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Farah rues Tigers soap opera
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Robbie Farah discusses Wests Tigers roller-coaster year, questions rumours of Benji Marshall rift
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By Brent Read
The Australian
July 23, 2011 10:23AM
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Farah, Marshall
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Laughable … Robbie Farah wonders how rumours of a rift with Benji Marshall emerged. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited
>
Of all the rumours and tall tales involving Wests Tigers this season, the one Robbie Farah found most laughable was the suggestion he and teammate Benji Marshall were mortal enemies.
>
The argument goes that the two Tigers talismans are polar opposites, their personalities putting them at odds with each other. Farah has heard it before. It's a rumour that seemingly gets rolled out every time the Tigers find themselves in a rut. So it was no surprise when it was bandied about recently. Farah's reaction?
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"For two people who hate each other so much I don't know how we survived nine years playing every game of football together," Farah said.
>
"That's totally ridiculous. He's my vice-captain, but I see him as my co-captain. On the field if there is a decision to be made, we're the senior players. I go to him for decisions. Everything we do is as a partnership. It's laughable. To think that nine years together, if we weren't talking and hating each other that much I am sure one of us would be out the door by now."
>
This is why Farah described the Tigers as a soap opera. Big players and big personalities inevitably lead to big rumours. This year has been among the worst, thanks to a mid-season slump from which the side is only now recovering.
>
"Some of the stuff they have come up with, I don't know how they come up with it," he said.
>
See how Wests Tigers perform against Sydney Roosters on Fox Sports 2 HD and Fox Sports 2 from 7pm (EST) on Saturday night.
>
"**I don't know where it starts. Anyone can write whatever they want on a forum and now all of a sudden it becomes gospel. They spread it round and they try to unravel the place and bring us down because of it.**
>
"It does bring you down when you're out in public and everyone is asking about it and you read about it every day. It does affect you. You would rather be talking about stuff on the field. Unfortunately, at the Tigers it's something we go through every year."
>
In the depths of the Tigers' form slump, as the club found itself enveloped in rumour and innuendo, it was Farah who fronted the media after each defeat.
>
Importantly though, the whispers which have shadowed the club for the past month appear to have dried up.
>
"It's been tough," said Farah.
>
"Obviously all the speculation, the fact it's in the papers every day, the fact you walk down the street and everyone is asking you about it, the fact you have your mates ringing you up with a new rumour every day.
>
"I don't know what it is about the Tigers, but we're a bit like a soap opera. We seem to go through it every year. Last year after we got beat by Souths by 50 (points) we had the rumours about players fighting, all that sort of crap.
>
"We showed good character last year to come out the other end. I think the weekend was a good step in the right direction to show all those rumours are totally out of proportion. As a playing group we are working really hard. There's still a lot of belief here."
>
As one of the faces of the club, Farah shouldered plenty of responsibility through the tough times. His own season has been blighted by a groin problem that made it painful to get up in the morning, not to mention the agony induced by a cough or sneeze.
>
"It's hard to deal with," he said. "You have to make sure you're doing the right thing by the team and the team is right, too. At times losing games brings me down. You start to let it affect you. You have to snap out of that and realise you can't be like that because of the influence it has on the younger kids.
>
"I am not perfect. No one is perfect. I am still learning as a captain. There are things I am getting better at. I always tell the boys if there is something I am doing wrong, tell me.
>
"Sometimes I might not know I am doing something wrong. If you say it to me I can fix it. If you don't, I can't."
>
Ask Farah how difficult things got, and he pulls no punches.
>
"It's tough man, it's tough," he said. "I always say to my mates and family and girlfriend, footy is a massive roller-coaster ride - you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
>
"Losing and all the things that have happened in the last few weeks, it does weigh you down.
>
"It's just because you can't escape it. If anyone else is going through a bad period at work, you forget about it. You go home. You can escape it.
>
"For us, you walk down the street you hear about it, you open up the paper, you hear about it. It's always in your face. It is hard. It's part of the job. We're expected to win."
>
The Tigers haven't been doing that of late and that's when the problems emerged. The win over the Cowboys last weekend was their first for more than a month. With the quality of the Tigers' playing squad, more is expected.
>
That said, for all their indifferent form, they are in seventh place and retain control of their own destiny. Farah's faith in the side is unequivocal.
>
"I believe in us," he said. "I believe in the players we have got, I believe in the playing group. I know if we're in the semi-finals, no matter where we are, I give us a chance.
>
"With all the things that haven't gone as we would have liked this year, we're still in with a shot. We know we have to keep winning but the semi-finals are a whole new ball game.
>
"It was the same in '05\. We were 12th with about eight or nine games to go. The last three months of the season we played with the same players.
>
"That's what premierships are all about. You need the momentum, you need luck with injuries, you need to be playing good footy at the right time of the year.
>
"If we can keep building up to that, then anything is possible."
