The pressure's on Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter

tigersrule4life

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WESTS Tigers coach Mick Potter is under pressure to stay at the helm next year, with the joint venture midway through a wholesale review of its football department.

The Tigers board last month ordered management to conduct the review, which has included feedback from players.

New CEO Grant Mayer and Potter were called on to devise a restructure of the club's coaching ranks, which could see big changes with assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Potter is contracted for another 12 months, but with the Tigers languishing in second last fresh doubts have emerged over his future.

Players have also reported communication problems with the coach, who addressed the team a week ago about any misgivings they might have.

Sources said candidates such as Penrith assistant Trent Barrett have been entertained in the past week.

But Potter's fate is a long way from sealed. He enjoys sections of support from within the factionalised club.

Potter's backers claim he should be given the chance to run his own show, having inherited staff and players from predecessor Tim Sheens last October.

And despite the fact Potter is at the lower end of the NRL salary scale, the Tigers are highly reluctant to pay-out another coach.

Tigers presser.West Tigers coach, Michael Potter, says his side were in it at half time, but handed the result to Manly 'on a platter'.
..Furthermore, the Tigers are yet to identify a replacement coach despite canvassing possible replacements.

Contacted Wednesday night, Mayer confirmed the coaching review had been split into two parts - structure and individuals.

"There's a review of the coaching structure," Mayer said.

"We've got high expectations of where this club finishes on the ladder and in order to achieve that we've got to have the best people."

Asked if Potter's position was now part of the review, Mayer replied: "The head coach is contracted until the end of 2014."

Potter's relationship with Benji Marshall has been partly blamed for the Kiwi's decision to ask for a release earlier this month.

The pair exchanged words when Potter dumped Marshall to the bench in round 10 and feedback since has indicated the coach might have better communicated his reasons for the critical call. Potter has been informed of the players' feedback.

In North Queensland, the Cowboys are using Neil Henry's axing as inspiration for their finals push.

Cowboys forward Ashton Sims said rather than sulk after being told he would not be required in 2014, Henry asked players to finish with a bang.

They need to win their final six games to keep their faint finals hopes alive but Sims said the Cowboys were ready to "do it for Neil".

"Definitely. He has been a good servant of the club for years as assistant and head coach," he said of Henry. "But we also want to do it for ourselves.

"We haven't played our best footy this year. There's six games to go, 12 points on offer and we want to take all of them."

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/the-pressures-on-wests-tigers-coach-mick-potter/story-fndv39ms-1226689069788
 
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.
 
I'm glad the coaching team is under review, keeps everyone focused on performance. However it would be too early to dump potter. I'd say the pressure is more likely on his current assistants.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
@tigersrule4life said:
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.

Who do you bring in -

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
With players returning from injury it doesnt leave Potter with a lot of excuses for failure.
If we end up losing reminder of our games this year the blame will go squarely on the coaching.
Its a tough gig, i know he needs to be given time but at the same time there are some games we shouldnt be losing. like against Parra, Titans and maybe cowgirls.
My respect for Potter would dip if we were to get belted in these games
 
Potter's backers claim he should be given the chance to run his own show, having inherited staff and players from predecessor Tim Sheens last October.

This and quite frankly, anyone who says otherwise should remove themselves from any decision making process at the club or be removed.
 
I'd be happy to see Royce Simmons go who's been defensive coach since Sheens came aside from 2010 and 2011 when he coached in the UK! In 2010 we finished 3rd and 2011 we finished 4th and I don't think it's a coincidence that the years prior to then and the 2012/2013 seasons when he came back has our defence struggled.

I'm skeptical about Potter as a coach but willing to give him a chance. I think the days of the old school style coach are gone and it's more about man management and getting 17 blokes at their best each week, listening to his press conferences doesn't strike you as a Maguire/ Bellamy style coach and the mumblings of player discontent is normally the beginning of the end ( Sheens, Brian Smith etc ) but he took a Bradford side who went into Administration and players who weren't getting paid into the Super League and Challenge Cup Semi Finals so I'm willing to give him a chance, if we're in the same position next year then I think we'll have someone new for 2015, if not already.
 
