FUTURE’S BRIGHT AT THE TIGERS DESPITE CURRENT WOES

Vicious said:
I would have said as recently as the end of last season they were up poop creek without a paddle.
Due to a clean out and smart recruitment, 12 months later they look certain to make the top 8 and some of the media talking them up as an outside chance for the 2024 title.
Yes the Bulldogs are getting a lot of mentions in this thread, the simple reason is they were no better off than us at the end of 2023.
They have turned it around very quickly, proving it doesn’t have to take long if done right.
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It was only early this season that most on here had written them off for having no front row and small forwards.
 
AmericanHistoryX said:
Forced Benjis hand? Really? Who.takes responsibility then? The people 8n the front office throwing the passes?
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I agree. He is the head coach and has been here for two years. He should have backup plans for his backup plans concerning injury and suspension unavailabilties.
 
king_sirro said:
I agree. But your saying that your angry people are saying the young ones can't do wrong. It's not that, its just that most are more forgiving of a youngster making a mistake because it's somewhat expected, than they are of the experienced guys.

I think there is a sneaky hope that the pain we are enduring this year with too many youngsters thrown in too early will reap rewards next year. I know that's what I'm hoping. I'm not expecting it, just hoping.
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Dumb argument. It's a bit more complicated than old guys and young guys. Api is an old guy, he goes alright. Bula is a young guy he goes alright. Douehei is an older guy, not that great. Laulilli is a young guy, shouldn't even be there. Sezer is an old guy, 50/50, same as young Tuopou. Reuben Porter, old rookie, goes okay. etc. etc.
 
Tucker said:
As you singled out Papali'i last weekend, lets see what his returns were apart from that error: In 54 minutes he ran for 106m - the second best of the whole pack, with the guy who beat him playing a full 80 minute game. He made a game high 38 tackles and did so at over 90% efficiency. I think that is having a go.
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And who is going to top that next year , some dud from the NSW cup team , god help us
 
Tucker said:
My point is, of course they are making mistakes - they arent ready for first grade.
I mean seriously, did Luke Laulilii deserve to make his debut this year? Had he really been demanding selection through incredible football in the lower grades? A few days back someone told me Benji is a great coach for having the balls to play Galvin at 5/8 straight out of school. Really? Thats what we are passing for great coaching here now?

We have to think this way because the club has given us no other option. I would much prefer Stef, Papa and Bateman to buy in on what our plan is and fully committ to laying platforms for Luai and Bula and co to rip teams apart next year.
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Who did demand selection from the lower grades through incredible football?

Is it a case of not deserving a go or using the situation to fast track development given we didn't have anyone putting their hand up?
 
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Kelce68 said:
I think the real reason Papali'i, in particular, was released early, was that Richo had overestimated our capacity to be active in the player market and thought that his funds would bolster an already healthy cap position into next year and the money would nab someone else of quality by default in an attempt to balance the roster.

That may still happen and he may conjure up a quality signing or two, but if you're a betting man, it's not the smart money right now.

In hindsight, Papali'i in particular, is one we probably should've kept.

.... Especially with the Bateman fallout. And I'm an open fan of the way John plays football.

The others on the 'outer', almost to a man, I'm fine with.
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Who would you suggest to release to free up 750K, also factoring they need to be off contract or agree to leave??
 
tigerballs said:
Dumb argument. It's a bit more complicated than old guys and young guys. Api is an old guy, he goes alright. Bula is a young guy he goes alright. Douehei is an older guy, not that great. Laulilli is a young guy, shouldn't even be there. Sezer is an old guy, 50/50, same as young Tuopou. Reuben Porter, old rookie, goes okay. etc. etc.
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I actually have no idea what your trying to say. What's a dumb argument?
 
weststigers said:
Who did demand selection from the lower grades through incredible football?

Is it a case of not deserving a go or using the situation to fast track development given we didn't have anyone putting their hand up?
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thats what sux,fk dont get me started on how they shuffle the kids about,we b on the way up
 
Tucker said:
This narrative started on here lately that the kids do no wrong and the experienced guys are the reason we are last again, gives me the shits.
It is incorrect. The kids F*ck up a lot. They are all to blame.
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Galvin and Bula have both had rough parts of the year making dumb plays. But it's through pure effort. When the older guys stuff up everything (here's the key part) they don't try hard! Can't expect the young guys to drag us out of the mud without having errors when the older guys make errors and barely try. No one is giving the youngsters a free pass (maybe Benji), but they're the only ones having a genuine crack. Plus, the old guys are playing like they are going on holidays after every game while the young fellas are experimenting new plays and combining with each other. No leadership from the senior guys, so the young guys are overcompensating when they should be brought into an environment slowly and carefully
 
WestsTigers4VR said:
The narrative isn’t wrong though. Is it the reason we are last? Most definitely not, but we wouldn’t be if the experienced guys were doing their job.

By experienced players I’m simply going by games played rather than age; simply due to the fact that older doesn't always equal more games.

Week in and out our juniors have been outperforming the “senior playing group.” But the problem also is we don’t have a lot of senior players. But for interests let’s go through a few players: Bateman being a captain has a duty to lead by voice and example and his final game was anything but that, Samuela has outperformed him in every facet. Next is Fonua Pole who again is outperforming most by sheer effort and will.

Our problem isn’t on all of our senior players but there is responsibilities that you must take with that title. Aidan being suspended for a better part of the year is just unacceptable and Olam being sent off again is just not good enough. What this team lacks is direction because most of it is coming Api. A hookers job is simply the delivery of the set not the direction. The halves dictate where the ball goes and the hooker delivers it. When Jarome comes next year he will not settle for anything less then winning and if players aren’t performing you best believe he’s gonna call them out on it.

For your sentiment on the juniors messing up, personally I’d rather them make mistakes trying than not. When we are on, we are on and it’s extremely hard to stop but that comes from Bula, Galvin, Da Silva, Api, Fainu. Last week all Papalii had to do was hold the ball but he lost us the momentum. The errors the young ones make are from trying which is all you can ask. As they get more experience more often than not they can nail those plays and gain consistency. It is still early days.

I agree though, they are all to blame. No one in this team is faultless, not even Api.
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This right here is the perfect explanation for the kids v seniors debate.
 
rugbygoated said:
Galvin and Bula have both had rough parts of the year making dumb plays. But it's through pure effort. When the older guys stuff up everything (here's the key part) they don't try hard! Can't expect the young guys to drag us out of the mud without having errors when the older guys make errors and barely try. No one is giving the youngsters a free pass (maybe Benji), but they're the only ones having a genuine crack. Plus, the old guys are playing like they are going on holidays after every game while the young fellas are experimenting new plays and combining with each other. No leadership from the senior guys, so the young guys are overcompensating when they should be brought into an environment slowly and carefully
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I think each player needs to be judged on their merits. Lumping Bateman in with guys like Naden & Seyfarth who cost us games through stupidity helps nobody. Some of the senior players have been ordinary, while others have mostly had a crack.
 
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