Add Category
NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY tonight, debating rugby league's hottest topics alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in from 9.50pm AEST, as they break down all the big issues following Round 25!
I really feel for Wests Tigers fans, because there is no quick fix for what the club is currently going through.
Yesterday's loss to the Bulldogs was bad, and it hangs over your whole summer, your whole pre-season. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and there's nothing you can do about it. You've just got to find a way to put it behind you and move on.
It's pretty clear from the loss yesterday that the players were already looking forward to the season being over. Individually I'm sure they all thought they were giving 100 per cent, but that's the thing about rugby league. When a team is going bad, each player thinks they're giving their all, and they probably are.
But they don't play as a team, that's the big difference.
The Tigers players are all giving 100 per cent, but the team isn't giving 100 per cent. They're not doing the little things for each other. That's what the game is about.
You look at Tevita Pangai Junior, and the difference in his performance at the Panthers compared to Brisbane. I don't think that's down to Tevita doing anything differently, it's down to the fact Penrith are playing as a team. They're playing selflessly, they all do whatever is best for the team to win, and that's reflected in the results.
READ MORE: Fittler says players must take responsibility for Tigers' season
At the end of the day the players make contract decisions that best suit themselves, let's be honest. But you've got to get a group of players who want to play for each other, and that's hard to do. It's why Melbourne have been so successful, and also the Panthers, they've got a group who play as a team, not 17 individuals.
Players come and go from every club, but it's up to every club to get their squad playing together. For the Tigers at the moment, they're just not gelling as a team.
I look at their playing roster, and one big thing stands out to me. Where is the player that's going to attract other players to the club?
There's a couple of green shoots coming through, like the front rower, Stefano Utoikamanu, who's only just starting his career, and Luke Garner, but they're a few years away from really maturing.
READ MORE: Maguire's job in the balance
I've been at a club where we've had everything go wrong. The Sharks were at the lowest point you could be possibly be in 2012-13-14. But fortunately we were able to attract a couple of players, guys like Luke Lewis, Wade Graham and Jeremy Smith.
When we got them, that attracted others like Michael Ennis and Ben Barba.
The Cowboys were really disappointing this year, but I look at their roster, and other players would be happy to go there for the chance to play with Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes, because they're two superstars.
When I look at the Tigers, I just don't see anyone.
If they had someone who could attract a gun forward, like a Payne Haas, then the next year, you can attract three other quality players, and it snowballs from there. All of a sudden, you're a chance of a premiership.
I'm a big fan of Michael Maguire, I love his intensity as a coach. He's the type of coach I'd love to play for. He's won a premiership.
That's why I don't think changing the coach will make a difference. All it does is make 2022 a write-off. The club would be better off backing Maguire and letting him build something. There's been no consistency since Tim Sheens left. They keep changing the coach, and then each new coach has a different philosophy, and you're starting from scratch all the time.
It takes 2-3 years to build a roster, and that's how long Maguire has been at the club, so he hasn't got that excuse anymore. I really feel sorry for him, he inherited an ordinary roster, with salary cap issues, so it's tough to judge him on what's happened so far. But for sure, going forward it's on him.
I think the way out of their current situation is to pay overs for someone. They can't go stupid and ruin their salary cap, but someone like Payne Haas, if the Broncos are offering $850,000 a season, maybe the Tigers have to offer $950,000, maybe $1 million at a stretch. You can't get ridiculous and pay $1.2 million for an $800,000 player, but certainly they're going to have to pay a bit extra for someone.
The big thing is you can't do it on multiple players. You've got to pick one, and build around that. You've got to be selective and smart. It's a process that won't happen in 12 months, it's a 2-3 year thing.
And without doubt the recruitment policies have to be looked at. Everyone at the club has to take responsibility, including the chief executive, Justin Pascoe. You look at the players who have left the club, even going back 10 years to guys like Chris Heighington, Bryce Gibbs and Beau Ryan.
Losing James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses was massive. Now, you can't keep everyone obviously, because of the amount of money those guys would be paid, but you've got to cherry pick who you want to keep to build the club around them.
And they've certainly failed there.
If they'd paid overs to keep Tedesco, I reckon it would be a whole different ball game now.
The other massive red flag for me is the identity of the club. That centre of excellence looks like it will be outstanding, but I can't figure out why it's at Concord. To me a business is built on a strong foundation, like a pyramid. The NRL club is the very top, but it's got to have a big base. And that base isn't at Concord. It's at Campbelltown. There's juniors everywhere out there.
It's a huge junior nursey. The club needs to bite the bullet and go and be based in the south-west.
You want the kids in that region to have something to strive for, to want to wear the Wests Tigers jersey. That's not happening at Concord.
You look at Gus' five-year plan at Penrith, that's the length of time it takes to turn a club around. They were back in the semi-finals in that five years, and now a bit further down the track they're in a spot where they can challenge for a premiership.
The Penrith junior nursery is similar to Campbelltown. It's a solid foundation to build on. Penrith built that centre of excellence out at Penrith, and all the juniors in the area want to play for the club.
They're proud to wear the jersey. The Tigers play all over the place, Leichhardt, Campbelltown, Homebush, Parramatta. Get out to Campbelltown, take a leaf out of Penrith's book, build a strong foundation.
That's where it's got to start. At the moment there's nothing for Wests Tigers fans to strive for, and I fear it will be a bleak few years ahead.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
