Confirmed: Matterson released from Wests Tigers.

[gallagher]

Couldn’t agree more. Just because he has a profile (albeit, a damaged one with his departure from politics) doesn’t make O’Farrell a good leader. On the other hand, Marina Go has a history of building successful entities through developing the leadership capacities of herself and others.

Say what you will about Marina, but O'Farrell was a State Premier. I don't understand how anyone can just swipe this to the side. Marina's projects are chicken feed compared to O'Farrell having to run for and maintain office (20 consecutive years), climb the party ranks to leader (leader for 7 years), then win elections (largest swing against an incumbent government since WWII) and manage State budgets. He wasn't even defeated at an election, he was done on a bottle of wine.

People think that pollies must be idiots and just swing into office based on a smile and kissing babies. They may not be your "type" of person, but the long-serving ones are smart operators, not just connected, but knowing how to navigate the world of fragile egos and agenda, which is the NRL +++.

I'm not even saying this as a Barry O'Farrell fan - I'm a Labor voter typically and I don't care if the bloke is chairman or not. Just people who dismiss State Premiers like they know nothing, same thing happens with Peter Beattie.

O'Farrell is President of Diabetes Australia and also CEO of Racing Australia. If he was a complete moron he wouldn't have these posts and we would not have hired him.

I don't care what O'Farrell has done as a politician - I don't think he is stupid - I care about what he has done for the Wests Tigers as a Chairman of the Board.

As far as I can see - to this point, he has done nothing except stand around for a few ceremonies.

He maybe a lot cleverer than Marina Go, be a leader of a party, win elections etc. etc.

However he has done nothing - Marina is so far in front of him as a WT Chairperson he wouldn't hit her with a cannon. FACT.

Not looking for an argument and don't really know who has performed better, but what did Go actually achieve?

 

[Geo]

As Paul Kent stated on 360 the other night...one of Maguire's strengthens is he knows what a player is worth and wont be drawn into paying overs for players unlike previous coaches we have had..

If a player wants 500K say and Maguire thinks he's worth 400k the meet in the middle..if he's asking 600K forget it see ya..next..

Yes we need results on the field and arm hamstrung by previous cap decisions in terms of recruitment ...I think with Maguire in charge we will be able to plan for the now and the future...

Matterson will get upgraded when our cap is better managed..IMO..

 

[weststigerman]

@Geo I remember Paul Kent saying the exact same thing about Ivan Cleary on the same show when he was joining us around his ability to know the right price for players.

I hope he's more informed on Madge.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

@Geo I remember Paul Kent saying the exact same thing about Ivan Cleary on the same show when he was joining us around his ability to know the right price for players.

I hope he's more informed on Madge.

Yeah, but he also made every player captain like it was under 7's.

 

[underdog]

No making you lot happy.

We sign a guy on overs and you complain.

We finally sign a good talent on a perceived good rate..

And you still complain.

I work in the land of contracts bargaining and negotiating all the time. And a part of me wants to say tough luck Ryan, you were stupid enough to sign that deal stick to it.

 

[Geo]

Wests Tigers the doormat of the NRL
BRENT READ
Follow @brentread_7

55 MINUTES AGO SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

In the days leading up the Wests Tigers’ premiership win in 2005, former chief executive Steve Noyce — high on emotion and ambition — banged his chest and talked about the club wanting to become the Manchester United of the NRL.

All these years later, they are more akin to Accrington Stanley. The 2005 title was meant to be a turning point in the joint venture’s history.

Instead, it has become a distant sepia-toned memory that Tigers fans and officials cling to as they reminisce about the good old days and claim they can still be a force.


Truth is, the Tigers have been a light touch ever since, a doormat for rival clubs, players and their agents.

Michael Maguire said it best after his side’s inglorious exit from the finals race before a packed house at Leichhardt Oval last weekend.

For too long, near enough has been good enough for the Tigers. They talk a good game but play a soft one.

The club has been played off a break for more than a decade and they now reach a fork in the road as they contemplate the loss of backrower Ryan Matterson, arguably their best player this season.

