Rumours (signings, sackings & other NRL stuff)

[Tigerm]

Well it’s nothing short of a disgrace Alice.

And that’s why it’s obvious the club is playing it down, nothing to see here-rubbish.

You only get scans when there is something quite wrong. Nobody rushes off and gets scans for some residual soreness.

And we know JL, he’d rather play with two broken legs than give himself up.

I bet no-one in our esteemed coaching staff got injured, too busy watching re-runs of the the 2005 finals series.

I’m beyond furious.

Words can’t describe the contempt I have towards our incompetent coaching staff. They put players in harms way.
Dickheads.

Anyway, I hope you’re on the mend.

I’m happy to donate my knee to JL if he needs one.

And ffs I’m happy to give Benji a lobotomy to make him smarter.

He's been cleared of any serious injury and will be available for R1.

I think $1m+ players would get scans for a cold.

 

[Das Hassler]

He's been cleared of any serious injury and will be available for R1.

I think $1m+ players would get scans for a cold.

And so they should!

 

[Das Hassler]

Yeah, I got shit odds for us coming in the top 8,

It's all in the timing!.....I got GREAT odds the last 2 years

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

He's been cleared of any serious injury and will be available for R1.

I think $1m+ players would get scans for a cold.

So the press says, I note we haven’t seen any clear scans.

At any rate it simply doesn’t excuse the fact that the cretins risked his well being in the first place.

Ask anyone at Penrith, JL is about the last player in the game who needs any kind intensive training.

He’s just built to play footy. If anything, you’d be thinking about de-training him to get him on the same page as our retained players.

He already plays the game at least 20% than we do.

 

[Tigerm]

So the press says, I note we haven’t seen any clear scans.

At any rate it simply doesn’t excuse the fact that the cretins risked his well being in the first place.

Ask anyone at Penrith, JL is about the last player in the game who needs any kind intensive training.

He’s just built to play footy. If anything, you’d be thinking about de-training him to get him on the same page as our retained players.

He already plays the game at least 20% than we do.

You’re not really expecting to see his medical report and scans are you?

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

So the press says, I note we haven’t seen any clear scans.

At any rate it simply doesn’t excuse the fact that the cretins risked his well being in the first place.

Ask anyone at Penrith, JL is about the last player in the game who needs any kind intensive training.

He’s just built to play footy. If anything, you’d be thinking about de-training him to get him on the same page as our retained players.

He already plays the game at least 20% than we do.

I agree Silverdale. The biggest issue (I believe) Wests Tigers have is the rookie coach and his underlings.

How many very gifted elite players have made great coaches......I'd say not many.

What's happened with Wests Tigers and Luai reminds me a little of Petro Civioniceva came to Penrith.......I remember him talking about how the training methods were quite 'old school'

I've had a look at some of the photos, there appears to be lots of strength training going on.....the elite clubs have moved away from this, because the game has gotten so much faster.....
Endurance training seems to be the latest thing.
It will be fascinating to see how this works out with Benji. everyone knows he was an elite player, but is he going to be a good (let alone) elite coach.

 

[Tigerm]

I think we got a better deal.

 

[simmo05]

Alarum:

OMG…JL may have broken his ‘ken leg.

KCUF you Benji and the loser mateys in our coaching ranks.

NFI you brain dead morons. $1.2m and the hopes and dreams of thousands of people up in smoke so Benji and his coaching mateys can look tough and cool.

NRL superstar sent for emergency scans

The club is taking no risks with their prized recruit.

7news.com.au

I was adamant about keeping him in mothballs until it meant something.

Now this.

The Army were meant to be overseeing it, well these Army guys are specifically trained for this heavy duty stuff.

NRL players are not trained soldiers, they don’t have to be combat ready.

You should see how many blokes the army breaks, it would blow your mind. I would be keeping footy players as far away from those butchers as possible

 

[WA Tiger]

I think we got a better deal.

I’m predicting Dylan Browns ceiling will be around $750-$800k..I don’t think he’s proven his consistency YET as a match winner and maturity level required …I’m guessing the warriors or he stays where he is

 

[Tigerm]

I wonder if they'll get bagged mercilessly, like we did, when we signed Luai.
IMO, we got the deal of the century.

 

[Das Hassler]

6 mill......I'm assuming that must be for 10 years?

 

[Tigerm]

6 mill......I'm assuming that must be for 10 years?

6 years

 

[Das Hassler]

6 years

ahh noo dat sorry..I was just exercising my cynicism ( in the other post)

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

I agree Silverdale. The biggest issue (I believe) Wests Tigers have is the rookie coach and his underlings.

How many very gifted elite players have made great coaches......I'd say not many.

What's happened with Wests Tigers and Luai reminds me a little of Petro Civioniceva came to Penrith.......I remember him talking about how the training methods were quite 'old school'

I've had a look at some of the photos, there appears to be lots of strength training going on.....the elite clubs have moved away from this, because the game has gotten so much faster.....
Endurance training seems to be the latest thing
It will be fascinating to see how this works out with Benji. everyone knows he was an elite player, but is he going to be a good (let alone) elite coach.

