitled to every cent of his current contract money, the Tigers are hoping he may consider a new deal that guarantees him $450,000 per season for 2017 and 2018.
The Tigers have first got to clear the proposal with the NRL, which rarely allows variations to contracts that have already been lodged and registered.
However, the joint-venture outfit is hopeful of clearing that hurdle and then presenting it to Lawrence's agent, in the belief it could be beneficial for both parties.
The current Tigers administration believes previous officials have paid "overs" for Lawrence, with the original deal tabled after he broke into the Australian teams of 2010-11.
The back-rower was given permission to negotiate with other clubs in the hope he would seek a release, although it wasn't financially feasible for rivals, even after the Tigers' offer to cover some of his freight.
Asked about the prospect of spreading his wage over two seasons as part of an extension deal, Lawrence said: "If that's the case, it's something I'll talk to with my manager and if it works for both parties it is something we will look at ...
"I haven't spoken to my manager. I made it pretty clear to him him that if any of those talks would happen that they should happen without me so that I could focus on my football.
"Then when there was some progress with that he could involve me."
Lawrence has played 175 games for the Tigers since his debut over a decade ago, a figure that would be much higher if not for a spate of injuries. The 27-year-old said his preference would be to finish his career where it started.
"Ideally, yes, in a perfect world you want to be a one-club player," Lawrence said.
"The more the NRL goes on the less likely it is for players to do that. I'd love it but if that's not the case I've just got to get on with it, so we'll wait and see what happens.
"It's like anything – at the end of each season there is always a review. Players, in this day and age, with contracts don't mean everything these days.
"Some guys might have contracts but still have the reason to look elsewhere and vice versa for the clubs.
"For me, I didn't worry about that. I tried to get my game right and left it to the manager and the club to work it out."
The Tigers are hopeful of retaining hooker Mania Cherrington and prop Ava Seumanufagai, although their top priority is hanging onto Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
The halves have options in their favour for next year and have until June to activate them.
"I've left it all to my management; I just want to concentrate on footy," Moses said. "I honestly don't think about it at all. If I see [speculation] about it I don't pay any attention to it at all."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-but-with-a-revised-deal-20160413-go5m8x.html
 
Messages
3,211
Just what we the fans do not want to see and read.

From Sport Confidential today in Telegraph.

No stopping the Tiger town rot
The rot is starting to set in again at the Wests Tigers, where Jason Taylor is desperately trying to maintain control of the players.
After two promising early wins, the coach has struggled to dictate the structure of the game since the return of Robbie Farah to the hooking spot.
The free-flowing game the Tigers played in those early matches, led by the star halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks, has disappeared to make way for the plodding forward-driven style favoured by Farah. Make no mistake, these two blokes have not kissed and made up and it's a matter of time before there is a blow-up.
I wasn't going to place it hear and comment but was mad enough so did.
I thought that I had read a number of times that Mitchell and Tedesco want to go against the coaches plan and run the ball, when I tape the games and watch later, Farah seems to do more passing to Woods and Grant in a set before passing to the backs and naturally has a run himself. Maybe Farah and his captain are following the coaches direction?

Love the
free-flowing game the Tigers played in those early matches, led by the star halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks
they call themselves journalists, the free flowing games lasted 2 weeks only against Warriors which was good then Manly, at Leichhardt and a team playing with a number of new players under a new coach.

Maybe the blame game is starting once again and if these journalists are not making it up to sell a story, maybe something is coming from the Taylor camp. Who f**king knows?
 

Eddie Lab

Juniors
Messages
2,410
Love the they call themselves journalists, the free flowing games lasted 2 weeks only against Warriors which was good then Manly, at Leichhardt and a team playing with a number of new players under a new coach.

and brooks didn't play in the warriors game so it seems kinda odd to give him credit for it.
 

Tigerted

Juniors
Messages
457
"Star halves" my arse.The no. of times recently that moronic journalists have described brooks & Moses with superlatives is mind boggling.They obviously r not watching the games !
 

Johnny88

Juniors
Messages
1,195
Statistics reveal Wests Tigers going backwards under Jason Taylor
PRESSURE is again building on Jason Taylor with the Wests Tigers in a worse position now than they were two years ago under former coach Mick Potter.

