Wests Tigers forwards - Can they shake the pussy cat tag?

[Fade_To_Black]

I am not a PC person. I dont give 2 hoots about the huge amount of charity work this club does. I dont smile when the papers report the Tigers have visited a cancer riddled child mid week, promise him/her a victory and then proceed to be pantsed on the weekend. I dont care that we are perceived to be a "good guys club".

I am not the type of bloke who gloats over good news stories or always does what is socially acceptable. I have many enemies. The reason i am this way is because I do not suffer fools and more importantly **POST EDITED BY ADMIN**. I along with the majority on here riled up against Matty Johns's assessmnent that our forward pack was soft at this years start. I did not want to believe it and I had a personal vendetta against the complainant.

Truth be told, the **Wests Tigers have always been creampuffs**….creampuffs that is with a hell of a lot of talent. **There is not one forward in this squad that would scare me to go one-on-one with**...nor has here ever been....they are not that type of bloke. They are tireless workers and that is highly commendable but they have never possessed a mongrel who scares the opposition. As an opposition forward, there has never been a Tigers forward who I wouldnt be scared to run at. They just tackle you...they dont smash your nose and lie on top of you telling you how sweet your daughter is...they dont pack into a scrum and tell you that on your next run your neck will be broken, then tell you how sweet your daughter is....for gods sakes, you would be unlucky if 2 or more of them met you at the advantage line. All you have to do is take the tackle, quickly play the ball and get ready for your next asault. **It isnt a hard gig**.

By all reports Potter is a defence orientated coach. I really hope this is so because in this day and age you need a tough forward pack....one who is prepared to hurt the opposition. One who is prepared to make the opposites know they will be in a war. My major criticism of the pack has been, for a few years now, Keith. He is big, he is strong and he is soft. No one is scared of him, no one thinks twice about running straight at him. He just does the bare minimum and that is all...and he is not on his Pat Malone. Is anyone scared of being tackled by Liam? By Robbie? by Blair? Take the Roosters forwards for example. They are usually behind us on the table but relish the games against us. I can not think of the last game that we bested them in the forwards. They always bash us. Sometimes our blokes really aim up (think the Broncs and St George this year) but on the whole we are soft in the forwards. I am not asking for a pack of Les Boyds...but am asking for a pack that will hit their opposites every time they have the balls to run straight.

We have a talented side, we also have a collection of media darlings who will attend to a charity at the drop of the hat. How about in season 2013 we have a pack of blokes who are hated in RL circles due to their aggression, their lack of empathy and their mongrel attitude? A pack who arent considered "good blokes"? A pack who will risk it all to get on top?

Maybe then Benji and Robbie will have the space to create our attack......

I can understand your sentiments…..but many a good, tough game has been talked up with a keyboard in one hand and a cold lager in the other.

Take a copy of your post down to WT pre-season training and see which one of our forwards DOESN'T towel you up , it is most definately a hard gig or else we would all be doing it hey?

In 2000 I would say that we had one of the hardest and most intimidating packs in the comp.

I was pissed off the way the Roosters' pack owned us in both games this season but it seems like the forwards were just coached to trundle it up, offload and hope the backs could win the game for us.

I would prefer the whole team to have a hard edge, mentally as well as physically, it wasn't just the forwards who lacked ticker and mongrel.

Do you think that players are petrified by having to run at Hoffman, Smith, Bromwich etc? Nup....they are just better at the wrestle and slowing it down than what we are, unfortunately the game has degenerated to this point where this is a major influence on the result of matches

 

[Guest]

I remember that the 2005 WT forward pack were criticised for being too small. I can't remember any "enforcer" in this 2005 forward pack and the fear from oppostion teams was not due to any WT physical brutality. The pack did however have a number of very good tacklers, Galea, Fulton and co. The reason why WT won the 2005 GF was I believe due to their "brotherly" team spiri, youth and dedication. These are the all important X factors which Potter must re-install into the side. WT have an abundance of young raw talent. The current problem lies with the senior players who need to get away from the media spotlight, forget their differences and really concentrate on leading the younger players.

