Coach Benji

Something you can’t deny are the boys are playing for their coach this season. They believe in the system and the vision Benji has - especially our two big star recruits May and Luai which is a domino effect on the rest of the team with two big vocal leaders.

We have some clunkiness in attack but that’s what’s expected when you bring in a marquee 7 on big money, it’ll take time to adapt, yet we’re still winning and doing so based off our defence and credit to John Morris as well for that.

I’ve personally always been a Benji fan and think he’s gonna be our coach for the next decade and rightfully so - but the one thing I can assure you is that the club has never had someone in charge who has as much passion and wants to see this club win more than Benji

And it’s rubbing off on the boys.

There’s still some cap space to add some talent in selected positions. I’m confident we’re gone from the days all other 16 clubs circle the calendar against us… I think it’ll be the opposite.
 
'I have changed my mind about Benji. I want a 'REAL' NRL coach at our club like Anthony Griffin or Kevin Walters, that would be far better for us and our clubs true heritage of finishing 9th. Benji is too woke by going home after 10 hours of work a day to be with his family (when he isn't travelling), and his popularity and attractiveness to players looking to join our club runs the risk of us becoming a well established top 4 team. I find this unacceptable and demand we release Galvin early as requested by his manager and bring in some more experience like say, Anthony Milford on 900k a season. - Furthermore, lets get rid of the competent coaches at our club who are also former players for our team that gave everything for the team back in the day, and bring in some people who have only ever experienced coaching success at already well established clubs like the storm and the roosters' The sooner we make these massive changes mid season, the better our teams morale will be and our contract negotiations will resolve to satisfaction.

-- yours predictably

The old wests tigers board and J Pascoe.
 
Round 6 press conference: https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2025/04/13/presser-nrl-round-6-vs-knights/

First time I've watched a press conference this year. Really impressed with how Benji speaks. He has a good read on the game, the standard of our team and the standard of the opposition. Gives credit where it is due but is also astutely critical where appropriate. I have confidence with him as our coach. The players seem to too.
 
teddy23 said:
Something you can’t deny are the boys are playing for their coach this season. They believe in the system and the vision Benji has - especially our two big star recruits May and Luai which is a domino effect on the rest of the team with two big vocal leaders.

We have some clunkiness in attack but that’s what’s expected when you bring in a marquee 7 on big money, it’ll take time to adapt, yet we’re still winning and doing so based off our defence and credit to John Morris as well for that.

I’ve personally always been a Benji fan and think he’s gonna be our coach for the next decade and rightfully so - but the one thing I can assure you is that the club has never had someone in charge who has as much passion and wants to see this club win more than Benji

And it’s rubbing off on the boys.

There’s still some cap space to add some talent in selected positions. I’m confident we’re gone from the days all other 16 clubs circle the calendar against us… I think it’ll be the opposite.
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im unsure yet if Luai is on board ,but they are all getting off and enjoying playing together and winning games, and that will skyrocket them to self-belief
 
TIGERS said:
'I have changed my mind about Benji. I want a 'REAL' NRL coach at our club like Anthony Griffin or Kevin Walters, that would be far better for us and our clubs true heritage of finishing 9th. Benji is too woke by going home after 10 hours of work a day to be with his family (when he isn't travelling), and his popularity and attractiveness to players looking to join our club runs the risk of us becoming a well established top 4 team. I find this unacceptable and demand we release Galvin early as requested by his manager and bring in some more experience like say, Anthony Milford on 900k a season. - Furthermore, lets get rid of the competent coaches at our club who are also former players for our team that gave everything for the team back in the day, and bring in some people who have only ever experienced coaching success at already well established clubs like the storm and the roosters' The sooner we make these massive changes mid season, the better our teams morale will be and our contract negotiations will resolve to satisfaction.

