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Random Tigers articles from the media

stryker

stryker

First Grade
Messages
5,277
The Silverdale Phantom said:
I tend to agree.

Winning 33% of our games last season was bad as well as the way in which a lost a lot of them.

But the state of play looks less ordinary when you factor in that we lost 4 games by 4 points or less which means one just one converted try or one proper defensive set in each of these 4 games could have made a massive difference. Not 5 or 6, just 1, the absolute minimum effort possible that evaded us, that we just couldn’t capture. Something we would have done at training hundreds of time a week.

That game against South’s, the pressure got to us and we got stage fright. We just have to find some resilience, the confidence.

This was all under the ambit of a generally substandard squad still reeling from cap shock. That figure again, according to Justin’s email, 66% of cap is all we had and it takes a few years to address that dilemma.

Brooks is an important piece of the puzzle moving forward.

I’m wondering if Brooksy and Hasto could build a formidable combo. If they join forces and click, AD might well be pushed along. If they “get a room” on the paddock so to speak, they could be quite a lethal combination.

Brooksy really needs this pressure for his game. Hastings is going to toughen him up and rip the tissues out of his hand. The chilling out is over. He will be a much better player for Hastings on his tail.

Add Noddy and Benji in specialist roles, and I think there’s some hope in the halves.

If we can get confident, if we can master or improve on our mental toughness, the good players will stay. The holy grail is to journey with a struggling side, play well, grow and be a part of as it becomes competitive and successful. It’s a special opportunity.
Click to expand...
I believe season 2021 to be the weakest rugby league season I’ve seen in decades. To only win 33% of our games when 10 sides barely played consistent first grade footy all year was demoralising.
The boys have A LOT of work to do.
 
The Silverdale Phantom

The Silverdale Phantom

Coach
Messages
17,187
stryker said:
I believe season 2021 to be the weakest rugby league season I’ve seen in decades. To only win 33% of our games when 10 sides barely played consistent first grade footy all year was demoralising.
The boys have A LOT of work to do.
Click to expand...

It was a mad scramble for most of the sides in the bottom 8 to secure the spoon.

We didn’t give up trying.
 
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O

Old Time Tiger

Bench
Messages
3,309
www.abc.net.au

Why did Wests Tigers turn down star dummy half Brandon Smith?

While Wests Tigers' rejection of Melbourne star Brandon Smith seemed daft at first, the club are laser-focused on building for the future rather than excavating the past.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

It's not often the Tigers are in a position to turn down a player of Brandon Smith's calibre, but if it was going to cost them the player who could be the cornerstone of their pack for the next decade, it made the decision a no-brainer.

Melbourne offered up their star dummy half to the joint venture on a one-year deal ahead of his anticipated move to the Roosters for 2023, but the Tigers slammed the door shut on any talks when the Storm asked for rising prop Stefano Utoikamanu in return.

Smith is close to the top hooker in the NRL, and even one year of the star rake would have been a boon for the Tigers, but in Utoikamanu they've got close to the best young forward in the competition.

"Even if it's [a swap] for one of the best players in the league at the moment, he's [Utoikamanu] still young and has a lot to learn and can get better and better. It was an obvious decision but the Tigers made the right decision," said Tigers skipper James Tamou.

"It's a massive wrap, he's still a kid too and as a front rower he's got a lot of maturing to do. After the year he had he's going to get better but fingers crossed he'll stay at the club for a long time."

For all the criticism the Tigers wear over their recruitment and retention, landing Utoikamanu from Parramatta last season proved to be a masterstroke.

The 21-year old grew in leaps and bounds as the season went on, justifying the wraps he earned as a junior and landing a berth in the Blues Origin camp for Game III.

He ended the season as the club's best middle, a title he will likely hold for years to come as he continues to improve.

After 10 years outside the finals it's natural for fans to look for a quick fix, but it's rare that one big signing changes a club's fortunes – most of the time you need to hit a few singles before belting a six out of the ground.

