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I mentioned here a while back that Gary Jack a former Balmain and Wests player , also has served on boards approached the club about sitting on the board and was told thanks but no thanks , we are happy with the current arrangement
Opinion
Tetchy Tim Sheens is not the problem in Tiger Town
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
March 20, 2023 — 3.45pm
A couple of years ago, I phoned a prominent Wests Tigers official before writing a column in support of coach Michael Maguire, who was getting whacked from so many directions he was starting to resemble a tiger-shaped piñata.
Maguire’s a good man and coach who didn’t deserve to be wearing the blame for all the Tigers’ ills, I figured.
“I don’t care what you write,” the official said. “As long as you look after me.”
That pretty much captures the dramas over the last decade at the Tigers, where self-preservation is valued above success; where “winning the narrative” is regarded above systemic change; where the in-house barber is the most-publicised feature of the new $78 million centre of excellence.
The Tigers eventually sacked Maguire and ushered in a coaching dream team of club legends: Tim Sheens, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah.
The crucible of this idea — or at least bringing back Sheens — was a lunch at which Sheens, chairman Lee Hagipantelis and chief executive Justin Pascoe were present, and a News Corp columnist floated the possibility.
And then, like magic, nice person! — it happened. You couldn’t make this stuff up, could you?
The Tigers’ 26-22 loss to Canterbury in sweltering conditions at Belmore on Sunday afternoon leaves them in a familiar position: winless and rooted to the bottom of the ladder.
But it’s early days and you can only assume Sheens will be afforded greater respect, support and patience than Maguire, who had the drums beating for his sacking in the background for most of his tenure.
Tigers management and a section of their fans believe the rugby league media is obsessed with their demise. In some respects, they are right. Journalists love a demise, unless it’s their own.
Yet much of the noise about the Tigers often starts from within the club itself, including news — twice — that Maguire was about to be sacked.
The tone of rugby league coverage has changed dramatically since Sheens last coached in the NRL, in 2012, mostly in size and volume of online stories - and you can tell he is becoming frustrated.
He couldn’t understand how the relatively minor incident involving Tommy Talau, David Klemmer and former Tigers player Jackson Hastings turned into an enduring saga for much of last week. Imagine if punches had been thrown?
Sheens had even less time for straightforward questions about the backline reshuffle midway through the second half against the Bulldogs in which five-eighth Adam Doueihi was moved to fullback and Brandon Wakeham into the halves alongside Luke Brooks.
The reshuffle sparked a Tigers comeback after they had looked legless for most of the match.
“No, I don’t want to make any call on that,” Sheens said. Asked later if the move was pre-planned, he said: “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not going to justify what I did.”
On face value, his tetchy response suggested he was under pressure after a winless start. In reality, it was a coach being loyal to his players: he hadn’t yet spoken to those involved and wasn’t going to start the discussion in the press. Maybe he should’ve said that.
Nevertheless, you don’t have to be the game’s greatest thinker to understand the positional changes, with the Tigers trailing 20-6, were born out of pure frustration.
Doueihi and Brooks again looked like strangers who have never met hooker Api Koroisau, who has become the focal point of the Tigers’ attack.
Koroisau’s frustration in the first three matches, including the season opener when Sheens used him off the bench, has been there for all to see. I’m expecting a James Harden-like eye roll at any moment.
Against the Bulldogs, he was at his scheming best, running, faking, double-pumping. The only problem was none of his teammates supported him.
When they did, it turned to porridge. In the second half, Koroisau scooped up the ball at dummy half, scooted down the short side and passed to Brooks, who subsequently threw the ball behind Asu Kepaoa.
The Tigers’ biggest job is getting Brooks to find his mojo again — he was the Dally M halfback of the year in 2018 — but it’s going to take time. When Wakeham came on, and started playing more direct, Brooks suddenly joined the party.
You won’t hear Sheens making excuses about injuries or players coming back to training late because of World Cup duties late last year.
You won’t hear him talking about the lack of depth in the back row, where they are missing Isaiah Papali’i through suspension and relying on Caspar-white Englishman John Bateman to eventually find his feet.
Sheens’ old sparring partner, Wayne Bennett, 73, has the Dolphins humming atop the NRL ladder with an entirely new side that hadn’t met each other until November 1 last year.
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Sheens has been around long enough to know seasons can start slowly and finish magnificently. In 2005, the Tigers lost five of their first nine matches, including four straight, before winning the competition.