Fox Sports Stats show that this year the Tigers have continued to go backwards with just two wins from their opening six matches.
To put that into perspective, this time last year they had managed three wins during the same period – while under ­Potter in 2014 the Tigers won four of their first six games.
8b24b85d5e38b4259be327037d543dc5
Jason Taylor at training with Robbie Farah. Picture Gregg Porteous
While the Tigers started the season on fire with back-to-back wins over the Warriors and Manly, they have since lost four straight heading into Sunday’s crucial Leichhardt Oval clash against Melbourne.
When Taylor was handed the Tigers job after Potter was mercilessly punted, one of the first promises he made was that he would give his young halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses greater support defensively.
Taylor said last February: “The biggest thing from our perspective is the defensive structure itself. First and foremost, anyone who’s going to run onto an NRL field needs to be able to put their hand up and make their tackles.’’
Taylor’s comments were seen as a slap in the face to ­Potter. But Fox Sports Stats show Brooks and Moses are missing more tackles on average than they were at this stage last season, and the team’s overall missed-tackle count has also gone up.
Adding to the club’s woes, skipper Aaron Woods has now been ruled out for between four and six weeks with an ankle injury suffered in last Sunday’s 18-16 defeat in Newcastle.
That match ended with Taylor driving another wedge between him and his players when he accused them of “trying to play a style of footy that can’t be sustained in the NRL”.
4c7ee53bc0242550d664f7b8c742e73a
Luke Brooks in action against Newcastle.
Understandably, some people close to the Tigers players were miffed by Taylor’s assessment, given the players had publicly credited Taylor for giving them a licence to thrill this year.

Following the round two win over Manly, centre Kevin Naiqama told Triple M: “Credit to JT, he’s sort of swallowed his pride a bit and is letting the guys play a bit of footy and it is definitely showing.”
Taylor can’t have it both ways, take credit for the changes when they were working, but then distance himself when it backfires.
a1a2c6e9fdf64b6707ec1415fc73efa9
The Tigers defence is letting them down. Picture Gregg Porteous
Former Tigers premiership winning captain Scott Prince also said this week on NITV’s League Nation program the signs at the club didn’t look good.
“They just need to play tough defensively but the one thing is there is a big question over Jason Taylor,” Prince said.
“I mean, the pressure is starting to build now. They have lost four on the trot and I don’t think they were ever in this game against Newcastle.”
Wests Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe stated last month after the win over Manly that Taylor’s job was safe and he had the board’s full support.
But since then the Tigers haven’t won a game.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...r/news-story/69950c55f97feca592459922418493c7
 

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
Just what we the fans do not want to see and read.

From Sport Confidential today in Telegraph.

I wasn't going to place it hear and comment but was mad enough so did.
I thought that I had read a number of times that Mitchell and Tedesco want to go against the coaches plan and run the ball, when I tape the games and watch later, Farah seems to do more passing to Woods and Grant in a set before passing to the backs and naturally has a run himself. Maybe Farah and his captain are following the coaches direction?

Love the they call themselves journalists, the free flowing games lasted 2 weeks only against Warriors which was good then Manly, at Leichhardt and a team playing with a number of new players under a new coach.

Maybe the blame game is starting once again and if these journalists are not making it up to sell a story, maybe something is coming from the Taylor camp. Who f**king knows?
Farah has never been a plod it up the guts player. Whe he was doing what he wanted, he played at first receiver almost as much as from dummy half. He also played more laterally.

Farah has always done as he's been told. We all saw Taylor's style last year. Plod it up the middle then an uncontested midfield bomb.

This is nothing more than a lazy journo.
 

Tiger05

First Grade
Messages
9,162
I don't believe the majority of these media articles. The team isn't performing and Taylor has to do something about it. It's not Farah's fault either.
 

madunit

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
62,358
There have been plenty of commentators of late speculating about not if, but when Wests Tigers head coach Jason Taylor will get the sack. Given the results of the side under his tenure, many would consider it a reasonable question.

But does the fault really lie with Taylor?