They defended unbelieveably well during the big end of year games

Thats why we won in 2005

From rounds 1 - 14 they were ordinary

…and the game was played completely differently back then. I also dont remember the defence being that good. It was the fact that we had a very mobile and speedy side that we could effectively scramble and stop tries.

The referees promoted a very fast and open game back then. All of this wrestling crap in the play the ball wasn't tolerated, and it suited the Tigers to a tee with their mobility, speed and skill, plus the team showed an excellent ability to scramble in defence when they were broken up the guts.

Anyway, back to topic…If Potter can improve the defensive structure of the Wests Tigers, and if this in turn leads to a better attitude in defence, then I'll settle for that because the defence was embarrassing this year to say the least, and the players know they are capable of better.

 

[westTAHger]

the teams needs at least 4 hard non compromising players.
at least two in the forwards and one in the backs, one on the bench.
eg. Jeremy Smith, Jason King, Steve Matai, Greg Bird.
they play hard.
for many seasons wests-tigers have on field persona of being nice.
time to turn that into a Jekyll & Hyde, meaning that when the game gets down right dity, they can match it with anyone and come out on top.
**yes I would enjoy it very much, opponents of wests-tigers in 2013, came out and said, they do not like playing wests-tigers because they know they will be in for a very brutual encounter.**

 

[innsaneink]

LOL
Yeh stupid statement, theyre footy players for christs sake…not fighters

Thats not the point. I said I wouldnt be afraid to, not that I could. Its got nothing to do with fighting. It has everything to do with the way they hold themselves and the aura they project. Perception is half the battle. If you dont fear someone you can accomplish anything.

Thats why opposing packs like Souths, Manly, Roosters etc…dont run their big men at our halves or even wider like they do against other sides. They run them straight up the guts, straight at our big blokes and they punch holes straight through them. They dont fear them at all. As a result, we always struggle to beat them. We do have our bunnies who we target with very definite game plans...they fear Marshal and Farah. But the fair dinkum sides always aim at our pigs

I dont see how you could fear anything knowing youd never get the opportunity to do as youd' suggest anyhow
If you truely know it will NEVER happen you cant fear it.

I reckon you could put blokes like James Tamou & Petero into this category….hardly fearsome - almost way too nice to do what they do, but what they do they do extremely effectively

 

[innsaneink]

Im hoping what Ive hoped for a long long time, that a new coach will unearth a whole heap of dormant wasted unused potential in each and every player at the club, Sheens' stubborness saw repetition and a conveyor belt like monotony to our game (Heighno for example)
I dont think they need all that much to change, they need to be allowed to find it within themselves, be allowed to use it and learn to find that thin red line that each player is individual to….so they can go just over that line in a controlled yet aggressive and productive manner

 

[stryker]

I reckon you could put blokes like James Tamou & Petero into this category….hardly fearsome - almost way too nice to do what they do, but what they do they do extremely effectively

I disagree. Both of those blokes always truck it up as hard as they can and muscle up in defence. Especially Petro, who has done it at every level for a decade or more. They might be nice guys, even quiet off the field, but on it they are enforcer type players who never shirk the tough stuff. They are big, they are strong and they always hold their own. Talk to blokes who play against them. Especially regarding Petro, they say he hits you bloody hard every time.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

thats it Ink. The Thin Red Line.
\
\
_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[simonthetiger]

Id like to see a bit more mongrel!!