This Tigers team isn’t in the same suburb as that one. It might never be.
But Sheens, Marshall and Farah deserve time to turn the beat around. The outside noise will always be there, especially around the Tigers.
The question is whether those who run the club can hold their nerve — and shut their mouths.
Tetchy Tim Sheens is not the problem in Tiger Town
The revolution at the Wests Tigers will take time. Can those who run the club hold their nerve and shut their mouths?www.smh.com.au
A good article, thanks RM.Opinion
Tetchy Tim Sheens is not the problem in Tiger Town
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
March 20, 2023 — 3.45pm
A couple of years ago, I phoned a prominent Wests Tigers official before writing a column in support of coach Michael Maguire, who was getting whacked from so many directions he was starting to resemble a tiger-shaped piñata.
Maguire’s a good man and coach who didn’t deserve to be wearing the blame for all the Tigers’ ills, I figured.
“I don’t care what you write,” the official said. “As long as you look after me.”
That pretty much captures the dramas over the last decade at the Tigers, where self-preservation is valued above success; where “winning the narrative” is regarded above systemic change; where the in-house barber is the most-publicised feature of the new $78 million centre of excellence.
The Tigers eventually sacked Maguire and ushered in a coaching dream team of club legends: Tim Sheens, Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah.
The crucible of this idea — or at least bringing back Sheens — was a lunch at which Sheens, chairman Lee Hagipantelis and chief executive Justin Pascoe were present, and a News Corp columnist floated the possibility.
And then, like magic, nice person! — it happened. You couldn’t make this stuff up, could you?
The Tigers’ 26-22 loss to Canterbury in sweltering conditions at Belmore on Sunday afternoon leaves them in a familiar position: winless and rooted to the bottom of the ladder.
But it’s early days and you can only assume Sheens will be afforded greater respect, support and patience than Maguire, who had the drums beating for his sacking in the background for most of his tenure.
Tigers management and a section of their fans believe the rugby league media is obsessed with their demise. In some respects, they are right. Journalists love a demise, unless it’s their own.
Yet much of the noise about the Tigers often starts from within the club itself, including news — twice — that Maguire was about to be sacked.
The tone of rugby league coverage has changed dramatically since Sheens last coached in the NRL, in 2012, mostly in size and volume of online stories - and you can tell he is becoming frustrated.
He couldn’t understand how the relatively minor incident involving Tommy Talau, David Klemmer and former Tigers player Jackson Hastings turned into an enduring saga for much of last week. Imagine if punches had been thrown?
Sheens had even less time for straightforward questions about the backline reshuffle midway through the second half against the Bulldogs in which five-eighth Adam Doueihi was moved to fullback and Brandon Wakeham into the halves alongside Luke Brooks.
The reshuffle sparked a Tigers comeback after they had looked legless for most of the match.
“No, I don’t want to make any call on that,” Sheens said. Asked later if the move was pre-planned, he said: “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not going to justify what I did.”
On face value, his tetchy response suggested he was under pressure after a winless start. In reality, it was a coach being loyal to his players: he hadn’t yet spoken to those involved and wasn’t going to start the discussion in the press. Maybe he should’ve said that.
Nevertheless, you don’t have to be the game’s greatest thinker to understand the positional changes, with the Tigers trailing 20-6, were born out of pure frustration.
Doueihi and Brooks again looked like strangers who have never met hooker Api Koroisau, who has become the focal point of the Tigers’ attack.
Koroisau’s frustration in the first three matches, including the season opener when Sheens used him off the bench, has been there for all to see. I’m expecting a James Harden-like eye roll at any moment.
Against the Bulldogs, he was at his scheming best, running, faking, double-pumping. The only problem was none of his teammates supported him.
When they did, it turned to porridge. In the second half, Koroisau scooped up the ball at dummy half, scooted down the short side and passed to Brooks, who subsequently threw the ball behind Asu Kepaoa.
The Tigers’ biggest job is getting Brooks to find his mojo again — he was the Dally M halfback of the year in 2018 — but it’s going to take time. When Wakeham came on, and started playing more direct, Brooks suddenly joined the party.
You won’t hear Sheens making excuses about injuries or players coming back to training late because of World Cup duties late last year.
You won’t hear him talking about the lack of depth in the back row, where they are missing Isaiah Papali’i through suspension and relying on Caspar-white Englishman John Bateman to eventually find his feet.
Sheens’ old sparring partner, Wayne Bennett, 73, has the Dolphins humming atop the NRL ladder with an entirely new side that hadn’t met each other until November 1 last year.
