Madge Maguire - Mega Thread

[Telltails]

Fifita had a similar story about Sheens when he left the Tigers re favourites and he wasn't one of them.
I'm sure it happens with many coaches. We all know who Bennett's favourite was - he followed him from club to club.

 

[Geo]

Fifita had a similar story about Sheens when he left the Tigers re favourites and he wasn't one of them.
I'm sure it happens with many coaches. We all know who Bennett's favourite was - he followed him from club to club.

Scott Minto…?

 

[851]

He’s turned me into an 80-minute player. He’s been a big part of not just my fitness but my defence as well

That's funny. He's giving Madge credit for his defence.
With friends like that........

And being an 80 minute player, please

 

[batboy]

Call Matterson what you like but if he wasnt happy then money wasnt going to fix it.For someone to leave for less money then you must not be enjoying your time there.I said to his father Madge took him as a fringe player and made him a fringe State of Origin player.He agreed with me but said his son didnt like him as a coach.I am only telling you all what i was told.You can hate Matterson all you like.

Thanks for sharing mate, Dig a little further next time you're having a beer - Matterson didn't like Brad Arthur the first time he left the Eels either...
Disagreed with how and where they were playing him.
Was also shopping himself around before he took up his option this year, But couldn't find a buyer...
Matterson can hate Maguire all he likes, The fact remains
- He's the only coach that got the best out of him.

He's not even in the 13 at Parra this week... And barely even relevant in any discussion...

 

[851]

At the end of 2019 the story broke about Ryan Matterson wanting out of our club.I rang his father who i know and asked him if it was true and he told me it wasnt.Then over the next few weeks Matterson demanded a release and the Tigers came back with promises of upgrades and even considered offering him the captaincy.He didnt want it because he didnt enjoy his time at the club.When he left we all on the forum ripped into him calling him a dog etc etc.Months later i had a drink with his father Paul and asked him why he wasnt honest with me and secondly why his son walked away from the club.He said 100% it wasnt about money as the Tigers offered him more than the Eels.He also said he misled me as he tried to talk Ryan out of it.Ryan just wanted out because of Madge and also because of Pascoe.He said Madge plays favorites with certain players and the others have to cop it.He told many other things but i wont bore you all with them.With Pascoe when players try to tell him with their grievances he wont do anything about them because he always backed the coach.**The last thing Paul told me as long as Madge stays as coach no decent players will join the Tigers as his reputation is well known throughout the players in the Nrl.I** remember disagreeing with him but over the last weeks i have changed my mind.I have spoken a few times with Paul over the last 2 years and every time he does says "I TOLD YOU SO"

That just confirmed what I was already told before Madge joined us

 

[yeahcaz]

It makes no sense to start again’: Tamou, Leilua back embattled Maguire
By Adrian Proszenko September 7, 2021 — 7.45pm
Wests Tigers captain James Tamou and fellow forward Luciano Leilua have come out strongly in support of Michael Maguire on the same day Maroons coach Paul Green stepped down from his post in a bid to return to the NRL.

The joint-venture outfit is undertaking a review after the side slumped to a 13th-placed finish in a season that ended with a 38-0 defeat to wooden-spooners Canterbury. The pressure is on Maguire after the Tigers missed the finals for the 10th successive year, despite the fact the premiership-winning coach is contracted for the next two seasons.

However, Tamou and Leilua are adamant that the Kiwis mentor retains the support of the players and should still be given the chance to turn around the club’s fortunes.

“As far as Madge goes, you see these things all the time; you read that the coach has lost the playing group. But in our case it definitely hasn’t happened with the players and Madge,” Tamou told the Herald.

“In terms of players not listening to the words that Madge says, that’s far from the truth. When we left Brisbane, everyone gave Madge a handshake and a hug to say that we’ll be in touch whenever you need.

“I understand we’re in a results-driven business and you want results now. But I’ve been in a team where Penrith, in 2019, we came 12th or 13th and lost about seven in a row. Come the 2020 season, Jimmy [James] Maloney left and no one gave us a hope - and then we played in the grand final.

I’ve been a part of that and that’s what I see at the Wests Tigers. You need cohesion for a team to be successful. Everyone wants results now, but it just doesn’t happen like that. You need to be in a system playing with each other for a long period of time to understand how people work.

“I think this year hasn’t been a total write-off. We’ve unearthed some talent and the boys now understand what it means to play first grade week in and week out.