>
Robbie Farah discusses Wests Tigers roller-coaster year, questions rumours of Benji Marshall rift
>
By Brent Read
The Australian
July 23, 2011 10:23AM
>
Farah, Marshall
>
Laughable … Robbie Farah wonders how rumours of a rift with Benji Marshall emerged. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited
>
Of all the rumours and tall tales involving Wests Tigers this season, the one Robbie Farah found most laughable was the suggestion he and teammate Benji Marshall were mortal enemies.
>
The argument goes that the two Tigers talismans are polar opposites, their personalities putting them at odds with each other. Farah has heard it before. It's a rumour that seemingly gets rolled out every time the Tigers find themselves in a rut. So it was no surprise when it was bandied about recently. Farah's reaction?
>
"For two people who hate each other so much I don't know how we survived nine years playing every game of football together," Farah said.
>
"That's totally ridiculous. He's my vice-captain, but I see him as my co-captain. On the field if there is a decision to be made, we're the senior players. I go to him for decisions. Everything we do is as a partnership. It's laughable. To think that nine years together, if we weren't talking and hating each other that much I am sure one of us would be out the door by now."
>
This is why Farah described the Tigers as a soap opera. Big players and big personalities inevitably lead to big rumours. This year has been among the worst, thanks to a mid-season slump from which the side is only now recovering.
>
"Some of the stuff they have come up with, I don't know how they come up with it," he said.
>
See how Wests Tigers perform against Sydney Roosters on Fox Sports 2 HD and Fox Sports 2 from 7pm (EST) on Saturday night.
>
"**I don't know where it starts. Anyone can write whatever they want on a forum and now all of a sudden it becomes gospel. They spread it round and they try to unravel the place and bring us down because of it.**
>
"It does bring you down when you're out in public and everyone is asking about it and you read about it every day. It does affect you. You would rather be talking about stuff on the field. Unfortunately, at the Tigers it's something we go through every year."
>
In the depths of the Tigers' form slump, as the club found itself enveloped in rumour and innuendo, it was Farah who fronted the media after each defeat.
>
Importantly though, the whispers which have shadowed the club for the past month appear to have dried up.
>
"It's been tough," said Farah.
>
"Obviously all the speculation, the fact it's in the papers every day, the fact you walk down the street and everyone is asking you about it, the fact you have your mates ringing you up with a new rumour every day.
>
"I don't know what it is about the Tigers, but we're a bit like a soap opera. We seem to go through it every year. Last year after we got beat by Souths by 50 (points) we had the rumours about players fighting, all that sort of crap.
>
"We showed good character last year to come out the other end. I think the weekend was a good step in the right direction to show all those rumours are totally out of proportion. As a playing group we are working really hard. There's still a lot of belief here."
>
As one of the faces of the club, Farah shouldered plenty of responsibility through the tough times. His own season has been blighted by a groin problem that made it painful to get up in the morning, not to mention the agony induced by a cough or sneeze.
>
"It's hard to deal with," he said. "You have to make sure you're doing the right thing by the team and the team is right, too. At times losing games brings me down. You start to let it affect you. You have to snap out of that and realise you can't be like that because of the influence it has on the younger kids.
>
"I am not perfect. No one is perfect. I am still learning as a captain. There are things I am getting better at. I always tell the boys if there is something I am doing wrong, tell me.
>
"Sometimes I might not know I am doing something wrong. If you say it to me I can fix it. If you don't, I can't."
>
Ask Farah how difficult things got, and he pulls no punches.
>
"It's tough man, it's tough," he said. "I always say to my mates and family and girlfriend, footy is a massive roller-coaster ride - you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
>
"Losing and all the things that have happened in the last few weeks, it does weigh you down.
>
"It's just because you can't escape it. If anyone else is going through a bad period at work, you forget about it. You go home. You can escape it.
>
"For us, you walk down the street you hear about it, you open up the paper, you hear about it. It's always in your face. It is hard. It's part of the job. We're expected to win."
>
The Tigers haven't been doing that of late and that's when the problems emerged. The win over the Cowboys last weekend was their first for more than a month. With the quality of the Tigers' playing squad, more is expected.
>
That said, for all their indifferent form, they are in seventh place and retain control of their own destiny. Farah's faith in the side is unequivocal.
>
"I believe in us," he said. "I believe in the players we have got, I believe in the playing group. I know if we're in the semi-finals, no matter where we are, I give us a chance.
>
"With all the things that haven't gone as we would have liked this year, we're still in with a shot. We know we have to keep winning but the semi-finals are a whole new ball game.
>
"It was the same in '05\. We were 12th with about eight or nine games to go. The last three months of the season we played with the same players.
>
"That's what premierships are all about. You need the momentum, you need luck with injuries, you need to be playing good footy at the right time of the year.
>
"If we can keep building up to that, then anything is possible."
