Benji 2025 and Beyond

Im gonna keep it real simple with Benji...in combination with Richo,hes been a magnet for many quality players whom a 3 time wooden spoon team would normally not attract
Candidly I was stunned that Luai chose WTs in his prime over his many options...and similiarly May.
Sure,$$$/get out clauses played some role,but they undoubtedly bought what Benji was selling,and that cant be denied
Now the reality of past two years...
were still bottom of the table..the defensive "systems"are worst in the comp.and most importantly with the exception of Galvin(who stalled mid season),,Im not seeing any of our young players improve or develop.
That is a huge concern 4 me
Im also not seeing a culture that hates losing..we just dont appear to give a rats wen we get flogged by 60
And the latter issues will be the key to Benjis future..and more importantly his coaching career
And Richo...dont lose the number of the former WTS lower grade coach who achieved considerable success,was liked and respected by the players.who is now at Ivan Clearys" finishing school "at Penrith
Our only realistic option...
 
diedpretty said:
It's a nice concept but I would think Jordan Miller would argue that " the family" deserted him when things were going wrong.
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Jordan Miller deserted himself . His ego , and bullshit and lack of buy in are the reason he lost his job .
If you’re not willing to commit to yourself how can you expect others too … the club clearly backed him . He played 2 nrl games . I reckon there’s a lot more to that story , considering what we do know , isn’t that flattering to begin with !
 
Spartan117 said:
Slight tangent.

Jerome, May, Hunt etc all went out of their way to say that Benji was a significant factor in them deciding to join us.

It will be a factor in the retention of Galvin and this crop of young stars.
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The issue is what think of him after they have played under him for a year.
 
GNR4LIFE said:
The issue is what think of him after they have played under him for a year.
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Let’s hope he undertook some solid self assessment at the end of the season and identified areas of improvement. It’s only
His second year but unfortunately if results aren’t forthcoming pressure will build quickly and dramatically. It’s a result driven business and being a hero to these guys is only a small part of the equation.
 
Halbrowne61 said:
Let’s hope he undertook some solid self assessment at the end of the season and identified areas of improvement. It’s only
His second year but unfortunately if results aren’t forthcoming pressure will build quickly and dramatically. It’s a result driven business and being a hero to these guys is only a small part of the equation.
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If the club wants to be legit, he has 10 weeks to prove himself
 
GNR4LIFE said:
If the club wants to be legit, he has 10 weeks to prove himself
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Maybe a little soon but who knows, we may be top4 by round 10 ( call me optimistic) and he will be a hero !
If not, a change of coach at that stage will upset the season, but can’t see him being carried to year end. I guess Hodgo or Bomber would take over and Toddy would just have to wait a bit longer. 🤣
 
Tucker said:
You speak my language Jolls. I suspect you come from business background focusing in either project management or specialising in strategic development or risk management? Either way, I appreciate the SWOT analysis, great work.
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Tucker,

Sort of; 35 years Army as a Sapper (Combat Engineer/EOD) , got out and started a construction business with two sons. Did a bit of construction and capability project management when I was in Army though. Lots of business stuff originated from the military; being an AJ they teach yoo to think in a certain way.
 
Halbrowne61 said:
Maybe a little soon but who knows, we may be top4 by round 10 ( call me optimistic) and he will be a hero !
If not, a change of coach at that stage will upset the season, but can’t see him being carried to year end. I guess Hodgo or Bomber would take over and Toddy would just have to wait a bit longer. 🤣
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Believe me. If we’ve only won 3 games after 10 rounds, supporters will forget all about who he was able to draw to the club, and his family spiel. They’ll want his head.
 
WestsEffTheRest said:
I've seen a lot of stick on social media & this forum for Benji's whole family message & felt like I needed to explain why I think it's actually a good thing he's preaching this message. I've said it on here a few times now but I am a youth worker who works with troubled kids & I often work in Juvenile Detention Centres. Over the last 10-15 years there has been a growing amount of Polynesian kids who are dropping out of School, participating in Crime, getting involved in these postcode wars etc. And the one thing a lot of these kids say is when they get involved in these groups it gives them a sense of belonging, "they're like my family" etc etc.

Now one thing I noticed straight away in Terrell Mays latest podcast is Benji said forget about the footy stuff I wanna know how you & your family are doing. Now people will straight away say that Benji isn't serious as a coach & whatever but to me it showed amidst all the speculation about his family & all the false accusations as to why Easts got rid of him, Benji cared more about him as a person than as a football player & May says that's why he came to us. With the growing amount of Polynesian players in the game, the focus on the South West area (which has a strong Polynesian presence) Benji is trying to make the Wests Tigers be perceived as a club where no matter what happens we are a family & a family that will always accept each other & make each other feel like they belong.
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Was also interesting that he mentioned that a lot of criticism of him also came from the Polynesian Community, possibly ex friends that took that "other path" and may actually have been happy to see him fail in the path that he has taken.

Don't know if that is correct as I am only speculating, but on the surface it seems to me that he could be the calming influence and provide the direction that his younger brother could very well benefit from.
 
@tigermate I’m putting this post here because I don’t want to turn the Galvin thread into a Benji discussion. I recently finished listening to Ivan Clearys audiobook (I know I know what was I thinking) anyway it was interesting hearing him say that to Polynesian players football doesn’t come first it’s Religion, Family & then Football. He said it was a shock to him at first & he learned a lot more about this when he played/coached the Warriors & it’s been a big part of his tenure at the Panthers too. I’m pretty sure more than half of our playing squad is Polynesian & Terrell May said Benjis whole family mantra was a big reason why he signed for WT’s.
 

Benji I love you brother! I loved how he brushed off winning 3 in a row with wanting to compete every game we are feared now with May, Royce, Pole and the Fainu's, and we have a winning mentality due to Luai's influence on the club. We also have more strike in the backs we are 1-2 years off being like dogs imo.
 
upthetigers said:

Benji I love you brother! I loved how he brushed off winning 3 in a row with wanting to compete every game we are feared now with May, Royce, Pole and the Fainu's, and we have a winning mentality due to Luai's influence on the club. We also have more strike in the backs we are 1-2 years off being like dogs imo.
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I want to play for benji
 
The side is progressing well. Think Benji's man management has been excellent as he has them scrambling well and enjoying their footy. Even the Galvin thing has been handled well by Benji imo. He is getting the best out of the likes of To'a, Skelton, Bula, May, Seyfarth.

There is still a lot to be desired on both sides of the ball though. The attack looks so clunky, we get rolled down field often and can be poor in contact with missed tackles and linebreaks galore.

Overall when you balance results and performances, hes at a 6-7/10 for the season.
 
An interesting stat , we seem to all feel like we have been better defensively in 2025 BUT in actual fact..
This year after 10 rounds is actualy our worst defensive record since 2020 .
 
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