In Utoikamanu, Adam Doueihi and Daine Laurie in recent years, the Tigers have built a very solid foundation for the future. And landing established stars Isaiah Papali'i and Api Koroisau for 2023 is proof the club is not as far off the pace as their finish to this season may have indicated.

Tamou knows first hand the impact Koroisau, a former teammate at Penrith, can bring to Concord.

"For him to come here, and the way the game has gone and how many times a hooker touches a ball, you've got forwards who are fatiguing easier, you need a quick, decisive hooker like that to create," Tamou said.

"He's the best in the business after winning the grand final with the Panthers. He's a great signing for us and an indicator of where this club's heading."

While coach Michael Maguire still faces an uncertain future after he barely escaped the sack following the Tigers' meek finish to the year, where they were outscored 118-36 in their final three games, Tamou said the former premiership winner was working harmoniously with new football boss Tim Sheens.

In landing Koroisau and Papali'i, Sheens has made an immediate impact – but it's worth noting that both players have strong links to Maguire.

Koroisau was part of South Sydney's 2014 premiership side while Maguire handed Papali'i his Test debut for New Zealand in 2018.

"Madge has room to knuckle down and coach and especially with the young group we had, we all made an agreement we wouldn't experience another 12 months like that, so our improvement needs to be through the roof," Tamou said.

"It gives me confidence that the club is in a great place.

"I'm still in rehab at the moment. It was well documented at the end of the season that some coaches got tapped on. What I hear is that everything is going great.

"We've got a couple of new coaches coming in, Nathan Cayless from the Roosters and Ben Gardiner who's been with a couple of clubs and with the NSW Cup side and around Madge for a while.

"[Sheens brings] a lot of footy knowledge, you can't doubt that with Sheensy. Broosky [Luke Brooks] for example has come in firing and ready to train the house down. He's taken a step forward and Sheensy has a lot to do with that.

"This is Madge's team and he's not shy in letting anyone come in and help out where needs be. Sheensy has taken that burden off Madge so Madge can do his thing."
 
Tigerm

Tigerm

Coach
Messages
11,036
Old Time Tiger said:
www.abc.net.au

Why did Wests Tigers turn down star dummy half Brandon Smith?

While Wests Tigers' rejection of Melbourne star Brandon Smith seemed daft at first, the club are laser-focused on building for the future rather than excavating the past.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

It's not often the Tigers are in a position to turn down a player of Brandon Smith's calibre, but if it was going to cost them the player who could be the cornerstone of their pack for the next decade, it made the decision a no-brainer.

Melbourne offered up their star dummy half to the joint venture on a one-year deal ahead of his anticipated move to the Roosters for 2023, but the Tigers slammed the door shut on any talks when the Storm asked for rising prop Stefano Utoikamanu in return.

Smith is close to the top hooker in the NRL, and even one year of the star rake would have been a boon for the Tigers, but in Utoikamanu they've got close to the best young forward in the competition.

"Even if it's [a swap] for one of the best players in the league at the moment, he's [Utoikamanu] still young and has a lot to learn and can get better and better. It was an obvious decision but the Tigers made the right decision," said Tigers skipper James Tamou.

"It's a massive wrap, he's still a kid too and as a front rower he's got a lot of maturing to do. After the year he had he's going to get better but fingers crossed he'll stay at the club for a long time."

For all the criticism the Tigers wear over their recruitment and retention, landing Utoikamanu from Parramatta last season proved to be a masterstroke.

The 21-year old grew in leaps and bounds as the season went on, justifying the wraps he earned as a junior and landing a berth in the Blues Origin camp for Game III.

He ended the season as the club's best middle, a title he will likely hold for years to come as he continues to improve.

After 10 years outside the finals it's natural for fans to look for a quick fix, but it's rare that one big signing changes a club's fortunes – most of the time you need to hit a few singles before belting a six out of the ground.

In Utoikamanu, Adam Doueihi and Daine Laurie in recent years, the Tigers have built a very solid foundation for the future. And landing established stars Isaiah Papali'i and Api Koroisau for 2023 is proof the club is not as far off the pace as their finish to this season may have indicated.

