jirskyr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 13,885
I was thinking today, club direction on a knife edge, we are going to move forward regardless of whether players re-sign or not, so what does that look like?
I started to wonder how badly Tigers really need guys like Tedesco and Woods right now, and how badly we just need 5 or 6 less talented but tougher, more reliable players?
Tigers have for a long time had teams with a lot of money spent in a few key positions. It used to be Benji + Prince, then Farah replaced Prince, now it's become Broses, Teddy, Woods. We've usually struggled for consistency because we rely so heavily on the output of a talented few high-profile players. For all the poor results we've had as a club, we have had some of the highest-profile players going around. Even now, Tigers sit in 14th spot, however the media coverage of our players is HUGE. Gareth Widdop is off contract, so is Milford, Shaun Johnson, now Cronk… all big-time players and none of them getting the kind of media that is sticking to our guys.
Maybe it's time to have less show-pony players, less highlight-reel players and more guys who just do their job every week. James Tedesco is great, he really is, but honestly he doesn't win that many games for us by himself. In clutch situations, I don't recall Tedesco making the magic play to win the game. And that's no slight on Tedesco himself, just that for all his talents he's not in the same league of consistency as a Cronk, Smith or Thurston, even if he wants their paypackets.
Smoking Gun said something along these lines, that stuck in my head. We have 4 players taking up a lot of the salary cap, it hasn't worked out for us, and we have for months been offering big contracts to keep these same 4 players at the club for the same high prices. Now fans are getting worried that these Big 4 might leave - but we've had the Big 4 for 3 years and it's been not great. There are many potential reasons for the lack of results (coach, club stability etc.), but one possibility is that the Big 4 just aren't going to do it for us.
But my other line of thinking, the reason for the title, is that people have for so long been screaming for overhaul at the Tigers, at all levels. In less than 3 years we've overhauled the board members and structure, we have a new CEO, we have a new coach. The facilities have been modestly upgraded once and there is a plan for a very big upgrade in the next few years.
What is left? People are asking for changes to make Tigers a better club, what's left to overhaul? Don't say the board, we already did that, time to stick solid for a little while.
The answer is: the players and what we consider a good roster. For all the planning, prep and strategy, the players are 100% responsible for what happens on the field. We had a mini clean-out a few years back, but frankly Heighno, Gibbs, Ryan... that's not so much. Benji left with some noise and obviously moving Farah on was like passing a kidney stone. Sure, there's a limit to the amount of roster turnover you should encorage, but with a fresh start at the management and coaching level, plus an open salary cap, it seems logical that now is the right time to overhaul the way we build our roster.
Cleary has it right - there's a new sheriff so to speak and things need to be done differently, because things being done the same will change nothing. Players who don't want to be part of the changes, players who don't want to own the changes or feel uncomfortable... even players who think they can do better elsewhere with different facilities or team-mates, well they can all go to hell because the changes need to happen and we need people on-board with the plan.
Tigers have always had issues with people within the club not being on-board with the long-term plan. Too many players or officials in the past have had their own, conflicting ideas. We all think Potter and to quite an extent JT were hobbled by the setup and expectations of other people.
Anyway I started this intending to be succinct, it ended up being a rant. I suppose what I want to say is fans have been asking for changes for so long, and it's pretty easy to swallow a new coach or CEO, but it hurts when fan-fave players move on. But perhaps that's exactly the final overhaul Wests Tigers need, get rid of the blokes who play well only when conditions suit, rid of players with weak mentality, who capitulate under pressure, or those who just want things a bit easier, want to be somewhere else.
I started to wonder how badly Tigers really need guys like Tedesco and Woods right now, and how badly we just need 5 or 6 less talented but tougher, more reliable players?
Tigers have for a long time had teams with a lot of money spent in a few key positions. It used to be Benji + Prince, then Farah replaced Prince, now it's become Broses, Teddy, Woods. We've usually struggled for consistency because we rely so heavily on the output of a talented few high-profile players. For all the poor results we've had as a club, we have had some of the highest-profile players going around. Even now, Tigers sit in 14th spot, however the media coverage of our players is HUGE. Gareth Widdop is off contract, so is Milford, Shaun Johnson, now Cronk… all big-time players and none of them getting the kind of media that is sticking to our guys.
Maybe it's time to have less show-pony players, less highlight-reel players and more guys who just do their job every week. James Tedesco is great, he really is, but honestly he doesn't win that many games for us by himself. In clutch situations, I don't recall Tedesco making the magic play to win the game. And that's no slight on Tedesco himself, just that for all his talents he's not in the same league of consistency as a Cronk, Smith or Thurston, even if he wants their paypackets.
Smoking Gun said something along these lines, that stuck in my head. We have 4 players taking up a lot of the salary cap, it hasn't worked out for us, and we have for months been offering big contracts to keep these same 4 players at the club for the same high prices. Now fans are getting worried that these Big 4 might leave - but we've had the Big 4 for 3 years and it's been not great. There are many potential reasons for the lack of results (coach, club stability etc.), but one possibility is that the Big 4 just aren't going to do it for us.
But my other line of thinking, the reason for the title, is that people have for so long been screaming for overhaul at the Tigers, at all levels. In less than 3 years we've overhauled the board members and structure, we have a new CEO, we have a new coach. The facilities have been modestly upgraded once and there is a plan for a very big upgrade in the next few years.
What is left? People are asking for changes to make Tigers a better club, what's left to overhaul? Don't say the board, we already did that, time to stick solid for a little while.
The answer is: the players and what we consider a good roster. For all the planning, prep and strategy, the players are 100% responsible for what happens on the field. We had a mini clean-out a few years back, but frankly Heighno, Gibbs, Ryan... that's not so much. Benji left with some noise and obviously moving Farah on was like passing a kidney stone. Sure, there's a limit to the amount of roster turnover you should encorage, but with a fresh start at the management and coaching level, plus an open salary cap, it seems logical that now is the right time to overhaul the way we build our roster.
Cleary has it right - there's a new sheriff so to speak and things need to be done differently, because things being done the same will change nothing. Players who don't want to be part of the changes, players who don't want to own the changes or feel uncomfortable... even players who think they can do better elsewhere with different facilities or team-mates, well they can all go to hell because the changes need to happen and we need people on-board with the plan.
Tigers have always had issues with people within the club not being on-board with the long-term plan. Too many players or officials in the past have had their own, conflicting ideas. We all think Potter and to quite an extent JT were hobbled by the setup and expectations of other people.
Anyway I started this intending to be succinct, it ended up being a rant. I suppose what I want to say is fans have been asking for changes for so long, and it's pretty easy to swallow a new coach or CEO, but it hurts when fan-fave players move on. But perhaps that's exactly the final overhaul Wests Tigers need, get rid of the blokes who play well only when conditions suit, rid of players with weak mentality, who capitulate under pressure, or those who just want things a bit easier, want to be somewhere else.