@AmericanHistoryX said:
@tigersrule4life said:
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.

Who do you bring in -

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Bring in Kimmorley or Johns as a Halves/Assistant Coach… would be great for our young halves next year, they would be able to guide them through the season, help with play calling kicking, passing, possibly even helping Teddy chime into the back line more.

Forwards Coach and Defensive, maybe a Kidwell who knew how to defend?
 
The problem is there is always speculation about the coach, i'm sick of it i hope in the review someone grows a set and tell's the board that if the club and a winning culture is what they are really after then they're the first that need to pack their bag's. Secondly and more importantly if potter is the coach they want to help in the restructure then sign him on for another 2 year extention taking him to 2016\. All this talk of getting rid of the coach just promotes instability, sign the guy up good or bad decision at least the players and fans know where the club stand's, our board are without a doubt the biggest bunch of idiotic missfit's i'v ever seen, the fact they are running our club is a crime considering these moron's could'nt run a circus out of town. They expect potter to fix in 9 month's mistakes they made over a 5 - 6 year period talk about passing the buck.
 
Signing a coach to a long term is what they did to Sheens. That has been the main cause of the
current trouble with Wests Tigers.
 
@liltiger said:
The problem is there is always speculation about the coach, i'm sick of it i hope in the review someone grows a set and tell's the board that if the club and a winning culture is what they are really after then they're the first that need to pack their bag's. Secondly and more importantly if potter is the coach they want to help in the restructure then sign him on for another 2 year extention taking him to 2016\. All this talk of getting rid of the coach just promotes instability, sign the guy up good or bad decision at least the players and fans know where the club stand's, our board are without a doubt the biggest bunch of idiotic missfit's i'v ever seen, the fact they are running our club is a crime considering these moron's could'nt run a circus out of town. They expect potter to fix in 9 month's mistakes they made over a 5 - 6 year period talk about passing the buck.

I agree with most of your points here liltiger, I don't think this is the time to be discussing whether the coach should go, I think he needs our/clubs support for at least another full season, then we can give our opinion as to his suitability as a coach of this team,
I think it's more the "culture" of the club that is the problem- if that is the case I don't know how to fix it :roll
 
@tigersrule4life said:
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.

So you're happy with this? :crazy :crazy
 
It would be madness to sack Potter before the end of 2014\. We would be back to square one.People talk about Maguire and Bellamy, they dont have Benji and Anasta to deal with every week,they dont have a bunch of kids playing their first 1/2 seaon in the NRL. They have spines at their disposal with world class players.

This club has to come out and back Potter 100%,get behind and help him build the club up from the bottom up. We will be seen as a joke if we flick Potter, look at Parra,Ricky has made a massive difference this year taking them from last to last, is his head on the chopping block???

Come on Mayer show some balls and come out and back your coach, send a message to the players,if they dont like the coach–ship out
 
@Eye Of Wests Tigers said:
@AmericanHistoryX said:
@tigersrule4life said:
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.

Who do you bring in -

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Bring in Kimmorley or Johns as a Halves/Assistant Coach… would be great for our young halves next year, they would be able to guide them through the season, help with play calling kicking, passing, possibly even helping Teddy chime into the back line more.

Forwards Coach and Defensive, maybe a Kidwell who knew how to defend?

Johns has an exclusive contract with Manly, and Kimmorley is assistant coach at Raiders. A decent halves coach would certainly help, though.

If Georgallis or Simmons go, will Payten move up to assistant?
 
@Masterton said:
@Eye Of Wests Tigers said:
@AmericanHistoryX said:
@tigersrule4life said:
Im happy with this assistant coaches Steve Georgallis and Royce Simmons both free agents at the end of this season.

Let the clean out continue.