Matterson is apparently upset with Maguire — there has been talk of a testy conversation a few weeks ago — yet the coach has spoken to the player and insists there are no issues.

Believe what you will. Some would suggest the problems have more to do with the club’s salary cap and the legacy of a past that has clouded their future, leaving them in a position where they must move players if they are to accommodate the likes of Benji Marshall and Chris Lawrence next season.


The Tigers have made a series of poor decisions with their cap, but Matterson has been one they got right. Too right it seems.

On his form this year, when he went close to cracking the NSW side, he is worth more than the Tigers are paying him.

He has two years remaining on a deal that now appears a bargain for the Tigers. As is so often the case in these situations, the player — or at least someone close to him — now appears to be agitating for change.

Maguire has extracted the best from Matterson and personally lobbied NSW coach Brad Fittler to have him as part of the Blues set-up.

His reward for going into bat for his player? Rumours that Matterson is exploring his options. Thanks for nothing.

The time has come for the Tigers to make a stand. They need to decide what sort of club they want to be.

They have made a series of poor decisions in recent years. They parted with their future when they lost Aaron Woods, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses.

They followed that up with a series of shocking calls as they attempted to rebuild. It could be years before they recover from the mess they have made for themselves by handing inflated contracts to players when the club was in a state of mild panic.

Many of those responsible are now gone but those who remain are duty-bound to help the club find a way out of the malaise they are in.

The NRL is currently reviewing the game’s footprint as they determine what sort of shape they want the competition to take in years to come.

Fingers have been pointed at Manly and Cronulla. So too the Gold Coast. Yet the game’s greatest underachievers for the past decade have been the Tigers.

Since they last played finals footy in 2011, even the Titans have finished in the top eight. The Tigers have been an afterthought. Days like last Sunday, when the hill at Leichhardt Oval was packed and optimism filled the air, have been few and far between.

Year after year we hear about a sleeping giant with a huge supporter base. Year after year their soft underbelly is exposed.

Maguire has set about changing that and he has been met with resistance. He wants the Tigers to challenge for premierships and makes no apologies for attempting to alter a mindset of mediocrity that has infiltrated the club.

He has pushed the players and there are rumblings that some are restless. Maguire is a winner. A demanding one at that. The Tigers and their players need to buy what he is selling, Matterson among them.

If Matterson truly wants out, the Tigers need to play hardball. If they can get a player of similar ilk at Matterson’s price, give it some thought.

Otherwise, stand their ground and tell him if he isn’t playing with them, he isn’t playing at all. Tell him he will get an upgrade when the club can afford it and if he still isn’t happy, sit him out for 12 months.

The Tigers need to find their identity again. The days of being a doormat are over.

 

[2005magic]

Wests Tigers the doormat of the NRL
BRENT READ
Follow @brentread_7

55 MINUTES AGO SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

In the days leading up the Wests Tigers’ premiership win in 2005, former chief executive Steve Noyce — high on emotion and ambition — banged his chest and talked about the club wanting to become the Manchester United of the NRL.

All these years later, they are more akin to Accrington Stanley. The 2005 title was meant to be a turning point in the joint venture’s history.

Instead, it has become a distant sepia-toned memory that Tigers fans and officials cling to as they reminisce about the good old days and claim they can still be a force.


Truth is, the Tigers have been a light touch ever since, a doormat for rival clubs, players and their agents.

Michael Maguire said it best after his side’s inglorious exit from the finals race before a packed house at Leichhardt Oval last weekend.

For too long, near enough has been good enough for the Tigers. They talk a good game but play a soft one.

The club has been played off a break for more than a decade and they now reach a fork in the road as they contemplate the loss of backrower Ryan Matterson, arguably their best player this season.

Matterson is apparently upset with Maguire — there has been talk of a testy conversation a few weeks ago — yet the coach has spoken to the player and insists there are no issues.

