Tiger_Yoshi
Well-known member
And he has been good?....I cant recall a single decet game he played for us
Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion
- Thread starter MacDougall
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jrtiger
Well-known member
question: do you think the senior players did their job last year?
twentyforty
Well-known member
Q. Do you think the kids are more coachable?
Please , I think he is a very good CEO , but at the snails pass that he is moving at nothing will change , we have a very good backline now , but are forwards are weaker than this year , DONT care what anyone says , u can’t win without a dominant pack , ours is NSW cup grade at best
liltiger
Well-known member
Refreshing to actually have a professional running the show and not people only pretending.
liltiger
Well-known member
Very true BP. I'm stoked because our backline has been completely refreshed in only 12 months. The next 12 will be our forward pack and we will be well on our way I reckon.
Fainu Brothers
Well-known member
Give him a chance, he sealed Luai, Manasaki, hopefully Galvin Long term. He inherited a dogs breakfast, with a lot of that winning Harold Mathews team promised top 30 deals before they are ready. If he gets May we will have a solid front row, Samuela is our Olakatau, he has fixed the outside backs. What more could a bloke do with the scraps he was given? He will give Benji 6-8 weeks to start the year next season.
#inrichoitrust
How good will it be when Luai runs out against the dogs, geeing all the boys up and not taking a backwards step. Cant wait for it!!! And people talking about not going to Parramatta Stadium give yourself an uppercut, lets pack it out and make it a fortress as well. 20k tigers fans going mad, i will be travelling up from Canberra
The Chad
Well-known member
The article, if not biased, kind of shows fault on all sides.
Bateman was upset because he thought the senior players were copping all the critisism. Well, you kind of have to shoulder the responsibility as a senior player.
But, Marshall probably needs to also rip the band aid off the young players & expose them to a bit of wrath too.
Sounds like 2 big egos not giving in.
That said- Bateman is paid to toe the line. He has to be the one to pull his head in.
Interesting that Benji turns to Doueihi to step in though. Wonder if that gives more of an indication of Benji & co's respect & standing of Doueihi?
Bateman was upset because he thought the senior players were copping all the critisism. Well, you kind of have to shoulder the responsibility as a senior player.
But, Marshall probably needs to also rip the band aid off the young players & expose them to a bit of wrath too.
Sounds like 2 big egos not giving in.
That said- Bateman is paid to toe the line. He has to be the one to pull his head in.
Interesting that Benji turns to Doueihi to step in though. Wonder if that gives more of an indication of Benji & co's respect & standing of Doueihi?
He has achieved a lot in a short time along with managing the back room antics.
Don't forget the depth signings for NSW CUP plus Porter & Faataape on development deals are big wins.
No one would be complaining if we signed both of them on 2 year top 30 deals.
Let's be honest both make the 17 if there is an injury over others in the top 30.
2026 will be what he can be judged on.
Had the ability to get rid of dead wood. Sign where we need. Hopefully results in the juniors & lower grades. Hell even a more competitive NRLW squad.
Don't forget the depth signings for NSW CUP plus Porter & Faataape on development deals are big wins.
No one would be complaining if we signed both of them on 2 year top 30 deals.
Let's be honest both make the 17 if there is an injury over others in the top 30.
2026 will be what he can be judged on.
Had the ability to get rid of dead wood. Sign where we need. Hopefully results in the juniors & lower grades. Hell even a more competitive NRLW squad.
user118245
Well-known member
If I’m not mistaken, but how many clubs have signed 2026 free agents from other clubs currently? (Gutho doesn’t count). Not many
Kelce68
Well-known member
- I hear this rumour about Klemmer bandied around a bit on here, but I'm yet to find any credible source.
- Richardson has publicly backed Marshall ad nauseum.
He literally did it in the Bateman article today...
It doesn’t matter whether it is John Bateman or anybody else in the club, we have to create discipline and a support mechanism behind the head coach,” Richardson said.
“And I support that 100 percent. So the players have got to understand that Benji’s way is the way. It’s as simple as that.
“And if they want to play first grade at the club, they have to understand it is under what Benji’s rules are. It’s got nothing to do with between young players and older players.
Kelce68
Well-known member
And thats the point.
Bateman is an employee. Senior player or not, vice captain or not, he needs to back his coach and fall in line.
He's welcome not to of course, but if that's his choice, there's the door.
This is a pretty simple situation.
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Kelce68
Well-known member
I would be surprised if someone doesn't prise Te Kura away from them now either with Willison extending.
They can't have those two and Haas.
Surely.
Tiger_Yoshi
Well-known member
Tyrell May is told he is not wanted and he is happy to walk away from his Roosters contract with no drama or pushback… Bud and Bateman are told the same and their response to the club
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tigertragic
Well-known member
May will get a bigger contract
Bateman and bud wont
innsaneink
Well-known member
I wouldn't be surprised if our recruiting is done for established 1st graders... Might sign a no-name lower grader from East's Tigers or.promote another junior
twentyforty
Well-known member
All players need to have a 10 week break at seasons end. Rules are rules.RLPA CALLED TO STEP-IN
Bateman played 10 games for Warrington through last season, his time ending in a sem-final loss to Hull KR six weeks ago.
Once his commitment with Warrington was over, Bateman stayed in England to play in two Test matches against Samoa.
