Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[Chipofftheoldblock]

I remember seeing him interviewed when he was the interim tigers coach and the humility he displayed was so refreshing as well as how excited he was to be at the helm.. he seems like a really exceptional person that also possesses a true love of and appreciation for Rugby League

Watch his press conferences and you can see how he engages with the media (even when they try to bait him) and how his players talk about him.
He has been like that at every club.
Panther boys absolutely loved being coached by him during his time there.
The other thing though is that he fully embraces living in Auckland and Kiwi culture something many other coaches have not done before him.

There is a great interview with Andrew just after trial win against the Tigers that gives you some pretty great insights into his coaching and background.
I could be bias but i have known Andrew and James for a very long time and played with James back in the day. Just glad to see him doing well but would have rather him be HC at the Tigers.

 

[Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan]

Forgetting the fact we finished top 4 the two years prior (making a prelim final and losing by a point) and still won 11 games that year (2012)?

Oh yeah they were really difficult times to be a fan 😂

Remember when we started the 2012 season as premiership favourites? Oh, those were the times. When we had genuine hope of winning the comp.

 

[Wildcat777]

The playing roster makes the coach.
Some are better at Talent ID than others, so have the knack of creating strong rosters which include a handful of cast offs that were not wanted or not appreciated by other clubs.
But at the end of the day, you don’t have to be a genius to coach a strong roster to be successful and likewise coaches don’t have a magic wand to make sub standard rosters win many games.
There is not a coach on the planet who could get our current playing roster into the top 14.

You would however have a chance if all the coaches were at WT and the others had none!

 

[Todd Packer]

Josh Reynolds just said he thinks Sezer would be a good buy.
Reynolds played against Sezer in England and reckons Sezer is very good at controlling a game.

 

[WesternSuburbsBoy]

Also paying Heighno to play elsewhere
- Letting go the best prop for the next 10 years in the comp while under contract,
Paying him to play elsewhere....

The club rehired the person that did all of that too which shows how poorly run we are

 

[tigerballs]

Coming over, u reckon Any good?

I haven't really seen much of him but there's a strong chance.

 

[Tigersmurf]

Does the fact we have not already signed Aidan Sezer mean other options are on the table ?
You would presume Sezer is not flushed with NRL options and probably would have already signed with us if our offer was concrete.

I seemed to recall that he had to undertake a physical before tigers would make him an offer...

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

I seemed to recall that he had to undertake a physical before tigers would make him an offer...

But he has knowledge in getting a repeat set.

 

[TigerNeddyK]

But he has knowledge in getting a repeat set.

Nah, stuff that, I’ve become attached to WAKEHAMS gentle chip kick grubbers that are gently lobbed to the defending centre.. I have no idea how he can manage such a horrible kick in that situation…terrible 🥺😣😭

 

[twentyforty]

That is correct - he was assistant coach for Hull KR under Justin Morgan (who is now is assistant at the warriors) and he also created Hull KR pathways program. SG Ball at Balmain (undefeated season), JF Parra Head Coach, then back to the tigers for a few years. Cleary poached him when Barrett left. They used to car pool together everyday to training when at the tigers as they both lived in Penrith hence the relationship grew pretty strong.
Andrew understands his players strengths and then coaches within that rather than find players that fits how he wants to coach. That is what you call flexible coaching - getting the best out of what you have got and provide support in the gaps.
Fantastic coach, even better person.

Thanks for that input Chip.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

Watch his press conferences and you can see how he engages with the media (even when they try to bait him) and how his players talk about him.
He has been like that at every club.
Panther boys absolutely loved being coached by him during his time there.
The other thing though is that he fully embraces living in Auckland and Kiwi culture something many other coaches have not done before him.

There is a great interview with Andrew just after trial win against the Tigers that gives you some pretty great insights into his coaching and background.
I could be bias but i have known Andrew and James for a very long time and played with James back in the day. Just glad to see him doing well but would have rather him be HC at the Tigers.

