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THE Wests Tigers might be the friendliest club in Australian sport - their media man comperes wedding receptions, their marketing guy allows journalists to report on games from the scoreboard roof at Leichhardt Oval, their charity arm is longer than Daine Laurie's dreadlocks.
Few training sessions are completed without photographs of sick kids or needy fans clutching on to a giant cheque.
Their coach is Tim Sheens. He mightn't be Mother Teresa, but Tiger Tim is no Attila the Hun either. Sheens gives people the time of day and when he starts talking football get comfortable.
Despite spending a lifetime in rugby league, the four-time premiership winning coach somehow skirts the political landmines that litter this code's corridors. His polite demeanour and polished record invite respect.
It might be why Sheens avoided a grilling after last season's capitulation from finals contention. Needing to beat bottom-placed Newcastle in the final round to qualify, the Tigers led 24-12 with seven minutes left.
They lost. Tigers sat slumped on the ANZ Stadium turf, resembling the Cowboys players they defeated in a grand final two years earlier at the very same venue.
For the second year running, Wests had squandered a finals spot in the final month.
Sheens fronted the post-match press conference and actually asked journalists to go easy.
"Can we please make this quick?" he said.
His request was granted and Sheens entered the summer without criticism, but with plenty of work to do.
He set about it with gusto, abandoning a commitment to help coach Russia in last Novermber's World Cup qualifiers.
Such was the importance of getting it right in 2008, Sheens even barred star hooker Robbie Farah from representing Lebanon in the same competition.
Farah was upset, but his disenchantment didn't extend as far as the navel gazing at the Tigers.
Not only was Sheens' contract up in 2008, the joint venture was poised to become the first premiers in 17 years to miss finals football three straight seasons after winning the title.
With two rounds remaining, only a mathematical miracle can prevent it. Once again, the Tigers have cringed at the final hurdle. They are becoming toothless in August and lame by September.
Under pressure after last week's embarrassing surrender to Manly, Sheens cracked the whip.
He brazenly warned of player sackings and a recruitment sea-change. He wasn't backing down this week at training, either, telling MainGame that players who showed promise several years ago needed to "grow up".
"This season was a watershed year," Sheens says.
"A watershed year is a watershed year. If players can't answer
the challenge, then it's time for people to grow up. If it doesn't happen then early next year we'll have to look at changes.
"We've already got a handful of changes in mind. There's a couple of under-20s kids who will be in our fulltime squad and the Englishman (Gareth Ellis).
"The big issue will come in the first three or four months of next season when there are quality players on the market. Some of our guys will have to improve or they will be moved on.
"That doesn't mean they will be tapped on the shoulder today. We've invested very heavily in junior development. A lot of these players have now had more than 50 NRL games and it's time for some of them to grow up."
Sheens refuses to name names, but it's common knowledge that prop Bronson Harrison is being shopped around elsewhere. With skipper Brett Hodgson departing in a fortnight, Harrison will be one of just a handful of players left from the squad which achieved the unthinkable in 2005.
Many were released with a year or more left on their contracts. The Tigers say they were forced to because of salary cap pressure, but some insiders believe officials irresponsibly back-loaded contracts.
Despite the clean-out, current players have agreed to defer a percentage of next year's salary to keep books clean in 2009.
The tight situation doesn't bode well for Wests' ability to bargain in the market place.
It hints at much player pain before any gains from elsewhere.
"We are not a club that has money to be in the top end of the market," Sheens says.
"We develop lots of juniors and we'll always look to them first. I'm not talking about changing that policy. I'm talking about guys who have not fulfilled their potential.
"If they don't take the next step, then we've got to look at the kids coming through. I've been watching for the players who have gone to another level this season - Chris Lawrence is one.
"But there's guys who've been in the system for three or four years who have not gone as far as I thought they would."
Tough remarks like that are commendably honest given the delicate nature of Wests Tigers' predicament. But while Sheens questions his players, many are questioning him.
Since winning the 1994 grand final with Canberra, he has coached just one side to the finals - the magnificent 2005 Tigers.
That record was not lost on the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture when the time came to reappoint Sheens in February.
Some Magpie-aligned directors thought former great John Dorahy might be a better option but were outvoted in favour of a further two years for Sheens.
The coach doesn't seek to divorce himself from introspection. After all, he signed off on every player the club recruited and is having second thoughts about.
"Everyone at the club has to look at their performances," he says. "I am not isolating myself from that."
