L
_lt_TigerBrad_gt
Guest
Hi all, this is a blog I put together for a Facebook page/website I mess about with with a couple of mates. Thought I'd share, given the tough run we're going through. In a weird way, writing this was something of a cleansing experience…
The Wests Tigers love mediocrity. They embrace it. They reward it. Their players, coaching staff, sponsors and corporate bosses accept it. Their fans have become conditioned to it, and now we’re all paying the price. If you’re going to bring up the “true fan” rubbish then stop reading now. Just stop. You won’t enjoy this.
The current crop of Wests Tigers are the biggest underachievers of the modern era. Forget the Dragons of the early 2000s, this lot puts them to shame. The Tigers have nine internationals on their books – nine. For those playing at home, Adam Blair, Gareth Ellis, Robbie Farah, Chris Heighington, Keith Galloway, Chris Lawrence, Benji Marshall, Lote Tuqiri and Matt Utai have all represented their country.
Throw in Liam Fulton, Tim Moltzen, Joel Reddy and Aaron Woods, who have all played City v Country, and Tim Sheens has 13 representative players at his disposal. That’s a whole team by the way, and the perfect number for Sheens considering he never uses his bench.
Put simply, the coach has lost the team. Key players have quit on the only coach they’ve ever known. The players have packed it up for 2012 but don’t kid yourself, this is all on Sheens. The game has changed, the Tigers haven’t. Marshall and Farah still make rookie mistakes. They still kick the ball out on the full every week. They still run the same ineffective scrum plays every week.
The Tigers have had 31 halves combinations in nine years. If David Furner or Stephen Kearney were running the show fans would absolutely riot. But at the Wests Tigers, with Sheens and Benji in charge, it’s accepted. It’s normal. It’s more of the same.
This isn’t about kicking the players while they’re down. This is about reclaiming the team I love. The team I have cheered for and cried for since I watched the 1988 Grand Final in a little house in the heart of Leichhardt. Mediocrity is for mugs, and this Wests Tigers fan deserves better. We all do.
<^TigerBrad^>
The Wests Tigers love mediocrity. They embrace it. They reward it. Their players, coaching staff, sponsors and corporate bosses accept it. Their fans have become conditioned to it, and now we’re all paying the price. If you’re going to bring up the “true fan” rubbish then stop reading now. Just stop. You won’t enjoy this.
The current crop of Wests Tigers are the biggest underachievers of the modern era. Forget the Dragons of the early 2000s, this lot puts them to shame. The Tigers have nine internationals on their books – nine. For those playing at home, Adam Blair, Gareth Ellis, Robbie Farah, Chris Heighington, Keith Galloway, Chris Lawrence, Benji Marshall, Lote Tuqiri and Matt Utai have all represented their country.
Throw in Liam Fulton, Tim Moltzen, Joel Reddy and Aaron Woods, who have all played City v Country, and Tim Sheens has 13 representative players at his disposal. That’s a whole team by the way, and the perfect number for Sheens considering he never uses his bench.
Put simply, the coach has lost the team. Key players have quit on the only coach they’ve ever known. The players have packed it up for 2012 but don’t kid yourself, this is all on Sheens. The game has changed, the Tigers haven’t. Marshall and Farah still make rookie mistakes. They still kick the ball out on the full every week. They still run the same ineffective scrum plays every week.
The Tigers have had 31 halves combinations in nine years. If David Furner or Stephen Kearney were running the show fans would absolutely riot. But at the Wests Tigers, with Sheens and Benji in charge, it’s accepted. It’s normal. It’s more of the same.
This isn’t about kicking the players while they’re down. This is about reclaiming the team I love. The team I have cheered for and cried for since I watched the 1988 Grand Final in a little house in the heart of Leichhardt. Mediocrity is for mugs, and this Wests Tigers fan deserves better. We all do.
<^TigerBrad^>