2025 finishing 13th on the ladder. Pass or Fail fro season 2025?
- Thread starter jstigers
- Start date
That’s fair.
It’s on the right trajectory at least.
In 23 we were in a game until the 20th minute then the turn of possession started a run that we couldn’t claw back.
In 24 we would show promising signs for a half in a match and be blown away in the second.
In 25 we have shown we can compete with other teams but we still don’t have the game control methods and mental resilience to win a match and those 15 to 20mins a match is where it turned.
Next year hopefully we match other sides and stay in the contest for the duration hopefully a 2009 style season is on the cards, still one of our most important seasons in my opinion as it set us up for the next couple of years.
rozelle_rudy
Well-known member
My reflections on Wests Tigers season:
*Definite improvement.
*Benji coaching, pass mark.
Highlights:
*wins over 3 top 8 sides Roosters, Bulldogs, Sharks
*Emergence of May brothers, Fainu brothers, Makasini.
*Doueihi's late season run at halfback
*some talented juniors on the horizon
*Lowlights:
* losses to bottom teams Titans and Knights (but we also beat them)
*Thrashing by Storm
*Choking against Cowboys and Titans
*The Galvin saga.
We still don't look like a 2026 finals team unless we get a couple more middle forwards and more depth.
Also need to unleash Luai and play 80 minutes.
*Definite improvement.
*Benji coaching, pass mark.
Highlights:
*wins over 3 top 8 sides Roosters, Bulldogs, Sharks
*Emergence of May brothers, Fainu brothers, Makasini.
*Doueihi's late season run at halfback
*some talented juniors on the horizon
*Lowlights:
* losses to bottom teams Titans and Knights (but we also beat them)
*Thrashing by Storm
*Choking against Cowboys and Titans
*The Galvin saga.
We still don't look like a 2026 finals team unless we get a couple more middle forwards and more depth.
Also need to unleash Luai and play 80 minutes.
Bubba
Active member
My honest assessment.
We improved, no doubt.
We have some exciting kids coming through.
We have made some good signings.
We have retained some quality players.
But.
We have not had an organising and dominant halfback since Scott Prince.
Until this is addressed, we will continue to throw away games like we did against the Cowboys, Titans, Knights and Warriors.
Signing Luai and thinking he was going to be our Cleary/Reynolds was never going to happen.
Our best players were:
Bula
Turuva
Samuela
Api
Terrell.
Next year,
Taylan will be fitter and stronger.
KPP will add a lot on the right edge.
Makasini will be boom boom!!
Jock Madden is a mystery.
We have hope ad we will improve further.
Could we see this next year?
Bula
Turuva
Taylan
To'a
Skelton
Luai
Madden
Terrell
Api
Fonua
KPP
Samuela
Doueihi
Latu
Twal
Sione
Hunt/Geyer
We improved, no doubt.
We have some exciting kids coming through.
We have made some good signings.
We have retained some quality players.
But.
We have not had an organising and dominant halfback since Scott Prince.
Until this is addressed, we will continue to throw away games like we did against the Cowboys, Titans, Knights and Warriors.
Signing Luai and thinking he was going to be our Cleary/Reynolds was never going to happen.
Our best players were:
Bula
Turuva
Samuela
Api
Terrell.
Next year,
Taylan will be fitter and stronger.
KPP will add a lot on the right edge.
Makasini will be boom boom!!
Jock Madden is a mystery.
We have hope ad we will improve further.
Could we see this next year?
Bula
Turuva
Taylan
To'a
Skelton
Luai
Madden
Terrell
Api
Fonua
KPP
Samuela
Doueihi
Latu
Twal
Sione
Hunt/Geyer
The_Patriot
Well-known member
Letting in tries 5 minutes before the half.
Being in games and giving up half way through a second half.
No defensive resolve.
Clunky redzone attack.
Depth position in squad not being up to the standard needed.
Team selection issues/ bench use issues.
It's a fail from me.
Other teams outside the 8 have shown more.
Need to recruit middles. Two or three of them ASAP as it all stems from there
Being in games and giving up half way through a second half.
No defensive resolve.
Clunky redzone attack.
Depth position in squad not being up to the standard needed.
Team selection issues/ bench use issues.
It's a fail from me.
Other teams outside the 8 have shown more.
Need to recruit middles. Two or three of them ASAP as it all stems from there
Enmore_Tiger
Well-known member
From the Dan Walsh article in the SMH today:
"NRL bench selections and team composition for finals take on Origin-level importance given the increased ball-in-play, fatigue and quality of opposition.
Shuffling a back-rower or dismantling a playmaking spine to cover – as Canterbury did to cover Bronson Xerri’s concussion against Cronulla – is less likely to fly because finals-standard teams are better at exploiting any man-on-man match-up.
In the past seven Origin series, 14 outside backs or halves have gone down injured or been taken off for HIAs.
Carrying an outside back or a utility on the bench that can genuinely defend out wide has emerged as a key consideration come Origin time – and now NRL finals, too."
What does this tell us about our squad composition for the Cowboys and Titans losses dealing with the back half of the game and what recruiting needs to be done?
"NRL bench selections and team composition for finals take on Origin-level importance given the increased ball-in-play, fatigue and quality of opposition.
Shuffling a back-rower or dismantling a playmaking spine to cover – as Canterbury did to cover Bronson Xerri’s concussion against Cronulla – is less likely to fly because finals-standard teams are better at exploiting any man-on-man match-up.
In the past seven Origin series, 14 outside backs or halves have gone down injured or been taken off for HIAs.
Carrying an outside back or a utility on the bench that can genuinely defend out wide has emerged as a key consideration come Origin time – and now NRL finals, too."
What does this tell us about our squad composition for the Cowboys and Titans losses dealing with the back half of the game and what recruiting needs to be done?
jirskyr
Well-known member
Those numbers are misleading though. Not to say it wasn't a better year for Tigers injuries, but how do you count "missed games"? It assumes the player would have played if not injured, which is not always true. It also doesn't count matches where players played injured, perhaps where the club didn't have a better alternative.
It also over-represents long-term injury, so if you do your ACL in the pre-season you count as 24 missed matches, no consideration taken of your all-season form. A season-ending ACL is obviously worse for your starting halfback than for one of your backup backrowers.
jirskyr
Well-known member
I agree - definitely not a pass but also not a clear fail.
I think we need to take into account the fact we got the spoon 3 years in a row, not just 1 bad run, but 3 times straight.
9 wins is also the most we've managed since 2019 (2020 being a reduced season). In fact, unfortunately, we've only done better than 9 wins 5 times since 2011.
So by competition-wide standards it's a failed season, same with everyone outside the 8 and including the teams that get knocked out of the finals quickly.
By Tigers standards, actually an improvement, but only comparing against a horrible record.
If we'd got the spoon again, despite all the changes and recruitment, I don't know what I would have done. Suppose lost most of my hope. There remains some hope for 2026, if we can put aside the disappointing end to 2025 and that 6-game losing streak mid-year where we copped a few injuries and lost our way.
Lastly - I don't anticipate any star up-and-coming players will weasel their way out of their contract mid-season 2026, but you never know.
Fail, the two losses against Cowboys and Titans was evidence of that.
No doubt there has been improvement, but when you consider the money spent in the off season and the injury toll, a little disappointing.
There was a definite improvement in there attitude and resolve which we can hopefully build on, for a better 2026.
No doubt there has been improvement, but when you consider the money spent in the off season and the injury toll, a little disappointing.
There was a definite improvement in there attitude and resolve which we can hopefully build on, for a better 2026.