The Tigers are under pressure to make changes after another disastrous season in which they conceded the second most points in a season in the club’s 22-year history. The club has been criticised for not being able to sign established players, but Tamou and Leilua - both internationals - shifted to Concord to be coached by Maguire.

I’m definitely a big fan of Madge,” Leilua said. “When he brought me over here, I was only a 20-minute player. He’s turned me into an 80-minute player. He’s been a big part of not just my fitness but my defence as well.

“I was sort of known as being a bit lazy, but he transformed me into a consistent 80-minute player. The boys in the club love his coaching. He cares for us, he’s done a lot for my family as well. I definitely hope he stays with us, I want to continue playing under him at the Tigers.”

‘They are very similar’: Great mates Arthur and O’Brien clash in finals showdown
Green wants to return to NRL coaching, an ambition at odds with the QRL’s desire for their clipboard holder to be committed to the Maroons full-time. However, the move is not related to the speculation about Maguire’s job; the club is still to decide whether to back or sack him.

“I don’t see the sense of packing Madge on his way, bringing in someone else and us having to start all over again,” Tamou said.

“This year hasn’t been a complete write off, the things we’ve learnt will be taken into next year. I know next year will be a lot better. It makes no sense to start all over again.”

God this article sucks. Tamous made more online comments then he’s had good games played. Very easy for him to say it’s not a write off, he gets paid regardless.

Plus that’s 2 out of our top 30, hardly a good endorsement for Maguire. Besides, these comments will probably fall on deaf ears whenever this review is conducted.

 

[BAGNF05]

He’s turned me into an 80-minute player. He’s been a big part of not just my fitness but my defence as well

That's funny. He's giving Madge credit for his defence.
With friends like that........

And being an 80 minute player, please

I read that as a betoota advocate piece

 

[BAGNF05]

Call Matterson what you like but if he wasnt happy then money wasnt going to fix it.For someone to leave for less money then you must not be enjoying your time there.I said to his father Madge took him as a fringe player and made him a fringe State of Origin player.He agreed with me but said his son didnt like him as a coach.I am only telling you all what i was told.You can hate Matterson all you like.

Thanks for sharing mate, Dig a little further next time you're having a beer - Matterson didn't like Brad Arthur the first time he left the Eels either...
Disagreed with how and where they were playing him.
Was also shopping himself around before he took up his option this year, But couldn't find a buyer...
Matterson can hate Maguire all he likes, The fact remains
- He's the only coach that got the best out of him.

He's not even in the 13 at Parra this week... And barely even relevant in any discussion...

Whack. Do you do reviews for footy clubs by any chance?

 

[KingRobbie]

At the end of 2019 the story broke about Ryan Matterson wanting out of our club.I rang his father who i know and asked him if it was true and he told me it wasnt.Then over the next few weeks Matterson demanded a release and the Tigers came back with promises of upgrades and even considered offering him the captaincy.He didnt want it because he didnt enjoy his time at the club.When he left we all on the forum ripped into him calling him a dog etc etc.Months later i had a drink with his father Paul and asked him why he wasnt honest with me and secondly why his son walked away from the club.He said 100% it wasnt about money as the Tigers offered him more than the Eels.He also said he misled me as he tried to talk Ryan out of it.Ryan just wanted out because of Madge and also because of Pascoe.He said Madge plays favorites with certain players and the others have to cop it.He told many other things but i wont bore you all with them.With Pascoe when players try to tell him with their grievances he wont do anything about them because he always backed the coach.The last thing Paul told me as long as Madge stays as coach no decent players will join the Tigers as his reputation is well known throughout the players in the Nrl.I remember disagreeing with him but over the last weeks i have changed my mind.I have spoken a few times with Paul over the last 2 years and every time he does says "I TOLD YOU SO"

Absolutely right about Madge's reputation with players from other NRL clubs.

They don't want to come here because of him.

 

[Le Tiger]

Call Matterson what you like but if he wasnt happy then money wasnt going to fix it.For someone to leave for less money then you must not be enjoying your time there.I said to his father Madge took him as a fringe player and made him a fringe State of Origin player.He agreed with me but said his son didnt like him as a coach.I am only telling you all what i was told.You can hate Matterson all you like.

Thanks for sharing mate, Dig a little further next time you're having a beer - Matterson didn't like Brad Arthur the first time he left the Eels either...
Disagreed with how and where they were playing him.
Was also shopping himself around before he took up his option this year, But couldn't find a buyer...
Matterson can hate Maguire all he likes, The fact remains
- He's the only coach that got the best out of him.