Loading
Sheens has been around long enough to know seasons can start slowly and finish magnificently. In 2005, the Tigers lost five of their first nine matches, including four straight, before winning the competition.
This Tigers team isn’t in the same suburb as that one. It might never be.
But Sheens, Marshall and Farah deserve time to turn the beat around. The outside noise will always be there, especially around the Tigers.
The question is whether those who run the club can hold their nerve — and shut their mouths.
Tetchy Tim Sheens is not the problem in Tiger Town
The revolution at the Wests Tigers will take time. Can those who run the club hold their nerve and shut their mouths?
To be fair (and I despise all sports journos), AW wasn't talking about someone who was leaking, but a comment made when he rang for a quote. And if he did name them, the person can just deny it (like Phil Gould, "no, we haven't approached player X"), and also less people would trust the journo in future.
WOW, it reads like a posting from a member of this forum.
Odds of 19.25 for a tigers/coalition double r ridiculously low.Fairer odds would entail moving the decimal point a few places to the right.Premier pep talk: Perrottet gatecrashes Wests Tigers training
By Christian Nicolussi
March 23, 2023 — 11.31am
Dominic Perrottet gave an impromptu pep talk to his beloved Wests Tigers on Thursday morning as the NSW premier and NRL strugglers try to overcome the odds and celebrate respective victories this weekend.
Roughly 12 hours after going head-to-head with Labor leader Chris Minns in the final debate ahead of Saturday’s election, Perrottet spotted the Tigers players shuffling across the bridge behind Concord Oval, and asked club CEO Justin Pascoe if he could address the players.
A passionate Tigers fan, Perrottet told the players about how they had started the 2005 season in similar sluggish fashion, only to go on and win the premiership, beating North Queensland in a grand final few saw coming.
The Tigers play the Storm in Melbourne on Friday, hoping to avoid an 0-4 start to the latest campaign.
Tigers coach Tim Sheens was happy to welcome Perrottet, and regularly stressed himself how a slow start was not an indicator of how the remainder of the season would pan out.
“He didn’t turn up here deliberately, he was driving past as we were going across the road,” Sheens told the Herald.
“Normally we train here [at Concord Oval], but the ground is undergoing renovations.
“It was great he could stop given his workload at the moment. He knew where we were [on the ladder] and what the story was. It was a nice little stop.”
For the record, a Tigers-Coalition double is paying $19.25 with the bookies.
The Tigers, meanwhile, have shifted Adam Doueihi to fullback for the clash against the Storm. The hosts have lost Jahrome Hughes to suspension, but welcome back Cameron Munster.
Doueihi could yet remain at fullback, especially if Brandon Wakeham and Luke Brooks click in the halves.
The Lebanese international has been struggling with turf toe, and did not complete Thursday’s final traning session, but is still expected to line up at AAMI Park.
Sheens said Doueihi was “quite happy” about the move from five-eighth to the No. 1 jersey.
There were whispers at the start of the season about Doueihi moving to fullback from next year, especially if Mitchell Moses finally made up his mind about his 2024 plans.
“If you look at the World Cup where Adam played for Lebanon, his size, when he chimes in on the edges, he’s a big fullback, and big fullbacks like Latrell [Mitchell] are hard to nail one-on-one with the football,” Sheens said.
“He’s got the good skills to get the ball away, and he reads the game very well, obviously being an ex-halfback and five-eighth — he’s not an ex — but he can still play there. At the moment, with him reading the game and organising the offence is a bonus for us.”
Daine Laurie started the season at fullback and will return via the bench against Melbourne. Jahream Bula has plenty of raps, but is a development player and unavailable for first-grade selection until midway through the year.
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Sheens said “we’ll soon see” if Doueihi’s best position was No. 1, but reserved judgment on whether the switch would be permanent.
“This week it’s what we need with what we’ve got available ... I’m not prepared to say it will be a permanent move,” Sheens said.
Big-money winger David Nofoaluma will return to reserve grade, but Sheens said he remained in the club’s plans, and “he’s taken it well, he’ll put in a good effort on Saturday when he plays State Cup”.
Premier pep talk: Perrottet gatecrashes Wests Tigers training
Dominic Perrottet gave his beloved Wests Tigers an impromptu pep talk as both the state’s leader and the NRL’s strugglers chase unlikely victories this weekend.
www.theguardian.com
www.foxsports.com.au
