NRL Wests Tigers

[snake77]

This all seems pretty daft. But then again it is the Tigers.

They have been a joint venture for over 20 years. They are still talking about having more supporters than Wests. There would be more Wests Tigers fans than Balmain or Western Suburbs. They should wait another 5-10 years. It would be a good chance to use the Tarkin quote from Star Wars.
"Obi Wan Kenobi Balmain, Western Suburb fans surely they must be all dead by now".

Both of those clubs were struggling back then. It would be even harder now.

If they did fall apart it wouldn't be a given that the license would revert to either of the old clubs. A good chance for the NRL to move on from the drama and get a side in another location.

 

[mt.wellington]

Balmain are shooting themselves in the foot with this,

Campbelltown is in a growth area in an area with room to breath without stepping on other clubs catchment areas. Balmain is full gentrified in an already congested inner city area.

Campbeltown has an ok stadium, Leichhardt is a tiny dated shithole

West provide most of both the funding and players and have a couple of massive leagues clubs (Balmains was left to rot before being torn down.

Brisbane tigers are rich and pushing as the 3rd Brisbane franchise, why would Balmain risk freeing up the brand for a rival?

Really not sure what Balmain thinks they have to push this? Literally the worst team of the last decade plus and very much the minor partner, not sure what power they think they have

Completely agree. Balmain Tigers have nothing. Its the Magpies that have the better stadium, junior pathways, reserve grade, clubrooms and most importantly they have a healthy bank balance.

Anyway the Tigers have come out and refuted everything so it looks like its just the opinion of one man trying to speak for everyone. Gonna make for awkward board meetings lol. No doubt he falls on his sword but he's not alone. From both parties. Relationships between the clubs and fans have always been strained. Always been plenty of smoke. Just old mate Garry Leo was silly enough to voice it with backing and no ammo.

This only adds to the clusterfuck that is the Tigers...

 

[KPWarrior]

I'd love to see Balmain back again!

Do they have Magpies in Perth?

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Fonz might be able to shed some light on the tigers?

But to my knowledge, the tigers are in great shape financially, so probably not going to cut them just yet.

I agree though, they are not helping themselves, but this is year one and I actually think they have some good elements going for them, starting with Galvin, api, and Bula.

They need some pack leaders badly! And if I'm a tigers fan the Saifiti lads wouldn't be that bad.

 

[Shogun]

If I was on that inner city council, I'd want a halt put on the $10 millions or so for the stadium upgrade, cause if they're not gonna be in the NRL no need to upgrade Leichhardt.

 

[dean]

I'd love to see Balmain back again!

Do they have Magpies in Perth?

I'd love to see Laurie Nichols back, Balmain icon.

 

[sballer7]

Thoughts on this...i thought this was fake to start with. What has happened to that footy club.

Congratulations Luke Brooks

Wests Tigers congratulate former halfback Luke Brooks on his achievements over the weekend for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

www.weststigers.com.au

 

[WA Warrior]

Thoughts on this...i thought this was fake to start with. What has happened to that footy club.

Congratulations Luke Brooks

Wests Tigers congratulate former halfback Luke Brooks on his achievements over the weekend for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

www.weststigers.com.au

That’s weird man.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

Thoughts on this...i thought this was fake to start with. What has happened to that footy club.

Congratulations Luke Brooks

Wests Tigers congratulate former halfback Luke Brooks on his achievements over the weekend for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

www.weststigers.com.au

What about papenhuyzen?

 

[snake77]

We have had some weird things happen at our club. But man the Tigers are another level.

A nice gesture but it is really weird. Congratulations for making the finals. 10 years or so here and we couldn't do it.

What needs to happen is when they finally break their drought. Brooks post the same thing back to them.

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

Got to feel for those Tigers fans.

‘Do you really want to play this game?’ Smith whacks Tigers over ‘slap in the face’ to Benji

‘Do you really want to play this game?’ Brandon Smith whacks Tigers over ‘slap in face’ to Benji

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Akkerz]

This is such a poor look for the comp and someone needs to give those players a burst so full marks to Cheese . Sadly as long as Richardson is in charge there is not much hope of anything changing in a hurry. I also have doubts about Benji Mashall as coach, he seems ineffective overall.

 

[Noitall]

This is such a poor look for the comp and someone needs to give those players a burst so full marks to Cheese . Sadly as long as Richardson is in charge there is not much hope of anything changing in a hurry. I also have doubts about Benji Mashall as coach, he seems ineffective overall.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/melbourne-storm-star-brandon-smith-fatshamed-after-fitness-concerns/news-story/afc199654e09a1c98d41edd91a6c73cd

Hopefully Smith can give them some advice on how to become more disciplined after his situation in 2021

 

[Dantheman]

Got to feel for those Tigers fans.