He's not even in the 13 at Parra this week... And barely even relevant in any discussion...

Looks like he is 18th man for Parra this week ?

 

[Telltails]

Call Matterson what you like but if he wasnt happy then money wasnt going to fix it.For someone to leave for less money then you must not be enjoying your time there.I said to his father Madge took him as a fringe player and made him a fringe State of Origin player.He agreed with me but said his son didnt like him as a coach.I am only telling you all what i was told.You can hate Matterson all you like.

Thanks for sharing mate, Dig a little further next time you're having a beer - Matterson didn't like Brad Arthur the first time he left the Eels either...
Disagreed with how and where they were playing him.
Was also shopping himself around before he took up his option this year, But couldn't find a buyer...
Matterson can hate Maguire all he likes, The fact remains
- He's the only coach that got the best out of him.

He's not even in the 13 at Parra this week... And barely even relevant in any discussion...

Looks like he is 18th man for Parra this week ?

Not one of the favourites. Mark ONeil probably getting a phone call or two.

 

[tony soprano]

At the end of 2019 the story broke about Ryan Matterson wanting out of our club.I rang his father who i know and asked him if it was true and he told me it wasnt.Then over the next few weeks Matterson demanded a release and the Tigers came back with promises of upgrades and even considered offering him the captaincy.He didnt want it because he didnt enjoy his time at the club.When he left we all on the forum ripped into him calling him a dog etc etc.Months later i had a drink with his father Paul and asked him why he wasnt honest with me and secondly why his son walked away from the club.He said 100% it wasnt about money as the Tigers offered him more than the Eels.He also said he misled me as he tried to talk Ryan out of it.Ryan just wanted out because of Madge and also because of Pascoe.He said Madge plays favorites with certain players and the others have to cop it.He told many other things but i wont bore you all with them.With Pascoe when players try to tell him with their grievances he wont do anything about them because he always backed the coach.**The last thing Paul told me as long as Madge stays as coach no decent players will join the Tigers as his reputation is well known throughout the players in the Nrl.I** remember disagreeing with him but over the last weeks i have changed my mind.I have spoken a few times with Paul over the last 2 years and every time he does says "I TOLD YOU SO"

That just confirmed what I was already told before Madge joined us

Aren't we trying to build from within anyway.

Players have always been against wests tigers.

 

[tigertye]

Madge has been fighting an uphill battle that every other coach has failed to fix year on year. I honestly believe that if someone with the mentality of Madge can’t fix us, no one can. He gives every ounce of energy he has to trying to make us better.

I honestly believe he needs some better assistants around him.

I wish the club would invest as much ammo into this area as it possibly can. Sheens will help tremendously, but we need the best defensive coaches, attacking coaches, kicking coaches to get involved and help Madge. That’s the big key in my opinion. I think he takes too much on on his own and needs to share the load more.

We need players who want to win at all costs. Look at Melbourne, look at Penrith. They’re teams that hate losing one game a season. I think by finding the best of the best assistants (whether they’re precious NRL coaches or not) with the same work ethic and vision as Madge is what’s needed to turn our fortunes around.

Maybe the mentality is too much.

It might be for loser players. Is Bellamy too tough for the Storm?

You know Bellamy isn't like that 24/7 right? He develops better relationships with his players.

How do you know he develops better relationships? Bellamy is an intense dude when it comes to switching on, as is Madge. It’s part of the job. Madge is a decent human and cares about his players as well. The difference is Bellamy has players around him who want to be the best and compete every week. We have a bunch of kids who point the finger at each other. Madge is trying to turn these boys into men but half of them seem too stupid to see it and buy in.

Tigers players for far too long have taken the mickey. They’re well-paid players and should be accountable. People need to stop blaming the coach, the coach doesn’t let in 38 points against the wooden spooners. It was abysmal, no effort and pathetic.

Madge isn’t without fault, but he means well and I believe is doing the best he can with a mess that was left to him. He just needs to surround himself with some better coaching support and recruit players who want to win, can follow a game plan and genuinely want to be successful.

I would say the fact that Bellamy has been at the same club for going on 20 years and has never been sacked would be a pretty strong indication that he builds strong relationships, never heard rumours of players saying a bad thing about him, in fact most of them love him and relentlessly take the mickey out of him, doesn't seem like they are walking on egg shells to me.

Madge is about to be sacked at his second club with rumours abounding once again that it is due to a loss of relationship between him and the players. Madge seems to be a bit of a contradiction, all fire and brimstone but rumours abound that he is unable to have difficult conversations one on one.