Soni Passi will do nicely!!
\
\
_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[andrew 474]

we have the players , galloway uninjured and running straight , blair with 5 kg added to his size , bmm running straight and hard , and the new buy from souths we can mix it , also bell can go forward as well and of course woodsy who does go forward , plus the young guns in the lower grade

 

[Basil_Tiger]

I disagree. Both of those blokes always truck it up as hard as they can and muscle up in defence. Especially Petro, who has done it at every level for a decade or more. They might be nice guys, even quiet off the field, but on it they are enforcer type players who never shirk the tough stuff. They are big, they are strong and they always hold their own. Talk to blokes who play against them. **Especially regarding Petro, they say he hits you bloody hard every time.**

Yeah,not too many Petro's around,the classic was when that guy(Saints?) belted him across the face and broke his arm,Petro just got up and shook his head,played the ball, then took another run a couple of plays later.
I thought our Fwds were OK with the ball in most 2012 games,it was just our defence,there seemed to be no cohesion on a regular basis and extremely poor reading of the attack.As i posted elsewhere,it may be a coincidence but the pack has slowly lost its way since Payten retired.

 

[innsaneink]

I reckon you could put blokes like James Tamou & Petero into this category….hardly fearsome - almost way too nice to do what they do, but what they do they do extremely effectively

I disagree. Both of those blokes always truck it up as hard as they can and muscle up in defence. Especially Petro, who has done it at every level for a decade or more. They might be nice guys, even quiet off the field, but on it they are enforcer type players who never shirk the tough stuff. They are big, they are strong and they always hold their own. Talk to blokes who play against them. Especially regarding Petro, they say he hits you bloody hard every time.

Well I thought I knew what you were on about but now not so sure

Who in the game would YOU fear…you say you fear none of our blokes

What type of player are you on about??????

 

[happy_tiger]

Im hoping what Ive hoped for a long long time, that a new coach will unearth a whole heap of dormant wasted unused potential in each and every player at the club, Sheens' stubborness saw repetition and a conveyor belt like monotony to our game (Heighno for example)
I dont think they need all that much to change, they need to be allowed to find it within themselves, be allowed to use it and learn to find that thin red line that each player is individual to….so they can go just over that line in a controlled yet aggressive and productive manner

Ink someone will need to show these blokes where the thin red line is ,very few of them go anywhere near it to be a concern

If they don't improve hopefully Potter will put a thin red line through their names at the selection table

 

[innsaneink]

Happy yeh youre right….Sheens didnt seem to like aggro, he liked compliance.....

this is a thread full of cliches, but to coin a phrase, so to speak, metaphorically speaking, as it were, etc etc etc.....I dont think Sheens had them ever really digging deep when they HAD to dig deep.....I reckon those rare moments where we thought we saw them at their ultimate, last gasp desperation stuff....I reckon they probably still had more in them......you only had to look at Sheens use of the bench....they HAD to pace themselves, they had to keep something in the tank, they knew they couldnt go all out.....pretty much towards the end only 1 or 2 changes off the i'change where other teams would be 4,5 or even 6
Im really concerned yet again at our lack of strike in the pack, if we have to rely on juniors as it looks....we'll get belted

 

[tigerbill]

I am not a PC person. I dont give 2 hoots about the huge amount of charity work this club does. I dont smile when the papers report the Tigers have visited a cancer riddled child mid week, promise him/her a victory and then proceed to be pantsed on the weekend. I dont care that we are perceived to be a "good guys club".

I am not the type of bloke who gloats over good news stories or always does what is socially acceptable. I have many enemies. The reason i am this way is because I do not suffer fools and more importantly **POST EDITED BY ADMIN**. I along with the majority on here riled up against Matty Johns's assessmnent that our forward pack was soft at this years start. I did not want to believe it and I had a personal vendetta against the complainant.

Truth be told, the Wests Tigers have always been creampuffs….creampuffs that is with a hell of a lot of talent. There is not one forward in this squad that would scare me to go one-on-one with...nor has here ever been....they are not that type of bloke. They are tireless workers and that is highly commendable but they have never possessed a mongrel who scares the opposition. As an opposition forward, there has never been a Tigers forward who I wouldnt be scared to run at. They just tackle you...they dont smash your nose and lie on top of you telling you how sweet your daughter is...they dont pack into a scrum and tell you that on your next run your neck will be broken, then tell you how sweet your daughter is....for gods sakes, you would be unlucky if 2 or more of them met you at the advantage line. All you have to do is take the tackle, quickly play the ball and get ready for your next asault. It isnt a hard gig.