Tamou knows first hand the impact Koroisau, a former teammate at Penrith, can bring to Concord.

"For him to come here, and the way the game has gone and how many times a hooker touches a ball, you've got forwards who are fatiguing easier, you need a quick, decisive hooker like that to create," Tamou said.

"He's the best in the business after winning the grand final with the Panthers. He's a great signing for us and an indicator of where this club's heading."

While coach Michael Maguire still faces an uncertain future after he barely escaped the sack following the Tigers' meek finish to the year, where they were outscored 118-36 in their final three games, Tamou said the former premiership winner was working harmoniously with new football boss Tim Sheens.

In landing Koroisau and Papali'i, Sheens has made an immediate impact – but it's worth noting that both players have strong links to Maguire.

Koroisau was part of South Sydney's 2014 premiership side while Maguire handed Papali'i his Test debut for New Zealand in 2018.

"Madge has room to knuckle down and coach and especially with the young group we had, we all made an agreement we wouldn't experience another 12 months like that, so our improvement needs to be through the roof," Tamou said.

"It gives me confidence that the club is in a great place.

"I'm still in rehab at the moment. It was well documented at the end of the season that some coaches got tapped on. What I hear is that everything is going great.

"We've got a couple of new coaches coming in, Nathan Cayless from the Roosters and Ben Gardiner who's been with a couple of clubs and with the NSW Cup side and around Madge for a while.

"[Sheens brings] a lot of footy knowledge, you can't doubt that with Sheensy. Broosky [Luke Brooks] for example has come in firing and ready to train the house down. He's taken a step forward and Sheensy has a lot to do with that.

"This is Madge's team and he's not shy in letting anyone come in and help out where needs be. Sheensy has taken that burden off Madge so Madge can do his thing."
Click to expand...
Good post, we’re getting spoiled by the press lately? Maybe the Sheens effect?
 
S

super_coach

First Grade
Messages
5,061
Sheens was hired to oversee a lot of things, but getting the media under control would have been one of the first things on a big list.
So far so good, he doesn’t take any crap from them and he makes himself available to them.

Of course the real test is once the season starts and we are on struggle street and the press start to put the knife in.
 
TheDefinitionOfMadness

TheDefinitionOfMadness

Juniors
Messages
773
about bloody time. I like the 8-4 split at Cambo, even though I don't go to games there. It makes sense. If I were to take 1 game to another ground I'd continue to go to Tamworth. I think it's important for the future of the game for each team (the sydney city teams) to have a partnership with a regional NSW area.
 
O

Old Time Tiger

Bench
Messages
3,309
Interesting that the Waratahs are playing majority of their ‘home’ games this year at Leichhardt, Tigers turn Waratahs former home ground at Concord as their training ground and set up a CoE there.

Leichhardt has 3 football codes playing there and yet get no funding for improvements, is that because of the council? the locals? or that no one from WestTigers is smart enough to approach the Waratahs & Sydney FC to put a joint submission in to improve the site.
 
Tigers1986

Tigers1986

Juniors
Messages
1,323
Waratahs and Sydney FC will be done with the joint in July once the new SFS is completed so they couldn't give a flying cahoot about the ground. Sydney FC use Kogarah more than Leichhardt
 
The Silverdale Phantom

The Silverdale Phantom

Coach
Messages
17,187
Wizardman said:
Where I have developed a bit of faith over the off-season is the front office. They have made a number of very good decisions over the past few months. We will battle on the field this year....but if the front office can continue to perform, it will be a win for 2022.
Click to expand...

Agree with most of this for sure.

And the fresh coaching assistants are a massive win.

The proof is in the pudding, but we needed a change at this critical level.
 
G

gordsy

Juniors
Messages
2,124
Leichhardt is greenies from memory and the council are dickheads. Hard to get much done with that.
Campbelltown is stupid until we can figure out how to get a crowd to turn up. Might as well play at anz if we can get paid to play at soul less stadium. Spiritual home and Campbelltown don't belong in the same sentence either.
 
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