Believe what you will. Some would suggest the problems have more to do with the club’s salary cap and the legacy of a past that has clouded their future, leaving them in a position where they must move players if they are to accommodate the likes of Benji Marshall and Chris Lawrence next season.


The Tigers have made a series of poor decisions with their cap, but Matterson has been one they got right. Too right it seems.

On his form this year, when he went close to cracking the NSW side, he is worth more than the Tigers are paying him.

He has two years remaining on a deal that now appears a bargain for the Tigers. As is so often the case in these situations, the player — or at least someone close to him — now appears to be agitating for change.

Maguire has extracted the best from Matterson and personally lobbied NSW coach Brad Fittler to have him as part of the Blues set-up.

His reward for going into bat for his player? Rumours that Matterson is exploring his options. Thanks for nothing.

The time has come for the Tigers to make a stand. They need to decide what sort of club they want to be.

They have made a series of poor decisions in recent years. They parted with their future when they lost Aaron Woods, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses.

They followed that up with a series of shocking calls as they attempted to rebuild. It could be years before they recover from the mess they have made for themselves by handing inflated contracts to players when the club was in a state of mild panic.

Many of those responsible are now gone but those who remain are duty-bound to help the club find a way out of the malaise they are in.

The NRL is currently reviewing the game’s footprint as they determine what sort of shape they want the competition to take in years to come.

Fingers have been pointed at Manly and Cronulla. So too the Gold Coast. Yet the game’s greatest underachievers for the past decade have been the Tigers.

Since they last played finals footy in 2011, even the Titans have finished in the top eight. The Tigers have been an afterthought. Days like last Sunday, when the hill at Leichhardt Oval was packed and optimism filled the air, have been few and far between.

Year after year we hear about a sleeping giant with a huge supporter base. Year after year their soft underbelly is exposed.

Maguire has set about changing that and he has been met with resistance. He wants the Tigers to challenge for premierships and makes no apologies for attempting to alter a mindset of mediocrity that has infiltrated the club.

He has pushed the players and there are rumblings that some are restless. Maguire is a winner. A demanding one at that. The Tigers and their players need to buy what he is selling, Matterson among them.

If Matterson truly wants out, the Tigers need to play hardball. If they can get a player of similar ilk at Matterson’s price, give it some thought.

Otherwise, stand their ground and tell him if he isn’t playing with them, he isn’t playing at all. Tell him he will get an upgrade when the club can afford it and if he still isn’t happy, sit him out for 12 months.

The Tigers need to find their identity again. The days of being a doormat are over.

Well said. What's not said is the corrosive effect of high priced Packer sitting it out and Mbye and Reynolds whopping salary packets have on the others. Geez, we're in a mess yet again with the cap, over priced and under performing players.

 

[Joel Helmes]

Fantastic article by Brent Read, we should all email that to the club and demand change.

 

[Newtown]

@helmesy Who do we write to ? Pascoe the man supposedly in charge appears to have gone into some form of hiding. He doesn't even answer emails from the dyed in the wool fans.

 

[WT2K]

@Geo Good article by Read. Id say a Majority of the fans are sick and tired of being a doormat club as he puts it. Some hard truths that needed to be said. Question is, are those running the club happy to continue on the current path of being the doormat or is change actually going to happen?

 

[momo_amp_medo]

Read is always a good read. Like his stuff and always gives us a fair go, unlike some other newspaper hacks in this town.
Our time will come.

 

[jirskyr]

Not looking for an argument and don’t really know who has performed better, but what did Go actually achieve?

That's my point, I don't think anyone can say for sure what one Chairperson "achieved" and the other did not. Esp O'Farrell who has been on the bus about 4 stops.

 

[jirskyr]

Fantastic article by Brent Read, we should all email that to the club and demand change.

I think you misunderstand the article, I think Brent Read is making a pro-Madge argument that the change is already here and Ryan Matto is the first big test of adherence to a new regime.

 

[Furious1]

Yeah good article.

At the risk of stirring up home ground stuff again, i think half the problem with this club is we just don't have an identity. What do we stand for? What does it mean to play for Wests Tigers? Where is our home? What makes us stand out from the rest as an attractive option to play footy?

