Tim Johannssen #291

[Tom Shines]

So close the thread time ?

Seems a shame considering the expectations of 6 months ago

 

[Vicious]

So close the thread time ?

Seems a shame considering the expectations of 6 months ago

There is not much emerging talent, particularly in the forwards TS, hence the reason a good back half of season 2024 gave plenty of fans including myself hope that Tim Johanssen may have emerged as a genuine NRL prospect for us.
For whatever reason he was not given much game time iin our NSW Cup team from game 1 this season and as plenty of avid watchers of our lower grades have commented about, it’s become a far too familiar reoccurrence for our up and coming and emerging players over the past few seasons.
We understand that not every player will live up to expectation and fulfil their potential, but we have had far too many go backwards at a rate of knots for it to be a coincidence.
It’s far from the end of the world losing Tim Johanssen, but it’s the ongoing pattern that is the concern.

 

[Tom Shines]

There is not much emerging talent, particularly in the forwards TS, hence the reason a good back half of season 2024 gave plenty of fans including myself hope that Tim Johanssen may have emerged as a genuine NRL prospect for us.
For whatever reason he was not given much game time iin our NSW Cup team from game 1 this season and as plenty of avid watchers of our lower grades have commented about, it’s become a far too familiar reoccurrence for our up and coming and emerging players over the past few seasons.
We understand that not every player will live up to expectation and fulfil their potential, but we have had far too many go backwards at a rate of knots for it to be a coincidence.
It’s far from the end of the world losing Tim Johanssen, but it’s the ongoing pattern that is the concern.

you say “whatever the reason” … are you suggesting his demotion might have something related to reasons other than his form ? He went on a steep climb through the ranks last season … and seemingly a just as quick fall .. it does seem very unusual …

Who are these guys being replace with in the NSW Cup ? Better players you would think right ?

 

[Vicious]

you say “whatever the reason” … are you suggesting his demotion might have something related to reasons other than his form ? He went on a steep climb through the ranks last season … and seemingly a just as quick fall .. it does seem very unusual …

Who are these guys being replace with in the NSW Cup ? Better players you would think right ?

That’s the thing, being replaced with better players is very debatable and as I say, Tim Johanssen is only one of many that have had this sudden fall from grace while playing in our lower grades over the past few seasons.
I can’t put my finger on whether it is bad player identification or bad coaching/development , but as many have pointed out, there’s a problem and our position on the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg ladders, along with the poor quality of play indicates we are not getting better anytime soon.

 

[Red88_Tiger]

There’s been the same coach in nsw cup as last year so wonder what happened
Quite often a player can lose form and not see it and when changing environment they lift naturally as the desire to impress is greater
Not saying that this is the case only speculation

 

[boonboon]

you say “whatever the reason” … are you suggesting his demotion might have something related to reasons other than his form ? He went on a steep climb through the ranks last season … and seemingly a just as quick fall .. it does seem very unusual …

Who are these guys being replace with in the NSW Cup ? Better players you would think right ?

Well he has been replaced by his own brother

 

[Jolls]

That’s the thing, being replaced with better players is very debatable and as I say, Tim Johanssen is only one of many that have had this sudden fall from grace while playing in our lower grades over the past few seasons.
I can’t put my finger on whether it is bad player identification or bad coaching/development , but as many have pointed out, there’s a problem and our position on the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg ladders, along with the poor quality of play indicates we are not getting better anytime soon.

There’s been the same coach in nsw cup as last year so wonder what happened
Quite often a player can lose form and not see it and when changing environment they lift naturally as the desire to impress is greater
Not saying that this is the case only speculation

I don't know the circumstances behind Tim's fall from grace; but I wonder if the root cause is the lack of a system for the development of culture and coaches through the club from juniors to FG. Building a winning culture and a high-performance playing group requires a systematic approach so that it can be applied at all levels. If the club is to achieve its strategic goal of becoming a top 4 club in the NRL & NRLW, a systemic club-wide approach to culture, coach recruitment, development, and retention is a must.