‘Do you really want to play this game?’ Smith whacks Tigers over ‘slap in the face’ to Benji

‘Do you really want to play this game?’ Brandon Smith whacks Tigers over ‘slap in face’ to Benji

www.foxsports.com.au

Says the guy who slept in for a club meeting or whatever it was. He seems like such an unlikeable dude, he isn't wrong on what he's saying about the Tigers but he can't exactly throw stones

 

[Noitall]

Says the guy who slept in for a club meeting or whatever it was. He seems like such an unlikeable dude, he isn't wrong on what he's saying about the Tigers but he can't exactly throw stones

Why I felt the need to comment. Thought it was really ironic coming from him

 

[BigUCE]

Says the guy who slept in for a club meeting or whatever it was. He seems like such an unlikeable dude, he isn't wrong on what he's saying about the Tigers but he can't exactly throw stones

Pretty sure he has a media gig now hence the articles in response to his comments

 

[Noitall]

Pretty sure he has a media gig now hence the articles in response to his comments

Roosters been doing their best to offload him apparently but with him injured for a good portion of next season he’ll likely stay on their books. Sounds like a real pain in the arse

 

[John Nick]

Pretty sure he has a media gig now hence the articles in response to his comments

POD cast.As I understand

 

[Matiunz]

POD cast.As I understand

Yeah he’s on the bye round with James Graham. Listened to a few but Smith basically comes off as a stoner trying to sound intelligent when in truth he is far from it. Graham can be better but has a few personal bias that colour his views a bit, he really dislikes NZ for some reason and rates everything Bulldogs and dragons much higher than he should

 

[WahsaurusRex]

Three players to front board, another can’t train: Why Benji’s got Tigers right where he wants them​

Benji Marshall’s got them walking on eggshells in Tiger town. And it’s exactly where he wants them.

After playing Mr Nice Guy in his first preseason in charge at the Tigers, the coach has flipped the script in a bid to drive a set of standards he hopes will help turn the tide at the struggling club.

Next month three players - Latu Fainu, Solomona Faataape and Solomone Saukuru - will front the Wests Tigers board after being hit with breach notices relating to their performances to start preseason.

The breaches relate to two sets of criteria the trio failed to meet. The first; an expectation around weight and skin folds that they failed to comply with upon returning to training after two months of holidays.

The second related to their fitness levels and an inability to get close to the time assigned to them for a 1.6 kilometre run.

Two other players also failed to meet the standards. Impressive young fullback Heath Mason, who made his NRL debut in 2024, surprisingly didn’t hit the mark during his time trial and was subsequently issued a warning. His lack of conditioning wasn’t deemed serious enough to warrant a breach.

The other player who was issued a warning for failing to meet the time trial expectations placed on him was Brandon Tumeth.

When news of the Tigers’ stern action against the players began to leak out just over a week ago, it put all the senior players, who were yet to return to preseason training due to extended leave entitlements under the collective bargaining agreement, on notice. They responded accordingly on Tuesday with their test results.

But the stern actions of the coach a fortnight ago even prompted new recruit Royce Hunt to volunteer to begin training three weeks before he was scheduled to arrive at the club to give himself time to improve his condition ahead of his time trial and testing in the coming weeks. It would’ve been music to Marshall’s ears.

A notable absentee at training, however, is boom prop Sione Fainu. The 12-game rookie doesn’t have a contract for 2025.

It’s a less than ideal situation given the financial investment in his brothers Latu and Samuela - the Tigers’ recipient of their player of the year award for 2024.

Some clubs wouldn’t want to upset the family, but Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is making a point of not allowing the club to be held to ransom by agents, or players, for that matter. That even goes for Faataape - the client of the chief executive’s son, Brent, now awaiting his date with the always topical Tigers board.

Richardson also flexed his muscle a few months ago when he refused to baulk at a request from the agent of teenage schoolboy sensation Onitoni Large who wanted a clause in his client’s contract that would allow him to walk away from the Tigers if they re-signed fellow young play-maker, Lachlan Galvin.

It’s a fair request given the Tigers also have Jarome Luai on the books for another five years and Latu Fainu tied up on a long-term deal. Richardson, however, let Large walk to Manly with nothing but a guarantee from the Galvin family that they would sit down in the new year to begin discussions about a potential extension beyond the end of his deal that expires after the 2026 season.