-- yours predictably

The old wests tigers board and J Pascoe.
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Haha what a post! Pascoe truly was a clown.
 
any Benji doubters at the start of the year wavering or jumped ship yet. Got to give it to him (Benji) if Richo didn't give em all a sign on fee 4 talking him up ,he has got some cloat
.Hope him and the team progress to be able to pick apart teams d n a on the run
 
The fact that Api & Jarome want to come out & put all the Benji slander to bed shows you that there is no doubt the players are behind him & he is the right man to lead the club forward. I’m loving how Benji has transformed the culture of this club in such a short amount of time & I don’t think i’ve felt more of a connection to the club, players & coach than the last few days. This club will turn things around 🐯🐅
 
WesternSuburbsBoy said:
The fact that Api & Jarome want to come out & put all the Benji slander to bed shows you that there is no doubt the players are behind him & he is the right man to lead the club forward. I’m loving how Benji has transformed the culture of this club in such a short amount of time & I don’t think i’ve felt more of a connection to the club, players & coach than the last few days. This club will turn things around 🐯🐅
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Yeah and I think that this Forum is a much less miserable place as well.
 
Its hard for anyone to argue against these dominos.... Benji attracts Luai , Luai brings Turuva . Benji and Luai attracts May. Those 3 are a big part of the change we've seen in leadership, culture, class and winning.

Then around those guys other existing players are lifting, Pole is going to another level and even Seyfarth is lifting.

Benji brings in Morris and Hodgson , that seemed a bit boys club but they aren't green assistants so i think its all part of the DNA and rebuild.

Keen to see how we keep competing this year.
 
Hopefully this will all work out for the club and the team’s good in the end, but geez it would’ve been nice not to be in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. We are playing well and winning, the media have had no reason to diss us so far this season, then this kid had to open his mouth and cause a huge stir - enter media barrage once again.

Now it’s all anyone is talking about, taking the heat off Spencer Leniu’s volatile confrontation with Jonathon Thurston, which I thought deserved a bit more media scrutiny than what it got, but no Wests Tigers had to supersede that once again. I just wanted a good strong season where we quietly achieved as a team out of the media spotlight for once, but that seems to be an impossible dream following our mob.
 
Flippedy said:
Hopefully this will all work out for the club and the team’s good in the end, but geez it would’ve been nice not to be in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. We are playing well and winning, the media have had no reason to diss us so far this season, then this kid had to open his mouth and cause a huge stir - enter media barrage once again.
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We HAVE to win on Monday, otherwise the tide will turn negatively.
 
Tucker said:
LMAO. That’s not how the world works.

Benji has been employed at this club since mid-2022 and has been heavily involved in recruitment from day one. Every recruitment decision made by Sheens was signed off by Benji, as he would ultimately be inheriting the roster. Since taking on a direct coaching role, his record stands at 48 games, with just 10 wins and 38 losses - a 21% success rate - along with back-to-back wooden spoons. To be fair, I’ll exclude the 2022 spoon from his record, as there’s no concrete proof of his influence that season.

However, he absolutely should not be given another two years based on the weak argument you’ve presented. We can’t afford to waste or lose the talent we have.

I believe his contract should be reviewed after Round 8 this year, allowing discussions to take place at Magic Round to explore EOIs for potential replacements if he isn’t performing. The first eight rounds include some winnable games - three wins should be the minimum expectation, with five being ideal.

The reason for the early mid-season review is the accessibility of potential coaching candidates during Magic Round. Organizing a coaching transition takes time, so it would be smart to start the process then if needed. If he clears this hurdle, an end-of-season review should also be conducted, with a KPI of at least a 50% win rate for the year.

Yes, it’s possible he could fail the first review but then turn things around in the second half of the season. If he does, his contract remains intact. However, if he fails the end-of-season review, he should be required to present a case to the board justifying why he should stay. Failing both reviews should result in his departure, with a replacement ready to start at the beginning of the 2026 pre-season.
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Well…we’ve made it to round 8 and Benji has a 4 and 4 record with 2 losses that should have been additional wins in Rd 1 and Rd4. That’s a terrific start by his own metrics and the change in the way the team is playing is very obvious.
I still wouldn’t want to lose May or Luai for extended periods but this team is playing different footy to most other teams since 2011.
The jury is still out on Benji as a coach, but he has the squad facing the correct way finally. Early days, but good signs.
We have 3 games left until a well earned break. I’d love to win 2 of those and really push the Storm in the third.
 
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