benched tiger
Bench
- Messages
- 3,320
That's a good article,it's rather ironic but i really wonder about the credentials of some people who choose to run sporting organisations.
Im currently watching the Canberra V Manly game on fox.
I think a bigger issue than the 4 is that we let Austin go to keep two of them. He is a true 5/8 and a fantastic all round footballer.
Ricky has really built a fantastic team there - with similar issues to what we have faced. And watching them play, the team really is the star.
To me this is exactly what we have to do. All the talk about not being able to attract players and that sort of bullshit is to me complete and utter bullshit.
Canberra suffer a lot more than the Tigers do when it comes to recruitment. They also have been hammered on retention just like us.
Manly to me are another club that we could be like. They keep getting good juniors coming up but they also recruit players. Taupau to me is someone we should never have let go. Austin is another one. We lost these guys due to money and trying to appease the big 4. It was with hindsight the wrong decision. I think we've made a tonne of decisions like this though. JAC & Koro are similar scenarios. We will get the right players to the club over time. The trick is keeping them or just losing the odd one here and there.
05 - Manly and juniors?
They are the orginal poaching team -
There was a time (a decade or so) when Menzies was their only junior.
Dont be fooled by Manly mate, they buy their teeam, just like virtually every other team.
Also if Woods didnt f**k us around the club may have hung onto Taniela Paseka
Yes Vic, JAC was a hard pill to swallow. Just pure speed, something we always seem to lack. Oh well.I was ok with letting go at the time cause I think Blake has reached his potential as a first grader and Moses had a heap of promise. It does look like we've made the wrong choice now though. Moses may we'll end up being better one day but he's taking an age to get there plus he is just a shit human being.
I'm ok with taupau, he is a highlights player. Reports are manly paid $700kpa for him which is way over imo. It's only week 8 and he's already missed 2 weeks this year to suspension and 1 to injury.
JAC and Koro were both ridiculous situations. Mayer signed Richards over potters head, I can tell you that is fact. He wanted to bring players back after the Benji thing. Koro was always going to be a gun and Richards was terrible for us, plus picking a 34 year old over a gun 21 year old was always stupid.
JAC is probably the worst of all. We were playing Jordan fcking Rankin over him, that's entirely on Taylor. The kid was a lifelong tigers fan who's family still go to every tigers game even to this day. He is the quickest guy I've EVER seen play rugby league and he was already developing a cult following. He's the type of guy who brings people through the gates and who the kids want to be in the backyard, get on the back of their jerseys etc. sure he had some deficiencies but he's upside was 100 times more then Rankin or Naquima.
Anyways the past is the past, I have confidence Cleary won't allow that shit to happen anymore.
No I wasn't....I was just taking the opportunity to put the boot in to MosesI think you are missing the point.
Thu 27 Apr, 2017, 6:00am
By Alicia Newton, National Correspondent, NRL.com
Wests Tigers forward Joel Edwards isn't one to create headlines.
The hard-hitting Cessnock junior has endured a fascinating career since making his first grade debut with Newcastle in 2010.
After a season under former Knights coach Wayne Bennett in the Hunter, the 28-year-old sensationally turned his back on the much-respected mentor and his hometown club to continue his career in Canberra.
A toe injury would cut short his time in the nation's capital with both Edwards and the Raiders mutually agreeing on his contract release – only a season into his new three-year deal.
Reaching 100 games in the NRL Telstra Premiership for some players comes quicker than others and for most, it doesn't happen at all.
For Edwards, who achieved the milestone on Sunday afternoon against the Bulldogs, it was a long time coming.
"I have heard a quote before that [you're only an NRL player when you've played 100 games]… I think the average is in the 40s," Edwards told NRL.com.
"There are some blokes who play 300 games and then there are others who have been lucky to only play one.
"To reach 100 is something I will cherish more probably later on in my career, it will probably sink in then.
"I got the match ball at the end of the game and a lot of family and friends turned out so I'm incredibly blessed.
"To get the win with the boys made it even more special, I can't be thankful enough."
Edwards revealed he endured a long rehabilitation process and couldn't believe how much time he was forced to miss due to reconstructive toe surgery in 2015, with fears he may be forced into early retirement.
"The [toe] injury at Canberra really held me back, it could have easily been the end of my career," he admitted.
"I couldn't walk on it, things went on and I ended up having the surgery and there were some pretty dark times. You never know when your last game is up so you've just got to enjoy it each week."
While players ponder what could have been, Edwards wouldn't have his career any other way after stints at three different clubs to reach the century.
The journeyman insists the biggest thrill moving from one club to the other is stepping outside a comfort zone and lifestyle to constantly meet new people from all walks of life.
"That's probably the benefit of being to a few different clubs, you come across a variety of people," he said.
"I played with Matt McIlwrick at Canberra and Kevin Naiqama at Newcastle but other than those boys I've been constantly able to meet new people on my journey.
"Things happen for a reason, I've always believed that and you move on to grow as a person more than anything."
Off-contract at the end of 2017, Edwards is used to the feeling of the unknown and after originally having nothing lined up following his release with the Raiders, he is not one to worry about what the future this early on in the season.
Like most at the joint venture however, he is glad new coach Ivan Cleary is dealing with player movement speculation head on and has welcomed his first month playing under him.
"Whatever direction the club goes in, if I'm playing good footy then that will take care over everything else," Edwards said.
"I'm married and looking to have a family but thinking or guessing where you might be, the future isn’t here yet.
"I don't like to take notice of what's written or spoken about because ultimately you have to play alongside those blokes the next weekend whoever it is.
"We need to focus on what we can control and I think that’s where the club needs to be strong over the next coming weeks.
"It's more about turning up each week and winning, if we can be a threat to the competition then that's more important, we've got to be in the present."
Edwards' long journey to 100
http://www.nrl.com/edwards-long-journey-to-100/tabid/10874/newsid/106077/default.aspx
New found confidence, just like Naiqama, it couldn't, wouldn't shouldn't have had anything to do with the arrival of a new coach..
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...to-join-the-wests-tigers-20170428-gvukeg.html
This is an article on Reynolds but it says a lot about Cleary. I f**ken love Cleary.