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Victory gives Sheens no shelter from snipers inside the Tigers
DANIEL LANE
May 23, 2010
Tigers great Paul Sironen and club management have defended besieged coach Tim Sheens's non-attendance at the Balmain Tigers' annual Hall of Fame dinner last week by blaming muckrakers for trying to exploit his absence.
Sheens, who signed a new deal with the Tigers six weeks ago, and his skipper, Robbie Farah, were promoted as guests at this year's dinner, at which former NRL boss Neil Whittaker, who played hooker for Balmain, and 1940s halfback Stan Ponchard were admitted to the Balmain Hall of Fame.
There was also a moving tribute to the late Kevin Humphreys, the former head of Balmain and the NSWRL. He was represented by his son and current CEO, Stephen.
However, The Sun-Herald received phone calls on Thursday that suggested some audience members were offended by Sheens's absence. They said he was ''taking cover'' after a tsunami of criticism that followed last Sunday's 50-10 defeat to Souths at the SCG.
''After the loss to Souths it was decided the team would go into camp ahead of the Newcastle game on Friday night, and everyone involved in organising the dinner agreed that was a wise move,'' said Sironen, the Tigers' acting general manager.
''There was no problem, no issue, no drama. Look, Tim Sheens has been around way too long to be avoiding dinners and things like that. The team went into camp and won the game against Newcastle. I'm sure that would've pleased all Wests Tigers supporters.''
Humphreys was outraged by the notion anyone at the dinner would have complained about a situation he said had been explained to them in plain, simple English.
''Given our desire to ensure the guys were prepared as well as possible for last night [Friday], we sent them up to Newcastle a day early, which meant Tim and Robbie couldn't go. At the end Tim was reluctant to miss it but I convinced him to go with the team,'' he said.
''I hoped the Tigers fans in the room understood that and they agreed we should prioritise winning the game. I got a big cheer of support for that.''
Humphreys had no doubt the anger expressed about Sheens's non-attendance was an offshoot of the widespread criticism of the veteran coach's performance during the week.
''When you're as outspoken as Tim you pick up a few people along the way who like to have a crack at you,'' he said. ''Tim is tough enough to live with that, as we all are. People have their agendas and they wait for an opportunity.''
DANIEL LANE
May 23, 2010
Tigers great Paul Sironen and club management have defended besieged coach Tim Sheens's non-attendance at the Balmain Tigers' annual Hall of Fame dinner last week by blaming muckrakers for trying to exploit his absence.
Sheens, who signed a new deal with the Tigers six weeks ago, and his skipper, Robbie Farah, were promoted as guests at this year's dinner, at which former NRL boss Neil Whittaker, who played hooker for Balmain, and 1940s halfback Stan Ponchard were admitted to the Balmain Hall of Fame.
There was also a moving tribute to the late Kevin Humphreys, the former head of Balmain and the NSWRL. He was represented by his son and current CEO, Stephen.
However, The Sun-Herald received phone calls on Thursday that suggested some audience members were offended by Sheens's absence. They said he was ''taking cover'' after a tsunami of criticism that followed last Sunday's 50-10 defeat to Souths at the SCG.
''After the loss to Souths it was decided the team would go into camp ahead of the Newcastle game on Friday night, and everyone involved in organising the dinner agreed that was a wise move,'' said Sironen, the Tigers' acting general manager.
''There was no problem, no issue, no drama. Look, Tim Sheens has been around way too long to be avoiding dinners and things like that. The team went into camp and won the game against Newcastle. I'm sure that would've pleased all Wests Tigers supporters.''
Humphreys was outraged by the notion anyone at the dinner would have complained about a situation he said had been explained to them in plain, simple English.
''Given our desire to ensure the guys were prepared as well as possible for last night [Friday], we sent them up to Newcastle a day early, which meant Tim and Robbie couldn't go. At the end Tim was reluctant to miss it but I convinced him to go with the team,'' he said.
''I hoped the Tigers fans in the room understood that and they agreed we should prioritise winning the game. I got a big cheer of support for that.''
Humphreys had no doubt the anger expressed about Sheens's non-attendance was an offshoot of the widespread criticism of the veteran coach's performance during the week.
''When you're as outspoken as Tim you pick up a few people along the way who like to have a crack at you,'' he said. ''Tim is tough enough to live with that, as we all are. People have their agendas and they wait for an opportunity.''
