Revamped Wests Tigers...

Ripped off…we should have 5 Captains there..

Cammy's head is punchable..
 
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The Sharkies played like they were ready for round 1, i feel like we were still experimenting quite a few things. But yeah totally agree with you willow.

Thats exactly how i saw it too.

Was at the game, the Sharks looked like a team that had been playing together for a long time..as they have, they also looked like a team that had plenty of power, speed and class

We looked the opposite and you would be mad to expect to much till combinations are formed and the team starts to gel. Sure they will have a dig but its going to take time to be a ultra competitive side

Eisenhuth and Twal in the rotation will help a lot. We seemed to make easy ground. Once we got there however the halves were awful.

It's going to take time yep

Was at the game too. Side note - The amount of warming up teams do now seems to be excessive. I would be out of breath for the rest of the night if I did what they were doing, let alone then going on to play a full game of footy. I’m not a professional in that industry or anything but it does seem a little too much.
 
"manipulate the game" is a strange comment, I wonder exactly what Ivan means if that is one of the messages his players have picked up for 2018.
 
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We didn't throw in the towel against the Sharks, but I reckon we also looked flat, energy-wise. The Sharks definitely played with a lot more intent than we did, and you could see our forwards were gassed after 10 minutes. I have no doubt we are a fitter side than last year, but whatever training we did heading into that trial was probably too much.

I'm expecting a much more energetic side to play against the Roosters, but whether the defence is good enough to hold them out, well the jury is still out. Brooks and Reynolds really have to control things well in attack if we're going to put any points past them and I'm not convinced they have it in them just yet.

I'm thinking that the heat and humidity from the previous weeks trial against the Cowboys may have taken its toll on us somewhat, hence the flat performance. It can take a bit for a body to get over something like that especially so early in the year.
 
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The Sharks are a wake up call. Were not top 8 material yet. Definitely not top 4.

But we work at it we can get there. We will finish above 12 this year and hopefully can go from strength to strength.

Are you serious? 11th or better? Which sides do you think will finish beneath us (other than The Titans). Our spine is one of the worst that I have ever seen! I can’t see anything but pain until our back line totally changes.
 
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We will beat the Roosters if we pick the right prop rotation

Seriously? When was the last time we beat the Roosters? Don’t you think our rubbish back line might have a bit more say in it? We won’t lose the game in the forwards.
 
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We will beat the Roosters if we pick the right prop rotation

Seriously? When was the last time we beat the Roosters? Don’t you think our rubbish back line might have a bit more say in it? We won’t lose the game in the forwards.

Forwards win or lose every game… The backs are simply the decoration on the cake!
 
It will take time to get this team to gel , but when it does we will compete , Ivan will not have any players in this team who give up of put there head down , after round 6 we will have an idea on where we are heading , hard start to the year is good for the end of the year , Most people seem to think what our team will be but after 6 rounds it could be very different , Halves and Forwards could be quite different
 
The trial match tackle that told Ivan Cleary the Wests Tigers are now united
MARCH 02, 2018

THEY always tell us, don’t get carried away with NRL trial match performances.

But on stage at the Wests Tigers season launch this week, Ivan Cleary spoke of one particular pre-season tackle.

After six years of back-stabbing and constant turmoil at the club, this was Cleary’s highlight heading into the 2018 season.

A moment that displayed camaraderie and commitment among the players.

In his understated way, Cleary mentioned a tackle that occurred midway through the second half in last week’s loss to Cronulla.

At that point the Tigers were trailing 20-6 when Ben Matulino zoned in on Matt Prior and forced the turnover.

Cleary made out he didn’t recall who made the tackle.

Matulino is one of the Tigers most important purchases.
Don’t worry, the coach would have known exactly that it was Matulino who made the hit.

Just as it was Matulino who came up with a first tackle error after the Tigers’ previous try that led to his team defending three straight sets on their tryline.

To everyone else looking on, this moment would not have rated a mention post-match.

But Cleary said what stuck in his mind was how players came rushing from everywhere to congratulate the defence.

Little moments like these are what he has been working towards since he took charge at the club.

You can see the embarrassment on Cleary’s face every time someone mentions that “on the bus” remark he made last year.

But as much as the reference makes him cringe, Matulino’s hit, and just as importantly the subsequent reaction from players, was in every essence exactly what being “on the bus” is all about.

“To be successful, especially in this competition, everyone needs talented players,” Cleary explained.

“But it is amazing what you can get going with a team that all works together.”

From the moment Cleary walked through the door last year that has been his prime motivation, to bring this playing group back together.

And it hasn’t been easy.

There was the decision last year from James Tedesco and Aaron Woods to walk away, while Mitchell Moses had a contract pulled.

At the time Cleary made no apologises but plenty, including me, questioned why he wouldn’t fight harder to keep a player with Moses’s talent at the club.

The Tigers have been emboirled in turmoil for some time.
Cleary obviously had his reasons.

He saw what was going on behind closed doors.

For six straight seasons the joint was an ongoing joke, overrun by constant bitching among the playing group that ultimately led to the sacking of Tim Sheens, Mick Potter and Jason Taylor.

Cleary could see what needed to change, and he had the experience to put in place a system that had worked for him at the Warriors and Penrith.

It included making tough decisions.

Afer losing Woods, Cleary brought in Matulino and Russell Packer who he coached previously at the Warriors in almost a two-for-one deal, along with Josh Reynolds and Chris McQueen who have their own point to prove.

But when the squad was standing on stage at the season launch what stood out most was not any one player, but the entire group as one.

“This is my 12th year in coaching and I have only ever had this type of situation, trying to build a team I guess from the bottom,” Cleary said.

“So I have experience and I have seen what works and what doesn’t.

“And I know one thing, if you can get a team to bond together you are going to get results.”

Cleary won’t make any bold predictions about where the Tigers will finish in 2018.

And while the Tigers don’t want to use it as an excuse, they have by everyone’s estimation the toughest start of any team.

Kicking off against premiership favourites the Sydney Roosters next Saturday night, they meet reigning premiers Melbourne in round two followed by Brisbane, Parramatta and Melbourne again in round five.

Have things finally changed at Wests Tigers?
That’s the entire top four teams from last year, including the premiers twice.

It could break their season before it gets started.

But will it break the group is the real question.

“We are very new as a team,” Cleary said.

“We are starting a different style of culture.

“It is going to take a bit of time and it will get really tested in games.

“I guess there are more questions than answers at the moment.

“We all know where we want to end up.

“You get up every day, you know where you want to end up.

“The thing for us right now is because we are so new we just have to focus on picking off some small milestone, build some momentum and the whole thing comes together.”

Moments like Matulino’s tackle is just the starting point.
 
We will know where we stand by round 10/12\. We have a good draw for the second half of the season, If we are in the mix mid place, we stand a chance of semi final footy. And like every team injuries,&suspensions will play a big part to where we end up. Good luck everyone & up the TIGERS.
 
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