TIM SHEENS has not fluked four premierships as a coach. He knows that if he wants to tell his players exactly where they stand - and have the message sink in - it is best to do it after a win that isn't very pretty. Do it after a loss and the players expect it, so the effect is reduced. Post-game yesterday, Sheens told his players some home truths - and his words had the desired effect.
Players eventually left the EnergyAustralia Stadium dressing room for the bus trip home looking sheepish. Five-eighth Benji Marshall repeated the speed he showed to score a 57th-minute try when he saw the media posse on his trail. Asked to slow down for a chat, Marshall said over his shoulder: "The coach said not to [talk]." Then he disappeared into a sea of autograph hunters.
Tigers hooker Robbie Farah, who, like Marshall, had returned from injury against the Knights, repeated Marshall's words. But, when asked to describe the verbal spray from Sheens, Farah did stop long enough to say it had been "a big one". Then he dashed off, too. Sheens explained that he had told his players he didn't want to see them "spruiking themselves" after their performance.
Marshall might be a star, but he is also a player who has particular issues with his game he needs to sort out, Sheens said. But we'll come back to that.
It was time, Sheens said, for the Tigers to decide whether they want to continue being a mid-range team that narrowly misses the finals. He said if they thought what they produced against a Newcastle side missing Danny Buderus and Ben Cross through State of Origin commitments, Kurt Gidley through injury and Matt Hilder suspension was the bee's knees, they would get stung.
"We're not playing well," Sheens said. "We're not playing with enough intensity. Since our first two games of the season [wins over the Dragons and North Queensland], we haven't played with that sort of intensity. Half games, spits and spats, that's all. We've had some reasons, but they're not excuses. We need to find some intensity and attitude to make a run at this year's play-offs or we'll miss the top eight again.
"It's time for a reality check and for everyone to have a good look at themselves. We got the two points against a weakened Newcastle side that had to back up from Monday night [against Melbourne]. Now that [Newcastle versus Melbourne] was a game you can talk about for intensity. We've had a strong talk about it and we're not happy.
"We're playing Gold Coast next weekend, and if we turn up with that sort of attitude, they'll put 40 points on us.
"It's time for a reality check and for everyone to have a good look at themselves. Our forwards have got to wake up to themselves and go forward. We need more intensity in our 'D'. Some of the tries today were like watching an under-20s game - you score, we score. That happens at that level, not at a professional level. We can't hide behind the fact we won the game and think, 'Well, everything will be hunky dory and we'll be all right, don't worry coach."'
Sheens said it was good to see Marshall, who had been out with a knee injury, and Farah, who has a chronic back problem, return safely. But, when asked to evaluate the performance of Marshall, who, apart from scoring two tries, chipped cleverly to set up another but fell off a regulation tackle in the lead-up to a Newcastle try, Sheens said Marshall's shoulder injuries had created a self-preservation mentality.
"You can't allow tries to be scored through you," Sheens said. "I'm still concerned about his attitude and his ability in defence. If I'd had five shoulder surgeries, I'd be worried, too, but he needs to pull his finger out and make some decisions there. There's a few self-preservation issues. Some I can understand, but some I can't accept."
But, Sheens added, Marshall, who made six tackles and missed four, had not been alone in falling down in the area where a player's attitude is most accurately gauged - in defence. "It's more than [just] him," the coach said.
The difference between the teams was simple. When it was time for one of them to win the game, the Tigers had the class to hand and the Knights didn't. Now we'll see if the Tigers can handle the truth.