Burgess wanted to keep Bateman at Warrington, but the experienced second-rower was intent on returning to the NRL, particularly due to his wife being Australian and who also boasts a high-flying job.
“I’ll be spending my time with my family but after Christmas I’ll be back there,” Bateman told NRL.com from England last month.
That wasn’t the end of the drama. The Tigers initially told Bateman he was due back at training before Christmas, on December 21.
Bateman had other ideas - he was of the belief he should be off until December 28, which would have been when the Tigers were on their Christmas break, meaning he wouldn’t return to training until the new year.
The RLPA was forced to intervene after the latest spat between the England international and the Wests Tigers. Picture: Getty Images
It is understood Bateman provided a letter from Warrington supporting his claim that he should be given extra time off.
The parties were once again at loggerheads, leading to the intervention of the Rugby League Players Association to resolve another stalemate between the club and one of their highest-paid players.
With the paperwork in front of them, the RLPA sided with Bateman, delaying his return to a club where he is not necessarily welcome.
NO APOLOGIES
Richardson and the Tigers are making no apologies for cleaning house.
The club has been in a decade-long firestorm that has frustrated fans and resulted in an extreme turnover of leadership, structures, coaches, players and staff.
“Players have to live up to what the standards are of a team that’s going to be successful,” Richardson said.
“There’s no stone unturned about the discipline the club requires to be successful. I’ve got to say overall, I’ve had no major pushback on that.”
What can also be revealed is that Bateman won’t be the only departure.
The club is locked in a legal battle with young prop Jordan Miller after sacking him over disciplinary issues.
Other changes are afoot, the most significant the expected departure of half Jayden Sullivan, who was offered for virtually nothing to return to his former club the Dragons.
The Tigers are expected to part ways with half Jayden Sullivan. Picture: NRL Photos
Saints weren’t interested. The concern with Sullivan isn’t related to discipline or team harmony. Officials at the club like Sullivan and have no concerns with his work ethic or personality.
The issue is that the club is overloaded in the halves and Sullivan is on a fat contract that means their salary cap and squad are out of sync.
There is also a focus on bringing in the right senior figures to lead the way. The hope is that Penrith premiership winner Jarome Luai can be their talisman in that regard.
“People say to me all the time, how do you get clubs out of the mire,” Richardson said.
“It’s three things - people, people and people. You’ve got to have the right people in place and the right players in place to be able to change the culture the way you want to be and the right disciplines in place.
“It’s not unusual. It’s actually what every decent club does. The good clubs - the senior players lead by example. It’s as simple as that.”
CULTURE CLUB
Richardson is coming up to his one-year anniversary in the job and makes it very clear there will be no cutting corners when it comes to the culture at the club.
The Tigers have won three wooden spoons in succession. They have gone a decade without playing finals football and the club has made a series of poor recruitment calls that have left them in a hole.
The hope is that the emergence of young players like Lachlan Galvin and the arrival of Luai will address some of the issues.
Bateman isn’t alone in the belief that Marshall has handed too much power, too soon, to the club’s most talented rookies led by Galvin - a storyline that will develop as the 2025 season unfolds.
Until then, discipline has become a focus of the offseason and no doubt played a part in the decision to distance themselves from Bateman.
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson is coming up on his one-year anniversary in the top job and has made it clear there is no room for cutting corners. Picture: David Swift
Richardson has made it eminently clear that Marshall has his unmitigated support. It’s Benji’s way or the highway.
“It doesn’t matter whether it is John Bateman or anybody else in the club, we have to create discipline and a support mechanism behind the head coach,” Richardson said.
“And I support that 100 percent. So the players have got to understand that Benji’s way is the way. It’s as simple as that.
“And if they want to play first grade at the club, they have to understand it is under what Benji’s rules are. It’s got nothing to do with between young players and older players.
“You’re paying the older players more money and they should be well aware of what their responsibilities are now.
“We have won three straight wooden spoons. We are just not not going to accept anything that is not absolutely of the higher standards for culture and for training and everything else.
“So it’s not just about John Bateman, it’s about everybody.”
It’s becoming clear now that Richo wanted the $6m in the bank to back Benji’s initiatives and have them unfold as quickly as possible.
Makes no sense to make a player feel uncomfortable about being around if you can’t get rid of the hurdles preventing his departure.
Benji knows the recalcitrance too well. We saw those passes into the stand.
innsaneink
Well-known member
Yeah. He's looking too far into.the future... Remember he said something along the lines.of 'he's not coaching for results he's looking to build the future'.... Something like that.
Praise in public..
Criticise in private.
That said Jonneh seems like quite the entitled toe rag... Thanks again Tim
I'm almost betting on it.... Another year of pain.
My only hope is Luai can pull something out of his ring and get May here,
I'm not confident though.
As it stands,
We're happy to pay 1 million + out of our cap to have players playing for other teams.
With the overpaid / underperforming Players we're keeping, The kids taking up spots that aren't worth much
we just aren't going to have the coin for top class recruits.
Paying half a dozen Players to play for other clubs - Stinks of an impending
'Excuse' for us to keep being garbage to me....
Been around long enough to know that when it comes to Wests Tigers,
Benji Gets what Benji wants....
And on it goes.