Not sure about the lower grades but since 2012we have had seven head coaches, with most appointments lasting less than three seasons. Add to this inconsistent philosophies across junior and senior pathway, inconsistent playing styles throughout the grades and inconsistent player development and retention and you can see the potential issues.

While individual coaching and development appointments may have had merit, the absence of a systemic model is a deficiency.

I went into this in a bit of depth a few weeks ago in a deep dive. Interested to get your views. The post is here.

 

[Buttface]

I don't know the circumstances behind Tim's fall from grace; but I wonder if the root cause is the lack of a system for the development of culture and coaches through the club from juniors to FG. Building a winning culture and a high-performance playing group requires a systematic approach so that it can be applied at all levels. If the club is to achieve its strategic goal of becoming a top 4 club in the NRL & NRLW, a systemic club-wide approach to culture, coach recruitment, development, and retention is a must.

Not sure about the lower grades but since 2012we have had seven head coaches, with most appointments lasting less than three seasons. Add to this inconsistent philosophies across junior and senior pathway, inconsistent playing styles throughout the grades and inconsistent player development and retention and you can see the potential issues.

While individual coaching and development appointments may have had merit, the absence of a systemic model is a deficiency.

I went into this in a bit of depth a few weeks ago in a deep dive. Interested to get your views. The post is here.

You know I’m a believer.

 

[Tigerlover]

you say “whatever the reason” … are you suggesting his demotion might have something related to reasons other than his form ? He went on a steep climb through the ranks last season … and seemingly a just as quick fall .. it does seem very unusual …

Who are these guys being replace with in the NSW Cup ? Better players you would think right ?

