We Need To Understand The Quality Of Our Side

[Honkylips]

We all need to keep our heads and understand that we are not a top 8 side and if we fall in then great. Our side is an average side across the park. The scoreline against Easts last night shouldn't surprise anyone. They are the most well balanced side since the Melbourne & QLD sides of a couple of years ago. I hate Easts as much as the next person but unless ravaged by injury I cannot see anyone stopping them from making it back to back premiers.

Back to us, We have a chance next week against Penrith as they have been hammered by injuries. Lucky for us.

Surely there isnt anyone here that thinks we are a top 8 side?? I predicted 10th at the start of the year and Im sticking to it. I created a post a couple of weeks ago under Shane2801. It was about the skill level and concern I have for our club regarding the future. We need to draw quality players and it worries me if we cannot. We have no junior players pressing for the top grade which is scary. Maybe we have to instill a bit of intimidation? Run the gauntlet with sin binning, become grubby? I don't know.

Hopefully Madge has something up his sleeve for next year or Im afraid it will be more of the same.

 

[TheDaBoss]

@Honkylips

I think madge will show us a few more tricks in thr rounds to come. I belive in him as a coach and i believe he can make us play finals footy

 

[Tiger_Steve]

@Honkylips you are 100% correct. The reason we all ‘lose our heads’ imo is that we are so frustrated with the inevitability of failure. It just never changes. For whatever reason, we seem incapable of either attracting or developing top line players. From my personal perspective add to that the blatant disregard for our club by the NRL and I truly start to question why I continue to take an interest in rugby league. I love the Tigers, have done for most of my 52 years, but seriously, something has to change pretty soon. I’ve got to turn up to work tomorrow and sit there while my two Rorters supporting mates grin like mugs because they follow a cheating club. Because I am a rusted on tragic, that hurts and annoys me. That’s why me and others sometimes post irrational comments. I don’t like the personal attack on individual players on this forum but I understand the passion and frustration. Maguire must stay long term and from now, we must build a worthy roster - but it hasn’t happened before and I’m starting to believe it never will.

 

[Honkylips]

@TheDaBoss I hope you are right mate.

 

[Honkylips]

@Tiger_Steve Dont get me wrong, even though I predicted 10th and did (like every year early on) get a little excited the way we started that this may be a different year. Ive been critical of Brooks for years. I honestly believe he does his best, like most of our squad but their best doesn't cut it with the decent sides in this comp.

I hope things change.

 

[Snake]

The first thing Pascoe has to do when he returns is to have a large sign placed outside Concord oval proclaiming no more plodders past this gate !
There needs to be a proper clean out of the deadwood that has infected this team for far to long and I mean contracted players as well . If this club wants to be successful the days of replacing plodders with plodders has to come to an end .
I have no confidence with the present board but if the CEO does return I feel at least the footy club is being run well and a coach that can eventually give the club a shot at the title. There will be the normal types saying not another clean out but the next turnover of players has to bring in a winning culture of player that wants success. I do have some concerns about the coach and what type of player he will bring barring in mind he brought the plodder of all plodders Jennings to the club.
Something has to be done about the quality of player that is at the club ATM if not there is only one way this team will progress and that is downward!

 

[Honkylips]

@Snake There's not many current players I would keep mate.

 

[Masterton]

Surely there isnt anyone here that thinks we are a top 8 side??

I do. There are normally close to 8 sides that either make the 8 or miss out based on a little bit of luck.

Are we contenders? No way.

 

[Honkylips]

@Masterton This is true. That is why up until a couple of weeks ago I was wrapped with our for and against. I can make a difference betwen 8th and 11th.

 

[happy_tiger]

I think your right , but knowing your limitations is a good thing

But saying that ...we really didn't play smart last night and made many simple mistakes

From memory we failed to defuse 6 bombs

Really bad lapses in defence

Like I said last night ...Robinson would be far from happy with the Roosters ...if they clicked it could of been 60

 

[jirskyr]

There needs to be a proper clean out of the deadwood that has infected this team for far to long and I mean contracted players as well

Cool another clean out!!!

Point me in the direction of all the good players that will come to Tigers for reasons unknown, to replace the rubbish players we chucked out.

Since 2016, the following players have LEFT Wests Tigers:
Addo-Carr
Ballin
Buchanan
Cherrington
Edwards
Felise
Fine
Grant
Halatau
Justin Hunt
Littlejohn
Lovett
Milone
Slimey Fart
Frozone
Rankin
Ava
Tim Simona
Curtis Siro
Jesse Sue
Tedesco
Woods
Idris
Lolohea
McIlwrick
JMK
Bayley Siro
MWZ
Moses Suli
Godinet

That's 29 players in 3 seasons gone. You only would have kept JAC, Tedesco and Woods if you had a say in it.

There are only 10 players remaining from the 30 players that played FG in 2017. That's literally 20 players removed between the end of 2017 and the start of 2019 seasons.

Now by all means do another clean out, call it what you will, and then point me in the direction of the magical 20 new players we sign to get our roster back to the 30 as mandated by the NRL.