By all reports Potter is a defence orientated coach. I really hope this is so because in this day and age you need a tough forward pack....one who is prepared to hurt the opposition. One who is prepared to make the opposites know they will be in a war. My major criticism of the pack has been, for a few years now, Keith. He is big, he is strong and he is soft. No one is scared of him, no one thinks twice about running straight at him. He just does the bare minimum and that is all...and he is not on his Pat Malone. Is anyone scared of being tackled by Liam? By Robbie? by Blair? Take the Roosters forwards for example. They are usually behind us on the table but relish the games against us. I can not think of the last game that we bested them in the forwards. They always bash us. Sometimes our blokes really aim up (think the Broncs and St George this year) but on the whole we are soft in the forwards. I am not asking for a pack of Les Boyds...but am asking for a pack that will hit their opposites every time they have the balls to run straight.

We have a talented side, we also have a collection of media darlings who will attend to a charity at the drop of the hat. How about in season 2013 we have a pack of blokes who are hated in RL circles due to their aggression, their lack of empathy and their mongrel attitude? A pack who arent considered "good blokes"? A pack who will risk it all to get on top?

Maybe then Benji and Robbie will have the space to create our attack......

Not caring about the community work isnt un-PC its selfish and nasty. Did you ever stop to think about the people the club is helping ?

As for playing nasty, why don't you support another club ?

 

[stryker]

Not caring about the community work isnt un-PC its selfish and nasty. Did you ever stop to think about the people the club is helping ?

As for playing nasty, why don't you support another club ?

Suggest you read the whole thread before going off half cocked bill….I clarified what I meant by those statements latter on.

 

[stryker]

Well I thought I knew what you were on about but now not so sure

Who in the game would YOU fear…you say you fear none of our blokes

What type of player are you on about??????

Ben Matalino, Tariq Sims, Jeremy Smith, Jared Warea-Hargraves, Sam Burgess, Greg Bird, Sam Ripira, Tony Williams, Sam Kasiano, Matty Scott, Mose Masoe, Frank-Paul Nuasala, James Tamou…even Ben Teo. They are all big, aggressive, have a nasty streak in them and are as tough as hell. They regularly pole axe people and when they have the ball they charge straight at you with a full head of steam.

Then there are the hard, dirty players like Gallen, Watmough, Thaiday etc....

The only big guy we have had who compares is Ellis and he was MIA for most of 2012 and chunks of 2011\. My hope is that Blair returns to his origins for us next year because this year he only made up the numbers and had zero authority.

 

[brk53y]

I like the way our boys played in the back end of the doggies game after that dud call. They were cranky. Like someone else said I loved it in origin when robbie tried to put slaters head through to china. We need a bit of mongrel. I hate manly but I like watching their forwards because they are mongrels.
\
\
_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[stryker]

I like the way our boys played in the back end of the doggies game after that dud call. They were cranky. Like someone else said I loved it in origin when robbie tried to put slaters head through to china. We need a bit of mongrel. I hate manly but I like watching their forwards because they are mongrels.
\
\
_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

Yeah agreed. Manly, Cowboys, Dogs, Roosters….I like watching their forwards because they are rough and mean. Occasionally we fire up and it is great to watch. It is just far too seldom to be a real force. Wait and see I suppose. Maybe with the new regime we will finally see it....

 

[supercoach]

I doubt forwards are big and hard enough to play that sort of game. Also if it can be coached into them to play hard and angry its not going to happen over night. After all the Sheens years things are going to take time

 

[Joel Helmes]

I doubt forwards are big and hard enough to play that sort of game. Also if it can be coached into them to play hard and angry its not going to happen over night. After all the Sheens years things are going to take time

That's true, especially given the late appointment of Potter for 2013.

Still I get the feeling he will be implementing his philosophies pretty quickly and while I'm not sure how we will go in 2013 I have nothing but faith in him getting it right for the years ahead.