One of Ivan Cleary's strengths is his communication skills and his engagement with the media. I am pleased Andrew Webster demonstrates the same strength. This is an under appreciated skill and one which imo differentiates the average v good coach.

 

[balmain boy]

That is correct - he was assistant coach for Hull KR under Justin Morgan (who is now is assistant at the warriors) and he also created Hull KR pathways program. SG Ball at Balmain (undefeated season), JF Parra Head Coach, then back to the tigers for a few years. Cleary poached him when Barrett left. They used to car pool together everyday to training when at the tigers as they both lived in Penrith hence the relationship grew pretty strong.
Andrew understands his players strengths and then coaches within that rather than find players that fits how he wants to coach. That is what you call flexible coaching - getting the best out of what you have got and provide support in the gaps.
Fantastic coach, even better person.

He has said he arrived and simplified the game plan as it was too complex and the players were getting confused and hesitating due to their uncertainty about what to do.
Contrast that to us where we keep the game plan even if our boys aren't skillful enough to pull it off. Stubborness that has got us our second spoon in a row

 

[Vicious]

One of Ivan Cleary's strengths is his communication skills and his engagement with the media. I am pleased Andrew Webster demonstrates the same strength. This is an under appreciated skill and one which imo differentiates the average v good coach.

So where do you and others who believe coaching is our big problem think we would be running if Andrew Webster was our coach this season ?

 

[Wildcat777]

So where do you and others who believe coaching is our big problem think we would be running if Andrew Webster was our coach this season ?

Same but I reckon our F & A maybe better.

 

[Halbrowne61]

So where do you and others who believe coaching is our big problem think we would be running if Andrew Webster was our coach this season ?

Well with no one like a SJ leading the way I would say about 10th at present. Still much better than where we are.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

So where do you and others who believe coaching is our big problem think we would be running if Andrew Webster was our coach this season ?

Webster would know the future of the club is via our juniors. I support the direction of the club and the initiatives implemented in our juniors and especially the quality of staff in the Pathways. This is our future and while no one likes to lose, I can see our team is building. I like the fact Marshall and Farah are back to assist. I'm sure they have many other pursuits but chose to assist their old club. The retention of our best juniors and selectively buying like Faagutu, Feledy and the Fainu brothers I'm sure will get us back into the 8.

 

[Wildcat777]

We have lots of problems, especially cause we can’t win….. but it’s simple…. A lot of our cattle not NRL level. Can’t win with 9-11 NRL players lining up against 12-17. Need a complete NRL team. If you have your spine a rating out 4. With 4 being 4 competent spine players. This year we have been lucky to field 2 for the whole season. We have the worst spine in the NRL in 2023 by far. And guess what this week I rate our spine as a 3. So a good chance. Brooks/Api x 1 and Bula/Laurie 0.5. Bula will be a 1 with more games under his belt no doubt. Well Laurie maybe but will be a long while before that happens.

 

[Odessa]

I realise some grasp the concept of development coaching quicker than others, but hope it doesnt take Benji that long? I think Webster has been coaching half his life? Didnt he spend some time in ESL with his brother James, who is also a coach?

Interview that other week with Webster and he was captain coach of a team in America I think in Florida for 3 years in his 20's said he learnt alot also sounded like he had alot of fun and learnt alot from the experience I think the interview was on grandstand

 

[Odessa]

Unless there has been a very late change of heart, Taafe rejected the Tigers even though we made a very good offer

So the aggressive recruitment drive is going well

 

[Chipofftheoldblock]

So where do you and others who believe coaching is our big problem think we would be running if Andrew Webster was our coach this season ?

About 9th but much better than we are currently going. Brooks played under Webster in SG Ball so understands his strengths.
He would have installed a calmness around attacking situations and provided game plans to match the strengths of his players and identifying weaknesses in the opposition.
Pathways would have been big on his agenda as you can see some of the young players he has given opportunities to throughout the season.

Our gameplans lack any foresight of winning games. Our attack is redundant and our defense needs everyone to buy in (there has been times throughout the year where I have thought we have defended okay but we drop the intensity and decision making with poor individual decisions.)