When i ask those questions, i don't like the answers to many of them. All of our issues have been created from the front office, every single one of them. Until some of the hard decisions are made especially about home grounds i just don't see it changing. Madge will do his best, anyone can see the man has principles and backbone. Doesn't look for the easy way out, but i'm not sure the right people are in charge to lead this club out of our never ending torment.

 

[jirskyr]

No no no no no.

It does work like that. He was paid to come over and play first-grade football every week. There are no other guarantees and that is his job description.

You don't get to sign a football contract and then start demanding certain outcomes - "oh I only play in the middle behind Kiwi forwards" or "if I do more than 600 tackles this year I expect overtime pay".

You come, you perform and then maybe the club offers you more money as they realise your value. If you undervalue yourself and sign up, bad luck, and give your manager an uppercut whilst you are at it.

Or, if he wants guarantees, so be it, lets draw up a new contract where he only gets paid for wins. Or only gets paid if he makes over 150 m in a match. Then he can have matching guarantees about what type of role he'll have at the club, unchanged despite injuries or changes of fortune/form.

You see any players signing contracts like that?


Mate, Lattrell Mitchell wants an upgrade. Ponga does also. So does every rep level player on a poor deal.

The Storm upgrade all theirs who make rep teams.

The bottom line is you do it AND extend them.

Matto has two years left at 350.

Give him four at 600 and we both win.

This is what successful clubs do.

Release him and show the rest of the NRL players we won't do it / won't reward a great season = we may as well give up. No one decent will come.

If you want to finish 15th, good luck.

And where does this extra 250K per season come from? What assurances do we have that Matto plays 2019 form for the next 4 seasons?

Russell Packer's form in 2018 was pretty decent, not $600K that he is rumoured to be on, but good first-grade quality. Now he is playing reserves Greg Eastwood style. Everyone is lamenting these 3 and 4-year deals that Cleary did, whilst suggesting Tigers extend contracted blokes for that same duration.

The player wants the long-term pay increase and that is exactly what they are agitating for. But where is the money coming from?

You gave an example with Ryan Paps and this is accurate. He wants more money. He's had a breakout year. He went for relative peanuts and wants more cash. I am sure Storm are trying to keep him and we don't have any evidence whatsoever that Tigers aren't similarly willing to negotiate with Matto. But, also, Paps has been linked with a move to other clubs, precisely because his bargaining power has increased. He wants more money and Storm potentially cannot afford much more, because they have a large amount of money tied up with key players.

Clubs don't need to knee-jerk react to an article in the paper however, we have 6 months offseason and another 2 premiership years to figure the ins and outs of Matto's ongoing deal. He's striking right now at a peak in his own form, and we've seen so many players do deals at their peak, then not achieve that peak again within their comfy new contract. I'm not pointing fingers specifically at Matto, just that it happens a lot in footy.

 

[Spacecub]

Fantastic read...everything he says is absolutely spot on....just is worrying that we seem to be constantly in turmoil, theres always something....I would have expected to hear something from the management, as read said, tigers have to be tough here, we cant be held to ransom by players who dont like the conditions of their employment....I did here from grubs mum today that certain players are filthy about the team still training....I personally cant see what it will achieve, I know Maguire is trying to change the culture here, but maybe he needs to lighten things up a bit

 

[BalmainJnr]

@Geo that’s a fair sledge “Accrington Stanley”. It’s accurate though. He makes several salient points in the article.
At this point anyone resisting change and driving the development of a winning environment and standards really just needs to just bugger off! No matter the position or the freight.
We have had to cop so many empty words and unachieved results for years now and the large majority of the issues we have had are of the clubs own making.
I’m over it as are all of us. Time for the management to put the big boys pants on, get serious, be accountable and get aggressive in achieving success.

 

[jirskyr]

Put yourself in Madge's shoes right now and consider the conversation with Matto. Bit of role-play.