Who do you bring in -

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

Bring in Kimmorley or Johns as a Halves/Assistant Coach… would be great for our young halves next year, they would be able to guide them through the season, help with play calling kicking, passing, possibly even helping Teddy chime into the back line more.

Forwards Coach and Defensive, maybe a Kidwell who knew how to defend?

Johns has an exclusive contract with Manly, and Kimmorley is assistant coach at Raiders. A decent halves coach would certainly help, though.

If Georgallis or Simmons go, will Payten move up to assistant?

Walters or Barrett if not snapped up, would be good halves coachs

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_
 
Pathetic article….

Read the first paragraph, then the third one...

the scum just had a slow news day so went about laying the boot into a team already struggling, nothing more nothing less.
 
Anybody (on the board or on this forum) who think the current playing and coaching staff set-up will deliver a top 4 (even top 8) birth are bloody deluded:

1\. There's jobs for the boys and dead wood littered throughout the coaching staff ranks (e.g Simmons/Georgallis being the best exponents of this. Neither could organise a piss up in a brewery let alone manage a professional footy team in their respective roles)

2\. We've got NO quality centres (Lawrence is gradually getting back to his best though this may still take a while and will rely on him not incurring any more injuries along the way/Ayshford well his stats against the Eagles sum up what he's offered for the past 18 months)

3\. We've got NO outstanding back rowers (Sue will develop into one I'm sure but this will take time. Fulton is tremendous given his physical attributes yet is still expendable)

4\. We've got a laughing stock of a 5/8 and NO established NRL half-back (Marshall is completely pathetic and has been for the past year/Siro's long term future's in the back row and Brooks hasn't even played FG yet)

5\. Our recruitment TO DATE has been shocking, and Mayer and Potter are doing everything they can to amend this but what's happened in the past in this regard has largely shaped what our team make-up's like right now.

I could go on and on and on….Fact is people have false hope if they really expected us to do something in the competition this year...There's a REASON Mayer said last week that we're aiming for a top 4 finish in 2015 (it's a subtle way of saying that the current roster will not and can't achieve this)

BTW if they were to sack Potter at the end of the season that'd be the end of any membership prospects in the forseeable future....That would be completely outrageous
 
I don't see why scraping into the 8 next season is unfeasible for us. If we stay reasonably healthy, brooks kicks on to some extent we should be able to make the 8.

1\. Dead wood is very likely to be removed in the off season with good replacements from potter and mayer coming in.
2\. Nofo, Richards, Simona all great centres.
3\. You said sue, sironen was great, fulton is great and i think woods could have a future at lock. Also, we have a plethora of props to make up the slack. Blair (decent now), Buchanan, Ava, Taupau, Gavet, Galloway and maybe woods.
4\. That's true, next season is very dependant on how our halves go.
5\. Has been decent, utai, lote, pettybourne, miller, aysh and moltz are likely to see the door. Richards, Halatau and Taupau are all good signings.

Yep, Mayer also said top 8 next year if im not mistaken?
 
Show Potter the support, give him another 2 years to implement his plan. Pay him a basic and bonus incentives on performance. This has been a disastrous year although it is not entirely his fault. I expect him to improve the team's performance from next year on, now he has more time with the club. He should have his opportunity to pick his playing and coaching staff.
 
Chopping and changing the coach every 1 or 2 years is not going to solve our problems. Potter has inherited a team that was not made up of players chosen by him and we have had a decimating injury toll to key players, give him next season to show improvement in our team and then if we have improved, give him a 1 year contract extension for 2015 to launch a genuine assault on the premiership with his own cattle and support staff.

He has shown that he is prepared to make the hard decisions and put some noses out of joint and that is exactly what we need our coach to do. 10 seasons worth of "boy's club" mentality are not gonna just be wiped away in 1 season, give him a decent go.

Simmons, Skando, Leeds and Georgalis need to be moved on IMO. Bring in some freshness.
 
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