If not Madge, then who?

[Tiger05]

Brooks

He just can't execute under pressure.

 

[WA Tiger]

Agree, but TBF he hasn’t been here for 11 years either and unfortunately there is only 1 constant who has?

A coach who Lacks communication skills with players/assistant coaches

 

[WA Tiger]

Madge needs a captain like Maomolo: Doesn’t kick up a fuss, no strong opinions on anything, nods his head frequently and mostly shuts the Fk up when Madge is around

 

[BrotherJim05]

I've always given Madge the benefit of the doubt, probably more than he deserves, but my patience is starting to really wear thin. Cleary at least had this team playing to their absolute best. We were actually seeing progress with him, with what I would argue was a weaker roster than now....but it is impossible to argue that we have seen any improvement under Madge.

Next year will definitely be different. Having Koro and Papi joining the team will be huge, and I hope by the end of this year we will finally put to bed the question whether Brooks or Hastings is our best choice at 7 to partner Doeuihi at 6. The COE will be finished and we will maybe start feeling like a professional club.

So then the big question...if we are still looking like complete shit then is it better we move Madge on and get a new coach well before the 2023 pre-season to get their feet under the desk? Or do we give Madge the benefit of the doubt that 2023 is his final year to prove he is the man for the job?

 

[Magpies Forever]

I would suggest that getting a new coach for the latter half of this season is crucial. There is decisions to be made on recruitment and retention for next year and it is unfair for the new coach not to be having theses decisions taking into account his style and ideas. He might want certain players tapped on the shoulder and we have to give them a fair chance of finding opportunity elsewhere or we are either stuck with paying out their full contract or paying larger wads of cash to get other clubs to take them on. BTW- I reckon we should put KPI's into player contracts as well. If we can use KPI's to push out Maguire, there are several players that should have that trigger as well.

 

[Tiger05]

Or do we give Madge the benefit of the doubt that 2023 is his final year to prove he is the man for the job?

Not that my opinion counts but I vote for this option. I just think it makes sense.

 

[BrotherJim05]

Not that my opinion counts but I vote for this option. I just think it makes sense.

I know what you mean. I try to think of Wests Tigers progress as a club as a whole organization, rather than just ladder position. If you look at it that way, we have been improving in every department except for on-field performances. Corporate sponsorship, salary cap management, junior pathways, player signings and by end of 2022 - training facilities. It's been a slow, painful process but sometimes it's good to just focus on one thing at a time and build up from there. Yes, on-field performances are the most important component, but given we have pretty much everything else sorted, it does make sense to give Madge one final pass for 2022

 

[Pezz70]

Optimists, I’m all out of optimism

 

[simmo05]

Tre

So we have added new assistant coaches and the Sheenius and Ronald over the off season to help change things. How is it that there is absolutely zero change in skills, defence or attitude. What exactly was the point of the new people because obviously its having no impact on the field.

Hasn't been a change in 10 years. 10 years ago, we had shit team, but had a dig majority of the time. Now, they don't give a single f**k.

 

[gordsy]

If we get a rookie coach like Wolfe then we need good support around him. Please bring back Scott Woodward and fire Ronald the oxygen thief.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Take it from a Broncos supporter (because we've learned a little about this ourselves over the past 4 years), your joint needs a comprehensive cleanout, and personally Madge would be at the bottom of my list of priorities for people that should get the flick. We had Paul White and Peter Nolan stinking up the joint for years with their ignorance of the game and general indifference to on field results, culminating in the clubs first wooden spoon which White actually survived for another 6-8 months before Ben Ikin and David Donaghy finally replaced them both. We're already seeing the results of those changes at the top in the past 6 months by cutting all the dead wood loose (players and staff), signing Reynolds which was a prudent signing as well as a big one and now we're undefeated going into Round 3 and favorites to win the third.


The rot starts at the head, and any attempt to pin the Tigers current predicament on the footy department is just some rusted on dinosaurs on the board trying to protect their own asses first. Madge and his team weren't there when the Tigers were stinking it up 5 years ago. While Madge was at Souffs winning a premiership, the Tigers were finishing 13th and getting ready to knife another coach.