No one is saying he isn't passionate, that he doesn't care about his players, though he has thrown them under the bus the last few weeks, or that he is a horrible human being. I am willing to say that he is having issues connecting with players and getting the best out of them.

Bellamy has also been surrounded by some freakish and generational players. He’s an outstanding coach, but having some of the players he’s had at his disposal makes building a team and culture much easier. Yet he still gets furious when they drop a ball when they’re up by 50. He expects perfection and the players respect that because they know it gets results.

The players in our team don’t seem to have the smarts to understand what’s good for them and that Madge just wants to see them succeed. He can’t make their tackles for them out there. If we sack Madge it’s accepting that the players run the show and we’ll be stuck in this revolving circle of churning coaches forever.

I’m sure that Madge has built positive relationships with his players. That’s an even harder thing to do when some of these guys just don’t put it, especially the higher paid players. It must be bloody tough to maintain perfect relationships with people who aren’t performing week to week. One week they have a good game, the next they flop and he’s stuck with a decision to drop them and damage that relationship or play them and potentially accept more poor results. How could ANY COACH get the best out of players like that?

The poor bloke must be banging his head against a wall for answers and knows that the Tigers aren’t a destination club for players wanting a premiership in the near future. I feel sorry for the bloke. All he can do is try to plug holes and improve the club from the ground up and purchasing players who he think have a point to prove or have displayed good leadership in winning teams. Problem is most of these leadership players are past their best.

Madge does some outstanding work in regards to pathways and understands the need to build from the bottom up. I like to look at what he’s done with a lot of our young players. Many are building confidence week to week in an ordinary side and have been the shining light this year. It’s the overpaid and experienced players who’ve been letting the team down consistently.

Personally, I think the club needs to forget about sacking Madge, but bring in a mix of renowned and experienced coaches and man managers. Try to balance the roster a bit better with experience, leadership and above-all a willingness to win.

Brooks isn’t a game zmanager and never will be; that’s a huge part of the problem. He needs to move to 5/8, try him at hooker or send him packing. He simply doesn’t have the personality or voice to make it as a dominant halfback. Hopefully Hastings is the game manager willing to bark orders we’ve been screaming for since Prince. That will go a long way to getting some consistency in our game plans.

 

[jirskyr]

Mess left for him? He’s signed 28/30 players in our current squad. When will people wake up??


I don't disagree with your general comments about the outcomes with Madge - he has failed with the roster he has.

However I don't buy the argument about him signing / re-signing 28/30 players and therefore it's "his roster". Yes he was left with a mess.

Up until pre-season 2021 3 of the Top 4 money-earners in our club had been signed by Ivan Cleary and their contracts were still burning a hole in our roster - Reynolds, Mbye, Packer. Brooks was the 4th top-earning player and he was re-signed 5 weeks into Maguire's tenure, the same year he won the Dally M halfback of the year. Obviously the discussions around Brooks had been ongoing before Madge joined, or at the earliest when Madge was just starting. What's Madge going to do, come in and not renew the reigning Dally M halfback from his junior club?

Packer and Reynolds managed 31 games combined for Tigers between 2019-2021.

Now - give any coach in the NRL a roster where 3 of the top 4 players were signed to long-term deals by someone else, and for whom the output is horribly below not just expectations, but of your average first-grader. Restrict 2 of those Top 4 players to 6.2 matches played per season, each.

Additionally, take $375K off the salary cap of the first two seasons under that coach, for mistakes made by the CEO and previous coaches.

Then tell that coach "it's your roster mate" when he battles to fulfil the lower 26 spots with the remaining money available to him.

Madge bashers are blind to this pure fact.

This comment should be read to the board as exhibit A after any review.

Quoting money issues as his downfall is a joke. We offered Latrell 1.2 mil a season and that was when all those high earners were still at the club.

You don't know what we offered Latrell.

Anyway it's not saying money issues are Madge's only downfall, it's to recognise money issues are something he's barely had any control over these past 3 seasons.

Definitely the squad has not improved, as a playing group under Madge. Also, literally, the squad hasn't improved; the roster hasn't improved, and you can't do that with several million tied up with nuffy contracts.

Even if we did sign Latrell at $1.2M, that's one player, one Latrell and possibly nobody else able to be signed. As it is, after Latrell turned us down we signed Doueihi, Stefano and BJ 2 months later; and Luciano was signed just after we withdrew our Latrell offer.

