G
Guest
Guest
ANALYSIS
APRIL 22 2017 - 1:00PM
Wests Tigers fail to learn the lessons of history
Roy Masters - SMH
Wests Tigers should have learnt from history the folly of having their best four players come off contract at the same time. Nor should the drama of unresolved contract issues affecting team performance be new to the club, albeit a joint-venture one.
The problem is that too many people on club boards and at NRL headquarters itself believe that modern rugby league began in 1998, post the Super League war. They ignore the lessons of the past.
In 1979, Wests' semi-final campaign was derailed by whispers three of their best players – John Dorahy, Les Boyd and Ray Brown – would sign with rival clubs. As coach, I recall running laps of Lidcombe Oval before training with the players, only to notice the "big three" fall back behind the group and presumably discuss their futures.
I recall centre Wayne Smith suggesting we have a private fundraiser to retain the players, but it all seemed too difficult for a cash-strapped club to compete financially in a competition without a salary cap.
The publicity not only affected the three players, but also destabilised the rest of the playing group.
As it transpired, we lost a couple of games by field goals, made the semis, but went out the back door to ultimate grand finalists Canterbury.
All three players signed with our most bitter rival, Manly. The Silvertails, who had not made the semi-finals in '79, certainly wreaked revenge on the Fibros. Their game plan was clearly to use the Wests three to add to their playing list and subtract from ours, ensuring they made the 1980 semi-finals, while we would not.
The signings were not announced officially until well after we exited the finals.
Tom Raudonikis, captain of Wests, and I used the play-off period to try and prevent the moves. We flew to Brown's home town of Griffith to convince him to stay, but returned home uncertain of his plans.
I had dinner with Boyd at his Strathfield home. We went on a long walk while his wife, Judy, cooked dinner. He revealed Manly wanted him and we tried to quantify the loyalty factor in money terms.
Finally, we reached agreement that Manly would have to offer $40,000 for him to leave. He called me the next day to tell me Manly's offer was $39,000, but before I could let out a "whoopee", Boyd went on to say: "I told Arko [Manly's then chief, Ken Arthurson] I wanted $40,000 and he agreed."
Of course, he would: $1000 made little difference to the Silvertails' vault.
"Joe Cool" Dorahy's admission to me that he was going to Manly took a little longer. At a Wests reunion a couple of years ago, he asked me if we could have a beer in Melbourne, where I now live and he occasionally visits for work. We sat in the iconic Young and Jackson pub, talking about a range of things, including politics, where we have somewhat opposite views.
I knew there was something Joe wanted to tell me, but it seemed stuck in his throat and I had to be somewhere else.
Finally, as we sipped our last beer, Joe said, "I lied to you back in 1979 when you asked me if I had signed with Manly. It's stuck in my craw for 36 years and I just had to tell you. I loathe lying and I've felt uncomfortable ever since."
Dorahy also made another admission two weeks ago at a Wests reunion. He revealed that if he had known Tommy and Graeme "Snake" O'Grady would also leave the club, he would have stayed.
Yes, that's right. Wests lost five players at the end of the 1979 season, including inspirational captain Raudonikis and clever lock O'Grady, both to Singo's money at Newtown.
As it turned out, O'Grady rejoined me at St George, but Joe's affection for the club was so deep, he told me he would never have left if he had known that after he signed with Manly the Magpies would lose another two players.
The lessons? A club cannot let its best five players come off contract at once and it will affect team performance as much at the beginning of a season as at the end.
Oh, and if players leave, others replace them.
Wests made the 1980 preliminary final with the previously unheard of Terry Lamb, Jim Leis, Alan Neil and John Ribot, while Manly finished seventh, out of the semis.
APRIL 22 2017 - 1:00PM
Wests Tigers fail to learn the lessons of history
Roy Masters - SMH
Wests Tigers should have learnt from history the folly of having their best four players come off contract at the same time. Nor should the drama of unresolved contract issues affecting team performance be new to the club, albeit a joint-venture one.
The problem is that too many people on club boards and at NRL headquarters itself believe that modern rugby league began in 1998, post the Super League war. They ignore the lessons of the past.
In 1979, Wests' semi-final campaign was derailed by whispers three of their best players – John Dorahy, Les Boyd and Ray Brown – would sign with rival clubs. As coach, I recall running laps of Lidcombe Oval before training with the players, only to notice the "big three" fall back behind the group and presumably discuss their futures.
I recall centre Wayne Smith suggesting we have a private fundraiser to retain the players, but it all seemed too difficult for a cash-strapped club to compete financially in a competition without a salary cap.
The publicity not only affected the three players, but also destabilised the rest of the playing group.
As it transpired, we lost a couple of games by field goals, made the semis, but went out the back door to ultimate grand finalists Canterbury.
All three players signed with our most bitter rival, Manly. The Silvertails, who had not made the semi-finals in '79, certainly wreaked revenge on the Fibros. Their game plan was clearly to use the Wests three to add to their playing list and subtract from ours, ensuring they made the 1980 semi-finals, while we would not.
The signings were not announced officially until well after we exited the finals.
Tom Raudonikis, captain of Wests, and I used the play-off period to try and prevent the moves. We flew to Brown's home town of Griffith to convince him to stay, but returned home uncertain of his plans.
I had dinner with Boyd at his Strathfield home. We went on a long walk while his wife, Judy, cooked dinner. He revealed Manly wanted him and we tried to quantify the loyalty factor in money terms.
Finally, we reached agreement that Manly would have to offer $40,000 for him to leave. He called me the next day to tell me Manly's offer was $39,000, but before I could let out a "whoopee", Boyd went on to say: "I told Arko [Manly's then chief, Ken Arthurson] I wanted $40,000 and he agreed."
Of course, he would: $1000 made little difference to the Silvertails' vault.
"Joe Cool" Dorahy's admission to me that he was going to Manly took a little longer. At a Wests reunion a couple of years ago, he asked me if we could have a beer in Melbourne, where I now live and he occasionally visits for work. We sat in the iconic Young and Jackson pub, talking about a range of things, including politics, where we have somewhat opposite views.
I knew there was something Joe wanted to tell me, but it seemed stuck in his throat and I had to be somewhere else.
Finally, as we sipped our last beer, Joe said, "I lied to you back in 1979 when you asked me if I had signed with Manly. It's stuck in my craw for 36 years and I just had to tell you. I loathe lying and I've felt uncomfortable ever since."
Dorahy also made another admission two weeks ago at a Wests reunion. He revealed that if he had known Tommy and Graeme "Snake" O'Grady would also leave the club, he would have stayed.
Yes, that's right. Wests lost five players at the end of the 1979 season, including inspirational captain Raudonikis and clever lock O'Grady, both to Singo's money at Newtown.
As it turned out, O'Grady rejoined me at St George, but Joe's affection for the club was so deep, he told me he would never have left if he had known that after he signed with Manly the Magpies would lose another two players.
The lessons? A club cannot let its best five players come off contract at once and it will affect team performance as much at the beginning of a season as at the end.
Oh, and if players leave, others replace them.
Wests made the 1980 preliminary final with the previously unheard of Terry Lamb, Jim Leis, Alan Neil and John Ribot, while Manly finished seventh, out of the semis.