I’m no fan of the style of footy the Tigers are currently displaying. It’s ill-disciplined, bordering on disrespectful, unstructured in a bad way, incohesive, and worst of all, it’s ugly. Two encouraging wins to start the year have descended into four straight losses.

Watching the Tigers in the first five weeks of 2016 provided plenty of entertaining highlight – but they only made up about 10 minutes of each game. There was another 70 minutes of slightly misguided, haphazard bumbling about, including a 20-minute period where they just fell asleep.

But against Newcastle last Sunday, it was an 80-minute chore.

Go back to 2013 after the disgracefully handled ousting of long-time coach Tim Sheens. It was the right decision, albeit a few years late. The club hired Mick Potter as his replacement. Potter wanted the Tigers to learn how to earn the right to have good field position, as opposed to fluking it.

The long-awaited move to structured football for the Tigers was met openly by all, knowing full well that it would be met with some hiccups. The club struggled in 2013, but the signs were promising.

The hiccup was Benji Marshall, whose final year at the club is mostly remembered for the miserable, boring spat with the club that was played out in the media for most of the year. His departure opened the door for Mitchell Moses.

The 2014 campaign saw the club play markedly better football, and at the end of Round 19 the Tigers were sitting ninth on the ladder – one win outside the top four. Then the even more pathetic saga about a non-complimentary, off-the-record comment Robbie Farah allegedly made 18 months prior about Potter.

More bungling by club officials allowed this non-issue to completely derail their season. They lost six straight games, scoring 50 points and conceding 225 in the most inept run into the finals seen in recent times. It consequently saw the club sack Potter.

After much inward looking, the club decided to hire Jason Taylor for 2015. Taylor had come from clubs renowned for having strong forward packs, which the halves rolled off the back of. He had worked with solid defensive units who played very structured football, and won.

He was hired to bring similar to a club that hadn’t played with any of those qualities for too many years.

Taylor spent 2015 trying to focus on getting the players to improve their defensive structures and to play to set game-plans, with the strategy to allow his young stars more freedom once they succeeded with his demands first.

It didn’t work. The club played uninspiring, one-dimensional football and their defence showed little improvement. They avoided the wooden spoon purely on percentages.

Now it appears Taylor has let the kids off the leash anyway.Perhaps he has been directed to do so in some bold ploy to keep young halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses from leaving the club.

However, if this is how Brooks and Moses play when they get to do things their way, why retain them at all? If anything, they are playing themselves out of a contract – and not just at the Tigers.

If they couldn’t conform even remotely to playing structured football after a year of trying, they have very little chance of receiving the same creative freedoms they currently have at any other club.

Over the past five years, the club has changed coaches, board members, playing rosters, training facilities, diets and who knows what else.

But the same issues are always there. Small in-house squabbles are too often played out in the media and turned into Cirque du Soleil. Some would call it culture. Fans call it tiring.

Most clubs spend around two seasons going through a rebuild phase. The Tigers have been rebuilding for five years and are no closer to where they should be than they were three years ago.

The club needs to stop throwing coaches and players under the bus and instead, have a look at who is driving the bus, where the bus is supposed to be going and why it is driving in the opposite direction.


http://commentaryboxsports.com/australian/nrl/3939-wayward-wests-tigers-lacking-direction


Good writerer this bloke
 

Tiger05

First Grade
Messages
9,162
I don't think we should lump Brooks and Moses together as being the problem. I also still think these two can come good. In stating that Brooks is the one who as been the worst of the two by far.

It's up to the coach though to get these 2 performing.
 

Ron's_Mate

Bench
Messages
4,037
Wests Tigers star James Tedesco: Flying phones, secret mentors and farm life