 

[jirskyr]

Brad Arthur survived a wooden spoon year with a much better roster than ours and and a frustrated supporter base but it also meant moving on the players that were not geling.

Brad Arthur was given 5 seasons to fix it.

 

[jirskyr]

Fittler was dead set awful at the Chooks, but seems to have a very good feel for the game at the moment, and would also have a report with current NSW players.
If he was available do we think he'd be a good fit?

Apparently ruled himself out.

Also totally different thing to coach Origin vs weekly club football.

 

[jirskyr]

He was playing him in the top 13 and they offered him a pay rise.












1 Reply
Last reply










Quote

Yeah if they offer you a pay rise and perhaps captaincy - haven't you become one of the "favourites"?

 

[jadtiger]

Madge has been fighting an uphill battle that every other coach has failed to fix year on year. I honestly believe that if someone with the mentality of Madge can’t fix us, no one can. He gives every ounce of energy he has to trying to make us better.

I honestly believe he needs some better assistants around him.

I wish the club would invest as much ammo into this area as it possibly can. Sheens will help tremendously, but we need the best defensive coaches, attacking coaches, kicking coaches to get involved and help Madge. That’s the big key in my opinion. I think he takes too much on on his own and needs to share the load more.

We need players who want to win at all costs. Look at Melbourne, look at Penrith. They’re teams that hate losing one game a season. I think by finding the best of the best assistants (whether they’re precious NRL coaches or not) with the same work ethic and vision as Madge is what’s needed to turn our fortunes around.

Maybe the mentality is too much.

It might be for loser players. Is Bellamy too tough for the Storm?

You know Bellamy isn't like that 24/7 right? He develops better relationships with his players.

How do you know he develops better relationships? Bellamy is an intense dude when it comes to switching on, as is Madge. It’s part of the job. Madge is a decent human and cares about his players as well. The difference is Bellamy has players around him who want to be the best and compete every week. We have a bunch of kids who point the finger at each other. Madge is trying to turn these boys into men but half of them seem too stupid to see it and buy in.

Tigers players for far too long have taken the mickey. They’re well-paid players and should be accountable. People need to stop blaming the coach, the coach doesn’t let in 38 points against the wooden spooners. It was abysmal, no effort and pathetic.

Madge isn’t without fault, but he means well and I believe is doing the best he can with a mess that was left to him. He just needs to surround himself with some better coaching support and recruit players who want to win, can follow a game plan and genuinely want to be successful.

I would say the fact that Bellamy has been at the same club for going on 20 years and has never been sacked would be a pretty strong indication that he builds strong relationships, never heard rumours of players saying a bad thing about him, in fact most of them love him and relentlessly take the mickey out of him, doesn't seem like they are walking on egg shells to me.

Madge is about to be sacked at his second club with rumours abounding once again that it is due to a loss of relationship between him and the players. Madge seems to be a bit of a contradiction, all fire and brimstone but rumours abound that he is unable to have difficult conversations one on one.

No one is saying he isn't passionate, that he doesn't care about his players, though he has thrown them under the bus the last few weeks, or that he is a horrible human being. I am willing to say that he is having issues connecting with players and getting the best out of them.

Bellamy has also been surrounded by some freakish and generational players. He’s an outstanding coach, but having some of the players he’s had at his disposal makes building a team and culture much easier. Yet he still gets furious when they drop a ball when they’re up by 50. He expects perfection and the players respect that because they know it gets results.

The players in our team don’t seem to have the smarts to understand what’s good for them and that Madge just wants to see them succeed. He can’t make their tackles for them out there. If we sack Madge it’s accepting that the players run the show and we’ll be stuck in this revolving circle of churning coaches forever.

I’m sure that Madge has built positive relationships with his players. That’s an even harder thing to do when some of these guys just don’t put it, especially the higher paid players. It must be bloody tough to maintain perfect relationships with people who aren’t performing week to week. One week they have a good game, the next they flop and he’s stuck with a decision to drop them and damage that relationship or play them and potentially accept more poor results. How could ANY COACH get the best out of players like that?

The poor bloke must be banging his head against a wall for answers and knows that the Tigers aren’t a destination club for players wanting a premiership in the near future. I feel sorry for the bloke. All he can do is try to plug holes and improve the club from the ground up and purchasing players who he think have a point to prove or have displayed good leadership in winning teams. Problem is most of these leadership players are past their best.