Demotion was for reasons other than form…. Word has it came from higher up that his weeks for 2026 were wanted. Nothing to do with form. It’s so evident from rd 1 tbh. He killed it and was the better playing middle and yet was already being summoned out when you look at his game time the following games, from being benched red 2 to getting 20 mins. If he got benched after his rd 1 performance, what about every other player on the team lol. Especially that Murray kid who…not to mention his agent is richos son but that’s just something to put in perspective. Just feel for TJ. His stats always were up there the initial games. So he probably felt the switch and was just over the politics. Players aren’t dumb when coaches switch up on them so can we really blame all these players who just fall through and go elsewhere. Plus if you watch cup and when he played, he’d just never get the ball. Don’t know if it’s cause players didn’t back him or what but notice the attack in cup, ball is always being spread like no tomorrow. These things would make middles very easily loose the love for the game. TJ got dropped to massey and killed it, 1 try, 2 try assists, 2 trys of his play the ball. Wish they had stats on Massey. Then look at his game at the bunnies. 11 runs, 125m in just 25 mins. Look at bud Sullivan for example as well. Development at the tigers is diabolical and extremely political. Heard from a friend that TJ had also just left his agent due to simply just wanting to be a free agent. Tim seems like the guy who just doesn’t like politics or control. He just loves playing footy and wants to keep it at that. I mean look at the whole reason he skyrocketed last year, he got his love for the game back. It was around that same time he left his agent he started getting shunned. so the likelihood that the TJs ex agent did some moving around for his other players that are in the squad to get his weeks, it’s definitely probable. Point being, there’s going to be politics everywhere players go, but looking at it from the outside in, demotion was without a question political and not due to form. I doubt the coach would’ve had any control over it tbh. It seemed like a very orchestrated stint I guess, unlike tumeth or matamua, TJ wasn’t putting up with it and got out of there as soon as he could. Again the bloke quit out of nowhere when he was over it in 2023 and got his love for the game back in 2024 so he probably just understands that he won’t be risking losing the love again at any point over politics. Sometimes you can’t control an environment but you can choose to get out of there. It’s quite sad from the tigers point tbh. Just not bothering to develop players at all, instead just buying them from other clubs lol. Word has it he got released the moment he asked, no fights or debates from tigers side which speaks for itself I guess.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Demotion was for reasons other than form…. Word has it came from higher up that his weeks for 2026 were wanted. Nothing to do with form. It’s so evident from rd 1 tbh. He killed it and was the better playing middle and yet was already being summoned out when you look at his game time the following games, from being benched red 2 to getting 20 mins. If he got benched after his rd 1 performance, what about every other player on the team lol. Especially that Murray kid who…not to mention his agent is richos son but that’s just something to put in perspective. Just feel for TJ. His stats always were up there the initial games. So he probably felt the switch and was just over the politics. Players aren’t dumb when coaches switch up on them so can we really blame all these players who just fall through and go elsewhere. Plus if you watch cup and when he played, he’d just never get the ball. Don’t know if it’s cause players didn’t back him or what but notice the attack in cup, ball is always being spread like no tomorrow. These things would make middles very easily loose the love for the game. TJ got dropped to massey and killed it, 1 try, 2 try assists, 2 trys of his play the ball. Wish they had stats on Massey. Then look at his game at the bunnies. 11 runs, 125m in just 25 mins. Look at bud Sullivan for example as well. Development at the tigers is diabolical and extremely political. Heard from a friend that TJ had also just left his agent due to simply just wanting to be a free agent. Tim seems like the guy who just doesn’t like politics or control. He just loves playing footy and wants to keep it at that. I mean look at the whole reason he skyrocketed last year, he got his love for the game back. It was around that same time he left his agent he started getting shunned. so the likelihood that the TJs ex agent did some moving around for his other players that are in the squad to get his weeks, it’s definitely probable. Point being, there’s going to be politics everywhere players go, but looking at it from the outside in, demotion was without a question political and not due to form. I doubt the coach would’ve had any control over it tbh. It seemed like a very orchestrated stint I guess, unlike tumeth or matamua, TJ wasn’t putting up with it and got out of there as soon as he could. Again the bloke quit out of nowhere when he was over it in 2023 and got his love for the game back in 2024 so he probably just understands that he won’t be risking losing the love again at any point over politics. Sometimes you can’t control an environment but you can choose to get out of there. It’s quite sad from the tigers point tbh. Just not bothering to develop players at all, instead just buying them from other clubs lol. Word has it he got released the moment he asked, no fights or debates from tigers side which speaks for itself I guess.

Thanks for the info @Tigerlover. This is very disappointing on many levels. I was excited to see how he came on this year after he & Noah's interview on WT Faithful podcast in the pre-season. Especially given he is one of the fittest in the whole club and expressed how much they wanted to play for the coach Aaron Payne.

I'm interested to see how the next month or so plays out in NSW Cup as I've noticed that Tristan Hope plays to Charlie Murray a lot out of dummyhalf. Maybe just the game plan but even on Saturday he tended to go to Murray a lot instead of Matamua on the other side. Two ex team mates who obviously know eachother very well. I do get the feeling that Charlie is rated highly within the club and hopefully this has nothing to do with his agent. Charlie is above Bailey Hodges in the pecking order atm, a player rated highly by many good judges and one of our own pathways players.

May I ask who was TJ's agent before he went solo?

 

[Vicious]

Thanks for the info @Tigerlover. This is very disappointing on many levels. I was excited to see how he came on this year after he & Noah's interview on WT Faithful podcast in the pre-season. Especially given he is one of the fittest in the whole club and expressed how much they wanted to play for the coach Aaron Payne.

I'm interested to see how the next month or so plays out in NSW Cup as I've noticed that Tristan Hope plays to Charlie Murray a lot out of dummyhalf. Maybe just the game plan but even on Saturday he tended to go to Murray a lot instead of Matamua on the other side. Two ex team mates who obviously know eachother very well. I do get the feeling that Charlie is rated highly within the club and hopefully this has nothing to do with his agent. Charlie is above Bailey Hodges in the pecking order atm, a player rated highly by many good judges and one of our own pathways players.