 

[supercoach]

We will finish bottom four without doubt. We probably have about five genuine NRL standard players. Our mob will compete every week but just lack speed and skill. I saw the Sharks the other night, they had a mix of real experience, young kids with unbelievable potential and a heap of real athletes. They played fast and direct. We have to pray for rain and injuries to be a real chance of betting a top four side

 

[Geo]

I think your right , but knowing your limitations is a good thing

But saying that ...we really didn't play smart last night and made many simple mistakes

From memory we failed to defuse 6 bombs

Really bad lapses in defence

Like I said last night ...Robinson would be far from happy with the Roosters ...if they clicked it could of been 60

Funny..that's not Robbo said..

 

[happy_tiger]

Robbo raved about Mitchell for 5 and a half minutes and when asked about side he said OK

They turned over the ball 4 sets in a row in the 1st half and let the dummy half go over basically untouched (bar a foot)

Wasn't happy with Radley either

 

[Guest]

I think Madge is doing the best with what he's got. We got trounced last night not through lack of effort but lack of class IMO. We lack speed and got burnt on the edges and we lack that urgency in the middle to hold the ruck. From there it was just a matter of time before the Roosters took control and wore us down - mind you their left edge will dominate every team in the comp so we wont be the last mob to cop a beating from them.

 

[happy_tiger]

I think Madge is doing the best with what he's got. We got trounced last night not through lack of effort but lack of class IMO. We lack speed and got burnt on the edges and we lack that urgency in the middle to hold the ruck. From there it was just a matter of time before the Roosters took control and wore us down - mind you their left edge will dominate every team in the comp so we wont be the last mob to cop a beating from them.

Still think a lot are mistaking a lack of class and a lack of brains

Footy smarts went missing at crucial stages ....simple things that you are taught as a junior

Cut out 3 of those mistakes and it probably ends up a 12 point game at worst

 

[Spud_Murphy]

We will finish bottom four without doubt. We probably have about five genuine NRL standard players. Our mob will compete every week but just lack speed and skill. I saw the Sharks the other night, they had a mix of real experience, young kids with unbelievable potential and a heap of real athletes. They played fast and direct. We have to pray for rain and injuries to be a real chance of betting a top four side

Don't know about bottom 4 Supercoach! Bottom 8 for sure, but there are a few teams with worse rosters than ours and another one or two teams (Penrith & Broncos) that I really can't see lifting at all during the rest of season. This combo should see us finishing a bit further up than 13th, hopefully. Though in truth, whether a team finishes 9th or 16th it's really the same failure in the long run.

 

[2005magic]

I think the maxim I saw some time ago here remains pretty good- replace someone leaving with someone just a little bit better. I think that is where WT falls down- that little bit better each time doesnt often get really used. Plodders to replace plodders or even worse rushed buys or contract extensions to fill hopes without thinking it through such as way too long contracts or just as bad way too expensive contracts.

Recent players in that trait- Mbye, Reynolds, Packer, McQueen, Nofuoloma, possibly Brooks.

 

[Roar_Power]

We are inconsistent but we will be in and around 8th place at seasons end hopefully. If we can't beat a Panthers side missing Maloney, Kikau, Whare, Yeo and god knows who else next week, its white flag time.

As far as team quality goes, we aren't going to attract the top end. We rely on up and comers who might not get their chance in a quality side - like Matterson for example. My concern is I think we need to let a few go such as Packer, Matulino, Reynolds (and dare I say Mbye) who chew up a fair bit of cap but unfortunately are on long term deals.

 

[Russell]

Well, here we are 8 games into 2019, not a lot has changed, there has been some improvement but it is minimal.

As others have said not another clean out - no, I am not advocating that because of contracts you cannot get rid of most - because you would have to pay for them to play for other clubs ( a la Farah). However we can get rid of some whose contracts are coming up. We are not going to attract players the calibre of Mitchell, Taumalolo etc. However the club (and Madge) has to be astute - if you can't get the player you want, don't just grab whoever (e.g. Jennings) lazier than his brother Michael with 10% of his speed and 10% of his talent.

Off contract at the end of the year Chee-Kam, Farah, Marshall, Fonua, Rochow and McIntyre. I would think Aloiai, Gamble, Garner, Lawrence, Liddle, Mikaele, Thompson and maybe Dylan Smith(from others reports) should be renewed.

We are stuck with Mbye, Reynolds, McQueen and Nofoaluma for at leasr 2020.

That means imo we have 7 spots incl. 1 (not filled so far) this year.

2020 Team

1
2 Thompson
3 Masters
4 Momirovski
5
6 Reynolds
7 Brooks
8 Twal
9 Liddle
10 Matulino
11 Matterson
12 Lawrence
13
14 Aloiai
15 Mikaele
16 Taylor
17

So need to look at a Full back, wing, Lock forward, Front Rower, back up hooker and half/five eight. If we get a Full back then Thompson to wing, if no FB then Thompson stays there.

Clint Gutherson, Christian Welch and Blake Lawrie are off contract and could fill three of those spots - difficult to find 3-4 others. Not worth grabbing people you do not want though.