Madge does some outstanding work in regards to pathways and understands the need to build from the bottom up. I like to look at what he’s done with a lot of our young players. Many are building confidence week to week in an ordinary side and have been the shining light this year. It’s the overpaid and experienced players who’ve been letting the team down consistently.

Personally, I think the club needs to forget about sacking Madge, but bring in a mix of renowned and experienced coaches and man managers. Try to balance the roster a bit better with experience, leadership and above-all a willingness to win.

Brooks isn’t a game zmanager and never will be; that’s a huge part of the problem. He needs to move to 5/8, try him at hooker or send him packing. He simply doesn’t have the personality or voice to make it as a dominant halfback. Hopefully Hastings is the game manager willing to bark orders we’ve been screaming for since Prince. That will go a long way to getting some consistency in our game plans.

Completely agree,i can only hope the review committee comes to the same conclusion when the emotion subsides.

 

[pawsandclaws1]

At the end of 2019 the story broke about Ryan Matterson wanting out of our club.I rang his father who i know and asked him if it was true and he told me it wasnt.Then over the next few weeks Matterson demanded a release and the Tigers came back with promises of upgrades and even considered offering him the captaincy.He didnt want it because he didnt enjoy his time at the club.When he left we all on the forum ripped into him calling him a dog etc etc.Months later i had a drink with his father Paul and asked him why he wasnt honest with me and secondly why his son walked away from the club.He said 100% it wasnt about money as the Tigers offered him more than the Eels.He also said he misled me as he tried to talk Ryan out of it.Ryan just wanted out because of Madge and also because of Pascoe.He said Madge plays favorites with certain players and the others have to cop it.He told many other things but i wont bore you all with them.With Pascoe when players try to tell him with their grievances he wont do anything about them because he always backed the coach.**The last thing Paul told me as long as Madge stays as coach no decent players will join the Tigers as his reputation is well known throughout the players in the Nrl.I** remember disagreeing with him but over the last weeks i have changed my mind.I have spoken a few times with Paul over the last 2 years and every time he does says "I TOLD YOU SO"

That just confirmed what I was already told before Madge joined us

Aren't we trying to build from within anyway.

Players have always been against wests tigers.

The Club has concerns itself by inserting that mechanism into Maguire's contract extension.

 

[Needaname]

Mess left for him? He’s signed 28/30 players in our current squad. When will people wake up??


I don't disagree with your general comments about the outcomes with Madge - he has failed with the roster he has.

However I don't buy the argument about him signing / re-signing 28/30 players and therefore it's "his roster". Yes he was left with a mess.

Up until pre-season 2021 3 of the Top 4 money-earners in our club had been signed by Ivan Cleary and their contracts were still burning a hole in our roster - Reynolds, Mbye, Packer. Brooks was the 4th top-earning player and he was re-signed 5 weeks into Maguire's tenure, the same year he won the Dally M halfback of the year. Obviously the discussions around Brooks had been ongoing before Madge joined, or at the earliest when Madge was just starting. What's Madge going to do, come in and not renew the reigning Dally M halfback from his junior club?

Packer and Reynolds managed 31 games combined for Tigers between 2019-2021.

Now - give any coach in the NRL a roster where 3 of the top 4 players were signed to long-term deals by someone else, and for whom the output is horribly below not just expectations, but of your average first-grader. Restrict 2 of those Top 4 players to 6.2 matches played per season, each.

Additionally, take $375K off the salary cap of the first two seasons under that coach, for mistakes made by the CEO and previous coaches.

Then tell that coach "it's your roster mate" when he battles to fulfil the lower 26 spots with the remaining money available to him.

Madge bashers are blind to this pure fact.

This comment should be read to the board as exhibit A after any review.

Quoting money issues as his downfall is a joke. We offered Latrell 1.2 mil a season and that was when all those high earners were still at the club.

Did latrell want to play with our superstars?

Latrell would’ve brought actual superstars.

This new fear of not paying “overs” for players is why we have such a stupid amount of cap space and absolutely no one to spend it on. Now we’re gonna get burned for it now and the future because no one in their right mind is coming to this club, even for the whole 1.6

Latrell was offered overs.

likely didn't want to play under Maguire

So Latrell didn’t want to play for the one coach that managed to shape his idol Greg Inglis’ career and turn him from a centre to a full blown fullback within 6 months and was a huge key to winning a premiership as a result.

I just think the Souths offer was better. He knew he was always going to get close to the same money eventually. It’s just one club he was surrounded by talent and the other club he was out on his own.