Bringing in Sheens to try and turn the joint around even 45 degrees is a good start (I guess), but sooner or later someone at the club is going to have to wake up and see the need for the big broom to come through the whole place. The useless board members go first, then the first job of whoever replaces them is to rebuild that playing roster. The Tigers need to become an appealing club to play at again, rather than the place the likes of Roberts signs with to protect his pokie money.

 

[Tigerm]

Take it from a Broncos supporter (because we've learned a little about this ourselves over the past 4 years), your joint needs a comprehensive cleanout, and personally Madge would be at the bottom of my list of priorities for people that should get the flick. We had Paul White and Peter Nolan stinking up the joint for years with their ignorance of the game and general indifference to on field results, culminating in the clubs first wooden spoon which White actually survived for another 6-8 months before Ben Ikin and David Donaghy finally replaced them both. We're already seeing the results of those changes at the top in the past 6 months by cutting all the dead wood loose (players and staff), signing Reynolds which was a prudent signing as well as a big one and now we're undefeated going into Round 3 and favorites to win the third.


The rot starts at the head, and any attempt to pin the Tigers current predicament on the footy department is just some rusted on dinosaurs on the board trying to protect their own asses first. Madge and his team weren't there when the Tigers were stinking it up 5 years ago. While Madge was at Souffs winning a premiership, the Tigers were finishing 13th and getting ready to knife another coach.

Bringing in Sheens to try and turn the joint around even 45 degrees is a good start (I guess), but sooner or later someone at the club is going to have to wake up and see the need for the big broom to come through the whole place. The useless board members go first, then the first job of whoever replaces them is to rebuild that playing roster. The Tigers need to become an appealing club to play at again, rather than the place the likes of Roberts signs with to protect his pokie money.

Cheers mate, good post. I agree re: Madge, all the players say he's the hardest working bloke in the club, he is not the problem. But it is hard to say what is though? We have some decent signings but they just don't seem to get it together once they are on the field.
We are a bit different to the Bronco's, our club is owned by a successful leagues club (who got us out of a big financial hole), who hold all the aces, there is no voting to get anyone in or out, it is what it is.
I think we need a Reynolds type signing here as well, Brooks has been here a long time and just isn't giving us value for money. Maybe Jacko, will deliver but who knows, we have cash and I think Sheens has shown he will spend it or good players, so hopefully we will end our stint in the wilderness sooner rather than later?

 

[WA Tiger]

Not a bad run from Roberts, with a cork, on one of the very few times he got the ball. He just had to let that ball go to Simpkin,? (Who was too far back) and the pokies, might not have been an issue.

 

[WA Tiger]

I tend to think our halves and the coach are so disfunctional that regardless of what the coach/captain says before and during the game, how we play depends solely on the mood of the team. Or the mood of a large part of the team.If most of them are feeling good and ready to go then they play a game that’s hard to contain . If they don’t, then it’s the opposite. And that can turn on a dime

 

[WA Tiger]

Billy played well again. I’m expecting his star quality to shine through as the season progresses, and with his father running things there. We’ve seen signs from the first 2 games

 

[Ned Kelly]

If we get a rookie coach like Wolfe then we need good support around him. Please bring back Scott Woodward and fire Ronald the oxygen thief.

Kristian Woolf is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the Betfred Super League and Tonga at international level. He previously was the interim head coach of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL
Does that qualify him as a rookie coach?

 

[KiamaSaint]

I thought John Morris did a good job with an inherited, aging mess at the Sharks.

 

[Shredder]

I prefer Flannagan.

 

[Tiger05]

Kristian Woolf is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the Betfred Super League and Tonga at international level. He previously was the interim head coach of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL
Does that qualify him as a rookie coach?

Madge was at one point in the exact same position.

 

[gordsy]

Kristian Woolf is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of St Helens in the Betfred Super League and Tonga at international level. He previously was the interim head coach of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL
Does that qualify him as a rookie coach?

Rookie in terms of nrl experience. Some people will say coaching first grade in esl and nrl is the same. Given the quality of the games of esl i watch I'm not sure that stacks up. If we do sign Woolf or someone else who hasn't coached much or any nrl then we still need an old head to help them out.
Or you could do something crazy and rehire Potter and spend the difference on junior development. We'd end up about the same spot but at least we'd have hope of a brighter future.