@old_man_tiger The best way I can see us becoming a real force in the next couple of seasons is by recruiting well and having constant stability right across the club,not only in the front office and board room but through to the playing group.
We definitely don’t need the dramas of the previous years such as cap disputes and errors,player arrests,court appearances or sackings…we are in a very stable environment at this point in time and Madge to me is the coach we have needed for a very long time and our playing style and performances are improving every week except the couple of blowout results we have had…
I was very impressed with the Storm game and only a couple of errors gave them the 2 points where we could have had them…
all in all this year has been a good honest season with the team playing for 80 most weeks,the coach has done well to have them where they are…
if they maintain their composure for the next few rounds against the top teams,they could very well beat both Souths and Easts,Madge would have shown them where they went wrong against the chooks and hopefully rectifys the mistakes …
the team is doing ok and this squad can be a force if they keep defending well and sharpen up the attack,they are learning all the time from Madge and themselves…

@happy_tiger I can agree with your comment as such,however IF we were to win our next say 8 games straight and all players and coach are doing well seeing there are new faces on the field and coach,we make the 8 but go no further,is that a successful season ? or do you mean winning the premiership to be known as a successful season…
It is also our right as fans and members to give the new coach a chance to be successful …and I hope he does…

@GNR4LIFE said in We shouldnt be to critical....just yet...:

@TIGER said in We shouldnt be to critical....just yet...:

Should we be critical just yet?

It’s not about being critical its being honest and calling it as you see it and I think what we’re all seeing is what we’ve been seeing for a long time and that is a team that on its day can compete with any team but those days are few and far between.

We can only play at the level we need to be at every week every so often, the good teams play at that level most weeks.

What I am tired of hearing though is “Madge is a good coach, he knows what he’s doing”
We said the same about Cleary.
Good coaches are only as good as the ability of their players, coaches don’t run, tackle, kick or pass!!

The ability of a coach at NRL level is drastically over rated, if the players can’t execute the plays or just don’t have the natural talent to compete at a high level consistently it really doesn’t matter who’s coaching.

If Wayne Bennett coached the under 10s division 6 team full of kids with feet for hands and two left ones at that, and they played the under 10s division 1 team that won the grand final the previous year and is coached by a potato.
Who do you think would win?

Just stop deluding yourselves that the coach is going to be able to work miracles, he can’t!!

• He can’t make Mbye better at catching bombs, or quicker.
• He can’t make Fonua faster or taller or able to jump higher.
• He can’t make Packerlino run harder
• He can’t turn Jennings into Mitchell
• He can’t make decisions for Brooks, or kick for him.
• He can’t stop players from missing tackles or dropping balls.

He can
Sit in the coaches box and bang his fists against the table in frustration, that’s about it.

You’ve just described half the teams in the comp. I know its cool to always try and make us out as woeful, but outside the Roosters, Souths and Melbourne, we’re on par at worst with most other sides. For as terrible as we supposedly are, we’re in 9th. A lot worse than us running around. Try being a Dogs or Warriors supporter atm. Or supporting a side with the talent of Penrith.

Completely agree Gunners,we aren’t as bad as many of the wrist slitters make us out to be…we are in a whole new zone once again but hopefully we stick with Madge and he may be able to recruit some fire power in the next couple of years to make up for some of the overrated players we have atm…and you are right Roosters,Souths and Storm are the big end of town this year,the rest are trying to compete at their level…and coming off second best…

I know things aren’t going as well as we expect so far this season with a couple of big scorelines against us,Parra and Easts,however we haven’t been all that bad in other games…NOT making excuses but there have been some telling points out of those losses and I can understand why things went pearshaped for us…
Firstly I would like to say that Madge is a very good coach and man manager who strives to be a winner in all respects,the tough pre season can confirm this.
He is also dealing with the team he has and how best to play each and everyone of them,not easy when you have to acess each individual over a long period of time…
Secondly in defence of Brooks and Mbye,when Josh was playing alongside of Luke and Benji as well,his performance was a lot better,and remember Madge had to get a makeshift 5/8 in the form of Matto when Josh got injured,that didn’t help Brooks much but wasn’t disaterous.Mbye is still not 100 percent fit in my opinion but is really trying his best,maybe to hard as he is captain as well.
Anyone can see that Madge is doing all he can to make this team a unit but injuries and lacklustre performances from some(Packer as an example )has Madge trying different things…he will succeed,hopefully sooner than later…I personally will give him time as the season is still young,I cant really judge to harshly on the Roosters defeat as they are a superb unit coached well with high class players across the park,we did compete in patches and as we all know we have to compete for the full 80 or that result will happen 9/10 times if you lapse in concentration…
Thirdly I honestly think our team is still short on mentality strength,they goe missing at crucial times wether they have try scored against them or make a mistake,a good example of this is the top teams make an error and they make up for that error decisively…our boys don’t,they drop their heads and start panicking…
just my opinion so far this year…more to come from me later…cheers…

@jadtiger Mbye to reggies until he proves he is better than what he is dishing up atm…

MATTERSON to CAPTAIN…all season with Rowdy when he is back…

@tigeress said in Wests Tigers Team v Parramatta:

@TrueTiger I’m not sure about the long turn around TT. In the past we have been pretty sloppy and much better after a short turn around. Time will tell

You were spot on tigress,I was absolutely gobsmacked watching that game…I started to believe our team finally has learnt how to defend during tough encounters ,but they were there simply to give the EELS a run …very disappointing to say the least…

@tigeress Yes I have to agree with you about the past,however this squad has a totally different coach and most of all …attitude…I certainly hope their resilience comes through for them today…

I think the long turnaround and freshenup will help the team today…I would love to see us put 20/30 on the Eels and finish the game strongly like they did against the Broncs…….hope slimey ends up in tears,somewhere along the way he will have a sook about something for sure…

@TCL It seems only the best players get these horrendous injuries…the Tank comes to mind…

Its not to bad…Ive seen worse…