Yes, endurance training, heavily favoured by seibs and Ivan for a few years now. Muscle memory kicks in when a player is fatigued. There was that smug ambulance ride home for your second gf where virtually no one could walk upright by the time the finals rolled around.

Benji has already put his hand up and said he doesn’t expect to be around in 2026 if we have a bad season. I think it depends. The expectation is 10-13 so I’d think 10th or above, he will be retained.

But there are some good coaches coming to market. AOB, Brad Arthur. Either of these guys would go well at the Tigers.

I think we’ve heard the whispers that AOB hasn’t had the full confidence of his club and he’s had to cop some very brutal recruitment decisions. I like his press conferences, he’s very intelligent

A lot of sides rebuilding this year, I think we have slight edge with plenty of kids rushed in last year so some exposure.
This is where Benji and I actually agree, rare set of circumstances.

We all want Benji to break through, we just aren’t wholly expecting it and think it will be difficult for him. Nothing personal.

 

[WA Tiger]

Well look at you two! I nearly missed the significance

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

The big problem with Benji is that he was appointed for reasons other than merit.

That was a brazen attempt to cover up the gross errors and mismanagement by the previous administration which the interim admin were reluctant to disturb.

Benjis salary is being paid by a big sponsor.

He’s been very useful for recruitment in the last six months and due is due.

For better or worse, his presence is essentially a product of the club management.

That’s my holistic reading of it.

He doesn’t come across as being very bright and he is profoundly immature, but he wouldn’t be the only nrl coach with those attributes.

I think we all agreed he would have been better off doing a solid apprenticeship in coaching ranks before taking the keys to the Kingswood. He would have learned a lot about managing players and games from a hands on coaching perspective. It would have been in his long term best interests. Instead he’s threw himself into the fire and had a needlessly catastrophic 2024 season. He likes bling and other aesthetic nonsenses.

 

[Tiger05]

The big problem with Benji is that he was appointed for reasons other than merit.

You are correct but I think the same comment is true for both Sheens and Ciraldo. Sheens was past it and it didn't work out. Ciraldo was still a risk and who knows if he will turn into a top coach.

Benji in my opinion is the biggest risk for us this season but let's see how he goes. I can still see the club making massive improvements this season.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

You are correct but I think the same comment is true for both Sheens and Ciraldo. Sheens was past it and it didn't work out. Ciraldo was still a risk and who knows if he will turn into a top coach.

Benji in my opinion is the biggest risk for us this season but let's see how he goes. I can still see the club making massive improvements this season.

Neither Sheens nor Ciraldo faced a competitive process and Ciraldo has only found something approaching adequacy with the support of Jason Taylor.

I don’t find Benji very inspiring at all. At his essence, he’s got the mental age of a 16 year old who was summoned to the school firsts and is sitting with the year 12 guys at lunchtime. But that’s not his fault.

If we fail, it’s the clubs fault for putting him in command.

I’d like to see the side play good footy. If he jags it fine, if he fails, it’s the clubs fault. We know what we’ve got.

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

The big problem with Benji is that he was appointed for reasons other than merit.

That was a brazen attempt to cover up the gross errors and mismanagement by the previous administration which the interim admin were reluctant to disturb.

Benjis salary is being paid by a big sponsor.

He’s been very useful for recruitment in the last six months and due is due.

For better or worse, his presence is essentially a product of the club management.

That’s my holistic reading of it.

He doesn’t come across as being very bright and he is profoundly immature, but he wouldn’t be the only nrl coach with those attributes.

I think we all agreed he would have been better off doing a solid apprenticeship in coaching ranks before taking the keys to the Kingswood. He would have learned a lot about managing players and games from a hands on coaching perspective. It would have been in his long term best interests. Instead he’s threw himself into the fire and had a needlessly catastrophic 2024 season. He likes bling and other aesthetic nonsenses.

Great Analysis. That how I see it. I've seen far too many brilliant players NOT make good coaches.

The folks (I believe) that make great coaches are the barely there ex players Bellamy, (great example) or the great students of the game like Cronk and say Matty Johns. They have the smarts on how to build a footy team.

My question is......does Benji have those same smarts.....I don't see Benji as being a great listener or learner (regarding coaching)


Time will tell whether I have a dozen eggs all over my face (or not)......and am a shocking judge of what makes a good coach or not.

 

[Tigerm]

Great Analysis. That how I see it. I've seen far too many brilliant players NOT make good coaches.

The folks (I believe) that make great coaches are the barely there ex players Bellamy, (great example) or the great students of the game like Cronk and say Matty Johns. They have the smarts on how to build a footy team.

My question is......does Benji have those same smarts.....I don't see Benji as being a great listener or learner (regarding coaching)


Time will tell whether I have a dozen eggs all over my face (or not)......and am a shocking judge of what makes a good coach or not.

The rule of thumb as to what makes a good coach or a bad coach is WINNING.
Nothing else really matters.