Everyone will be looking even closer should the Wests Tigers lose again tonight. Undoubtedly, the Tigers are winners off the field. But they are running out of time to prove they haven't forgotten how to win on it.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24256863-5016377,00.html
Few training sessions are completed without photographs of sick kids or needy fans clutching on to a giant cheque.
Their coach is Tim Sheens. He mightn't be Mother Teresa, but Tiger Tim is no Attila the Hun either. Sheens gives people the time of day and when he starts talking football get comfortable.
Despite spending a lifetime in rugby league, the four-time premiership winning coach somehow skirts the political landmines that litter this code's corridors. His polite demeanour and polished record invite respect.
It might be why Sheens avoided a grilling after last season's capitulation from finals contention. Needing to beat bottom-placed Newcastle in the final round to qualify, the Tigers led 24-12 with seven minutes left.
They lost. Tigers sat slumped on the ANZ Stadium turf, resembling the Cowboys players they defeated in a grand final two years earlier at the very same venue.
For the second year running, Wests had squandered a finals spot in the final month.
Sheens fronted the post-match press conference and actually asked journalists to go easy.
"Can we please make this quick?" he said.
His request was granted and Sheens entered the summer without criticism, but with plenty of work to do.
He set about it with gusto, abandoning a commitment to help coach Russia in last Novermber's World Cup qualifiers.
Such was the importance of getting it right in 2008, Sheens even barred star hooker Robbie Farah from representing Lebanon in the same competition.
Farah was upset, but his disenchantment didn't extend as far as the navel gazing at the Tigers.
Not only was Sheens' contract up in 2008, the joint venture was poised to become the first premiers in 17 years to miss finals football three straight seasons after winning the title.
With two rounds remaining, only a mathematical miracle can prevent it. Once again, the Tigers have cringed at the final hurdle. They are becoming toothless in August and lame by September.
Under pressure after last week's embarrassing surrender to Manly, Sheens cracked the whip.
He brazenly warned of player sackings and a recruitment sea-change. He wasn't backing down this week at training, either, telling MainGame that players who showed promise several years ago needed to "grow up".
"This season was a watershed year," Sheens says.
"A watershed year is a watershed year. If players can't answer
the challenge, then it's time for people to grow up. If it doesn't happen then early next year we'll have to look at changes.
"We've already got a handful of changes in mind. There's a couple of under-20s kids who will be in our fulltime squad and the Englishman (Gareth Ellis).
"The big issue will come in the first three or four months of next season when there are quality players on the market. Some of our guys will have to improve or they will be moved on.
"That doesn't mean they will be tapped on the shoulder today. We've invested very heavily in junior development. A lot of these players have now had more than 50 NRL games and it's time for some of them to grow up."
Sheens refuses to name names, but it's common knowledge that prop Bronson Harrison is being shopped around elsewhere. With skipper Brett Hodgson departing in a fortnight, Harrison will be one of just a handful of players left from the squad which achieved the unthinkable in 2005.
Many were released with a year or more left on their contracts. The Tigers say they were forced to because of salary cap pressure, but some insiders believe officials irresponsibly back-loaded contracts.
Despite the clean-out, current players have agreed to defer a percentage of next year's salary to keep books clean in 2009.
The tight situation doesn't bode well for Wests' ability to bargain in the market place.
It hints at much player pain before any gains from elsewhere.
"We are not a club that has money to be in the top end of the market," Sheens says.
"We develop lots of juniors and we'll always look to them first. I'm not talking about changing that policy. I'm talking about guys who have not fulfilled their potential.
"If they don't take the next step, then we've got to look at the kids coming through. I've been watching for the players who have gone to another level this season - Chris Lawrence is one.
"But there's guys who've been in the system for three or four years who have not gone as far as I thought they would."
Tough remarks like that are commendably honest given the delicate nature of Wests Tigers' predicament. But while Sheens questions his players, many are questioning him.
Since winning the 1994 grand final with Canberra, he has coached just one side to the finals - the magnificent 2005 Tigers.
That record was not lost on the Western Suburbs side of the joint venture when the time came to reappoint Sheens in February.
Some Magpie-aligned directors thought former great John Dorahy might be a better option but were outvoted in favour of a further two years for Sheens.
The coach doesn't seek to divorce himself from introspection. After all, he signed off on every player the club recruited and is having second thoughts about.
"Everyone at the club has to look at their performances," he says. "I am not isolating myself from that."
Everyone will be looking even closer should the Wests Tigers lose again tonight. Undoubtedly, the Tigers are winners off the field. But they are running out of time to prove they haven't forgotten how to win on it.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24256863-5016377,00.html