**Matto**: Madge I think I've performed very well this year and I'm on a relatively modest deal, I'd like to talk upgrades. I'm sorry my manager went to the press so quickly, I didn't realise it would come out in a negative light just after the season finished. I'd like to genuinely discuss options with you.

**Madge**: I appreciate that mate and I do wish we could have kept this conversation within the club. Here's the deal - Ivan signed a number of players to long-term deals, but as the new head coach, they aren't in my plans. They are good fellows but this is a business and we have overspent without seeing a return.

Right now, including the penalty we are still carrying for 2020, this organisation is at 95% of our salary cap. You are aware that we have very little money to offer Chris Lawrence and similarly couldn't adequately compete for the mid-season contract of DWZ.

I definitely want to clear some salary cap space. I think it's going to work out for the better, but it takes months to work out how players can be moved on. **You see, we are contractually obliged to pay these underperforming players at the rate we agreed when they signed on. Similarly, you are contractually obliged to play football at the rate you agreed to when you signed on.**

I totally agree with you that I think your performance this season warrants a contract upgrade, but also we will expect an ongoing consistency of your output every season. We see you as a key pillar to our long-term strategy for on and off-field success.

But, fundamentally, I can't commit to giving you more money until I can definitely free up salary cap space.

I appreciate you being forthright with me, so I want to be equally transparent with you: we finished 9th this year. Maybe we can perform better as a team and make the finals, but also we need to seriously consider improving the roster. **If I free up salary cap space and give it straight to you and other upgrades, or roster does not change.** I am sure you can understand, how can I improve the roster when the current players want to eat up any salary cap space that becomes available? Isn't the definition of madness doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

 

[jirskyr]

just is worrying that we seem to be constantly in turmoil, theres always something

Honestly, which teams aren't in continuous turmoil? Are Roosters the only one, travelling ok since the Pearce dog incident? Roosters and Storm, top 2 sides. Maybe Raiders for 2 seasons have been ok.

Every other club lurches back and forward, that's part of the problem with not having on-field success. It's been a two-horse races for quite a few seasons now.

 

[Spacecub]

Put yourself in Madge's shoes right now and consider the conversation with Matto. Bit of role-play.

**Matto**: Madge I think I've performed very well this year and I'm on a relatively modest deal, I'd like to talk upgrades. I'm sorry my manager went to the press so quickly, I didn't realise it would come out in a negative light just after the season finished. I'd like to genuinely discuss options with you.

**Madge**: I appreciate that mate and I do wish we could have kept this conversation within the club. Here's the deal - Ivan signed a number of players to long-term deals, but as the new head coach, they aren't in my plans. They are good fellows but this is a business and we have overspent without seeing a return.

Right now, including the penalty we are still carrying for 2020, this organisation is at 95% of our salary cap. You are aware that we have very little money to offer Chris Lawrence and similarly couldn't adequately compete for the mid-season contract of DWZ.

I definitely want to clear some salary cap space. I think it's going to work out for the better, but it takes months to work out how players can be moved on. You see, we are contractually obliged to pay these underperforming players at the rate we agreed when they signed on. Similarly, you are contractually obliged to play football at the rate you agreed to when you signed on.

I totally agree with you that I think your performance this season warrants a contract upgrade, but also we will expect an ongoing consistency of your output every season. We see you as a key pillar to our long-term strategy for on and off-field success.

But, fundamentally, I can't commit to giving you more money until I can definitely free up salary cap space.

I appreciate you being forthright with me, so I want to be equally transparent with you: we finished 9th this year. Maybe we can perform better as a team and make the finals, but also we need to seriously consider improving the roster. **If I free up salary cap space and give it straight to you and other upgrades, or roster does not change.** I am sure you can understand, how can I improve the roster when the current players want to eat up any salary cap space that becomes available? Isn't the definition of madness doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

One thing you say jirskyr is if this is all about money, and Matto feeling he deserves an upgrade based on what a few lazy bludgers that Ivan lumbered us with are being paid, he has a fair argument....but this should have been kept in house, but the fact everyone in the media are all over this, makes me think theres something more to this