Adrian Proszenko
Published: April 16, 2016 - 5:03PM
Don Lane was livid.
It was half-time and his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs, playing against one of their great rivals in the 1980s, were behind on the scoreboard. Lane, a star of stage and screen, had been summoned to motivate the troops.
Lane had won several Logies, including the gold variety, but this was perhaps his greatest performance. The late, great entertainer delivered a spray current Souths coach Michael Maguire would be proud of. Then, to underline his point, he took off his gold watch and threw it against the dressing room wall, leaving the shards to shower the underperforming players.
History will show that, after sufficiently recovering from the shock of it all, said players returned to the sheds 40 minutes later to sing the team song.
It was great theatre that was forever imprinted on the mind of John Tedesco. A couple of decades later, he was coaching the side of his son, James. It was the under 11s grand final, played between two Camden sides to determine the best.
The elder Tedesco, realising his usual half-time address wouldn't do for a game of this magnitude, decided to channel his inner Lane.
"I thought that was a good idea," said John Tedesco. "But I didn't want to waste my watch."
Instead, reached into his pocket, pulled out his mobile phone, and threw it as far as he could.
"Everyone was in shock, seeing a phone go across the field," said James Tedesco.
It was only later, long after the full-time siren, that Tedesco snr confessed the phone was an obsolete model he had secretly replaced with a new one.
"But we won," said James Tedesco. "So I guess it worked."
It's a story that still raises a chuckle from all those involved. The latest retelling occurs at the family farm at Menangle, a sprawling 240 hectare property that still houses James Tedesco, his brother Matthew, father John, mum Rosemary and about 80 head of cattle.
Not that there is much of the farm boy in Tedesco. The flying fullback is much more comfortable on the football field rather than the one he has grown up on in Sydney's south west.
"Whenever I had to help [herd cattle] it was more running around and trying to use my speed to get them into the pen," James said.
"I wasn't naturally used to being around them. Dad was always out there working on them and he'd get me to help, even though I didn't really want to."
Having lived his entire life in the Wests Tigers heartlands of Ryde and Camden, Tedesco is as black, white and gold as they come. However, it wasn't always so.
"I was a Roosters fan because our Camden jerseys were red, white and blue, exactly the same strip as the Roosters. I always went for them as a young kid and was a pretty passionate supporter. My favourite player was Brad Fittler and I liked Craig Wing."
If not for his father, he could well have followed in their footsteps. Tedesco was overlooked for representative footy teams in his early years and feared, due to the amount of talented juniors in the area, that he wouldn't get a start at Wests. So they made the commute from Menangle to the eastern suburbs to trial for the Roosters' Harold Matthews side in case he didn't make the grade locally.
"He got a letter saying he could have been there," John recalled of the Roosters invite. "But I wasn't keen on driving him there."
Which is why, to this day, Tedesco is a Tiger. Not that there weren't opportunities to go elsewhere.
While all eyes will be on Tedesco for the Tigers' clash with Melbourne at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, the narrative will shift the following week back to his decision not to head to the nation's capital. The Tigers' next opponent is Canberra, the club he turned down despite the riches on offer.
"There was a lot of money thrown at me then," he said.
"Even though I said 'yes' over the phone it wasn't signed. But I didn't feel comfortable. I went down on Thursday and had to give them an answer on Saturday morning. By the time I had time to think about it after I wasn't happy with that decision.
"It was very hard to ring Ricky [Stuart] and tell him I didn't want to come down.
"The money didn't really matter at that time."
It was a difficult time for a man of principle. John describes his son as the sort of stickler who, if he found a 16th item in the shopping basket, would point-blank refuse to stand in the 15-items-or-under queue.
"Whenever we would train, we'd put the markers out and there was one idiot kid who would go around the markers when everyone else was cutting corners," John said.
"That's the thing with James. We're Italian, we're a little bit sneaky.
"But he is as honest as anything. There's no Italian in there at all."
What is in there is guts. Anyone, who has suffered so many serious injuries in a career so short, must have them in abundance. Long after the physical scars of multiple surgeries had healed, the 23-year-old began to address the mental ones.
Tedesco pays credit to a secret advisor for contributing to the stunning form that has him earmarked as contender for a NSW Origin jersey.
"There is someone else I talk to, he doesn't want his name mentioned," Tedesco said.
"I've been seeing him since last year and I talk pretty much every week. He's a sports psych guy who speaks to a few of the boys and players from other teams.
"The main thing he talks to us about is playing footy and not putting too much stress on your mind about your game.
"That's a big thing for me, when you think too much about what you should do, that's when you're in your head and not playing what's in front of you."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...et-mentors-and-farm-life-20160416-go8051.html
 
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