May I ask who was TJ's agent before he went solo?

I know the 13 is basically just considered as another middle these days, but Tim was realistically competing for a prop position and was not in direct competition with our 13’s such as Charlie Murray and Bailey Hodges.
Therefore the players being selected ahead of him were Kit Laulilli, Vaka Aho, Jaxon Rahme, Jayden Tanner and his brother Noah Johanssen.
Everyone sees things differently and all of the players mentioned above have different qualities about them, I just don’t think we have the right balance in our NSW Cup front row rotation and it’s one of many problems as to why the team is struggling to win a game.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

I know the 13 is basically just considered as another middle these days, but Tim was realistically competing for a prop position and was not in direct competition with our 13’s such as Charlie Murray and Bailey Hodges.
Therefore the players being selected ahead of him were Kit Laulilli, Vaka Aho, Jaxon Rahme, Jayden Tanner and his brother Noah Johanssen.
Everyone sees things differently and all of the players mentioned above have different qualities about them, I just don’t think we have the right balance in our NSW Cup front row rotation and it’s one of many problems as to why the team is struggling to win a game.

I only watch all the NRL 1st grade games V but could it be the forwards apart from some simply put just aren't big/good enough.

 

[Vicious]

I only watch all the NRL 1st grade games V but could it be the forwards apart from some simply put just aren't big/good enough.

In a perfect world you would have one starting big bodied prop who skittles defenders when he runs the ball, complemented by the other is a worker and the same with two players on the bench rotation.
We have quite a good balance within the forwards on our NRL too 17, but no genuine big man who can skittle defenders in our lower grades.
I think BlackWhiteGold is on the money yet again with his call for us to sign someone like the big fella from the Storm as an experienced and important squad member who can come in and do a job if/when we have any of our NRL middle forwards missing through injury or two selection etc

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

In a perfect world you would have one starting big bodied prop who skittles defenders when he runs the ball, complemented by the other is a worker and the same with two players on the bench rotation.
We have quite a good balance within the forwards on our NRL too 17, but no genuine big man who can skittle defenders in our lower grades.
I think BlackWhiteGold is on the money yet again with his call for us to sign someone like the big fella from the Storm as an experienced and important squad member who can come in and do a job if/when we have any of our NRL middle forwards missing through injury or two selection etc

If you mean big Nelson, yeah I wanted him he seemed buddies with Olam and I thought we might be a chance but he wanted to stay in Melbourne, for me he would have been a good signing.

 

[Vicious]

If you mean big Nelson, yeah I wanted him he seemed buddies with Olam and I thought we might be a chance but he wanted to stay in Melbourne, for me he would have been a good signing.

No NAS would be too expensive for us to fit him in, Lazarus Valeapu is the fringe Storm prop BlackWhiteGold has mentioned who would be a very handy addition to our depth and wouldn’t cost too much.

 

[yeti]

That’s the thing, being replaced with better players is very debatable and as I say, Tim Johanssen is only one of many that have had this sudden fall from grace while playing in our lower grades over the past few seasons.
I can’t put my finger on whether it is bad player identification or bad coaching/development , but as many have pointed out, there’s a problem and our position on the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg ladders, along with the poor quality of play indicates we are not getting better anytime soon.

Maybe its just bad attitude from the players concerned.

 

[TonyTiger]

He didn’t ever really seem like a prospect. He’s a good player but very limited with a low ceiling potential wise. Johannssen struggled with the physicality of NRL players. It was clear from pre season trials, he was getting dominated by younger guys. If you’re going to play as a middle forward in the NRL you need to be able to hold your own.

Why stick with a 25-26 year old guy who you know doesn’t have the physical attributes to be a factor in the NRL ahead of a younger guy who has the potential to get there with development. It’s much more important that guys like Kit and Aho are getting minutes in Cup, even if they're not as good right now.