Time will tell if that what was the right football decision, especially given how much Canterbury general manager Phil Gould has been singing Galvin’s praises in recent months.
But the Tigers hierarchy feel that they need to show they aren’t going to be pushed around, and messaging off the field is as important as the one’s being relayed on it.

Sione Fainu was under the impression that he was going to get the next available top 30 spot in the roster when it eventually cleared up. With Jayden Sullivan, John Bateman and Brent Naden unwilling - or unable - to find new homes, that vacancy only cleared up recently following the termination of Jordan Miller’s contract for failing to uphold expected standards.

One of those breaches related to him turning up late to training despite assisting police with a domestic violence enquiry unrelated to him. It’s why he’s sought legal advice from former chairman Lee Hagipantelis.

But instead of promoting Fainu to a top 30 deal, the Tigers signed former Roosters prop Terrell May on a three-year contract worth $2 million on Monday.

That same day Sione’s agent Mario Tartak visited Concord seeking a please-explain. Richardson reiterated that the spot was never guaranteed to his client. In fact, the message the Tigers originally relayed was that they were always planning on signing another prop forward before Sione.

They went after Canberra’s Corey Horsburgh and Brisbane’s Kobe Hetherington before negotiations with both players fell through. May was merely filling the spot that had already been assigned to someone else.

Now Sione faces the likelihood of a $1200-a-week train-and-trial contract, pending NRL approval, until something budges at the Tigers.

The Dragons are still exploring the possibility of luring Adam Doueihi to the club as a halves option, but St George Illawarra are also in discussions with South Sydney’s Lachlan Ilias and Cronulla’s Daniel Atkinson.

Richardson knows that most clubs, at this time of year, are still holding out hope for a top-line player to hit the open market.

It’s the kind of unforseen situation that the Tigers themselves benefited from just this week when they secured the services of May on a three-year deal.

There will come a time, however, when some teams will need to fill roster spots or find replacements for players injured in preseason training or trials.

The Tigers are hopeful - once the big dominoes like Ben Hunt and Ryan Papenhuyzen fall - teams might be more willing to look at the lower end of their roster spots. If not, they’ll have to dip into their pockets.

The case surrounding Bateman is fascinating. The Tigers - big on messaging and all - went to the Rugby League Players’ Association a few weeks ago to find out what date the Englishman was due back at training after his stint in the Super League with Warrington.

The RLPA crunched the numbers and conceded that the Tigers were within their rights to order Bateman back to training on the final day of training on a Saturday before the two-week Christmas break. So they did.

Given the animosity between Bateman and his agent Isaac Moses towards the Tigers at the moment, they took it exactly as it was meant; a reminder that he was unwanted after falling out with the coach over perceived unfair treatment.

He isn’t the only player to have fallen out with Marshall in 2024. Naden found himself on the outer after refusing to shake the coach’s hand after their match at Magic Round. Marshall voiced his displeasure at Naden’s sin-binning at half-time.

Naden thought the coach overstepped the mark and made it personal, taking exception to the way he was spoken to by the coach. It’s the same gripe Bateman had with Marshall after a loss to South Sydney later in the year, as well as a belief that the younger players weren’t being held to the same account as the senior ones. The start of preseason speaks to a shift in that mentality.

For now, Bateman is scheduled back at training in the new year. Moses was able to get Warrington to provide documentation that Bateman in fact underwent a series of medical examinations and corporate appearances in the week after the Wolves’ final game that meant he wasn’t due back at training for another week and secured his absence from training until the new year. The RLPA changed its position.

Given the Tigers’ desire to release a number of players, it has created a perception that their recent decision to issue breaches and warnings for preseason performances was more a reflection of their desire to create roster spots than a culture building exercise.

The Tigers strongly refute those assertions. They want players who are willing to put in the extras.

Marshall’s coaching style has already met resistance. His second year at the helm is in the make-or-break territory after the club slumped to their third consecutive wooden spoon last season.

The roster is largely his, having the final say on all recruitment matters since he was anointed Tim Sheens’ successor. Some of those decisions are already coming back to bite him, so he’s changing the way he does things. Avoiding claims of mixed messaging is also paramount to his success.

Michael Maguire went down this path before. Marshall was there as a player and saw first hand how his former teammates resisted Maguire’s approach to change. It led to the now-Broncos coach’s demise in what was a train-wreck of a four-year campaign at the joint venture club.

The difference for Marshall, however, is that he might just have the players who are willing to change.