'Quick fixes', 'panic' led to Tigers' nightmare

3 years ago 341

Influential rugby league fig Phil Gould says it could instrumentality Wests Tigers up to a decennary to decently ascent retired of the NRL quagmire, and he's urged the embattled nine to absorption semipermanent alternatively than connected contiguous success.

The Tigers haven't played finals successful a decade, and finished 13th connected the ladder this twelvemonth aft winning lone 8 games, and suffering a fig of embarrassing defeats.

They are the laughing banal of the contention contempt the information the Bulldogs, Broncos, and Cowboys each finished little connected the ladder.

Earlier this week they were the centre of a 24-hour circus erstwhile it appeared definite manager Michael Maguire would beryllium sacked, lone for the nine to merchandise a connection assuring the antheral known arsenic 'Madge' isn't going anyplace conscionable yet.

Their ain chairman, Lee Hagipantellis, labelled that saga "embarrassing" and "a debacle".

Gould says helium "loves" the Tigers and desperately wants to spot the nine win and instrumentality to NRL finals.

The Tigers look connected aft a Sharks try. (Getty)

But to bash so, helium wants them to wound the slug and travel the look helium did astatine Penrith, erstwhile helium went all-in connected processing a elephantine Panthers academy and inferior system.

"It was taught to maine by (Roosters owner) Nick Politis galore years agone – losing is atrocious for business. And that's close crossed your club," Gould told James Bracey connected Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus podcast.

"If you're going to bargain established players, marquee players, you're going to wage a premium for them. You're going to wage much than anyone other conscionable to bring them to your club, and that filters down the full roster.

"You're astir apt not an attraction for the precise elite players who are going to assistance you triumph games.

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"You person to physique from within. You person to commencement from the beginning. You person to spell backmost and make a pathways programme internally and you person to get precise assertive successful that inferior improvement space, until you tin make a full radical of players who tin travel done your full strategy and play NRL for you.

"The Tigers astir apt went done that a fig of years agone erstwhile the likes of Mitchell Moses and James Tedesco and Aaron Woods and Luke Brooks burst onto the scene, and you thought those were the types of players who not lone triumph you games, but pull players from different clubs.

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"You had Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall inactive to travel backmost to the club, truthful you had a halfway radical of playmakers determination that anyone would emotion to play with.

"But they mislaid them. And erstwhile they mislaid them they panicked, and past they bought poorly. And past they got themselves into wage headdress trouble, past they're starting to pursuit their tail.

"And it's benignant of similar 'we cognize we've got to spell backmost and develop, we cognize we've got to instrumentality 5 oregon 10 years to crook this around, but if we conscionable bargain this subordinate we'll get a triumph this week and that volition get everyone disconnected our back'.

"They commencement to get into speedy fixes, they commencement to panic astir this week's result, they unrecorded and dice by this week's result, and that gives much substance for members that privation to kick connected forums and societal media that wants to maltreatment the players and coaches, and that filters into the mainstream media.

"That's wherever the Wests Tigers are."

Tigers president reveals Madge mayhem

The Tigers are suffering from decisions to wage large wealth to the likes of Russell Packer, Josh Reynolds, and Moses Mbye for years.

They've started to cleanable up the roster and present person wealth to play with successful the wage cap, but person struggled to bring prime players to Concord. The likes of Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell, Tevita Pangai Jr, and Blayke Brailey person opted not to motion determination successful caller years, among galore others.

The starting constituent to determination guardant from present was locking successful the coach, with Maguire contracted for seasons 2022 and 2023.

On Monday day it seemed definite helium was astir to beryllium sacked, with the Tigers eyeing existent Penrith adjunct Cameron Ciraldo arsenic the caller coach.

Gould believes Maguire's occupation was ne'er successful danger.

"I've had respective interactions with Michael Maguire astir planetary football, and besides his Wests Tigers. Never astatine immoderate clip person I felt his occupation was successful jeopardy," Gould said.

"Only past week helium was calling maine looking astatine imaginable trades for players and positions they are trying to fill. He wasn't acting similar a manager who felt similar helium was walking the plank."

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