I’m not knocking him as a player but there are plenty of decent guys who unfortunately are good NSW Cup players, but just don’t have the attributes to really go any further than that.

He was no jukebox .. just a one-hit wonder
We need a 12 inch extended play

 

[clontarfkid]

Maybe an LP
Hes 6ft 5 and 98 kgs..not built for NRL in the forwards
Way it is

 

[Vicious]

Maybe its just bad attitude from the players concerned.

It quite possibly is, but when it keeps happening over and over again, the question has to be asked what are we doing as a professional rugby league club to get into these players heads and get the best out of them ?
We can’t be that unlucky can we that an extremely high percentage of players progress and at one stage look like potential NRL prospects, only to start going backwards and become a surplus to our requirements within a short space of time.
You can throw players such as Jake Simpkin and Jacob Liddle into this same category as players who’s form rapidly subsided while playing NzsW Cup for us.

 

[Tigerlover]

Thanks for the info @Tigerlover. This is very disappointing on many levels. I was excited to see how he came on this year after he & Noah's interview on WT Faithful podcast in the pre-season. Especially given he is one of the fittest in the whole club and expressed how much they wanted to play for the coach Aaron Payne.

I'm interested to see how the next month or so plays out in NSW Cup as I've noticed that Tristan Hope plays to Charlie Murray a lot out of dummyhalf. Maybe just the game plan but even on Saturday he tended to go to Murray a lot instead of Matamua on the other side. Two ex team mates who obviously know eachother very well. I do get the feeling that Charlie is rated highly within the club and hopefully this has nothing to do with his agent. Charlie is above Bailey Hodges in the pecking order atm, a player rated highly by many good judges and one of our own pathways players.

May I ask who was TJ's agent before he went solo?

I believe it was nitro talent. I’m not sure now who would’ve got TJs weeks but overheard from some talk that Isaac Tuitupou had got an upgrade with weeks. Not sure if it’s been confirmed or nothing but keep an eye out or ask around yourselves…..Mind you, Isaac happens to be managed by nitro as well…idk very very fishy. Additionally, Jayden tanner is also with nitro…… found out from simply nitros page lol isn’t that hard …they followed Tim only a few weeks ago and now they don’t , so they definitely update their stuff. When TJ got benched after that rd 1 performance then got put on so late in the first half of rd 3 even tho he was still clearly one of the better forwards, I started looking into it and asking questions. I watched him very closely and idk his story really puts things in perspective and highlights a common pattern with the culture of tigers…..if anyone watched him closely and followed this cup team like they do with nrl, anyone could see it from a mile away. I only looked into it because the way they were using him was sooo weird in my eyes. Again there’s always going to be politics but I just think it was too disappointing to see how obvious the politics was for Johannssen and I can’t imagine any reason as to why he , or bud, or any player in his position would want anything to do with the club. I guess being a free agent means clubs sell you short or something cause that’s the only common denominator I see with why he got shunned out ?? Form isn’t a question cause again he started getting shunned from rd 1, despite his performance in comparison with the other middles. I think Johannssen will do well at any club he goes to, if developed properly. Just very disappointing from our tigers side that this is another player they let go from poor development and it’s more disappointing with the lack of effort they show in trying to not make it so obvious. The culture needs to change if we really are a strong club. Legacy is nothing if the legacy is just bought and not taught or developed. We cant just keep buying top players and forgetting about our development and treating them so poorly. We wonder why we buy a dream team but don’t play like a dream team……It’s a terrible legacy to have imo and the club is obviously in shambles. I think there is a major problem when there’s drama not only in first grade, but also down in the juniors. It shows a lack of connection in leadership across the whole board with coaching staff from all grades and devisions. Again, after watching TJ closely since rd 1 after his year last year as well, it really put the spotlight on tigers and its politics and lack of care for players.