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So what are Mick Potter’s chances of coaching Wests Tigers next season now the club has deferred a decision on whether to offer him a new contract until the end of the season?
Unless the management has already put a line through Potter’s name but isn’t prepared to admit as much at this stage, I reckon the chances of an extension coming Potter’s way look something like this.
The Tigers miss the finals – no chance. They make the bottom half of the top eight – maybe. They make the top four – probably. They win the premiership – definitely.
Rugby league, the game that keeps on giving, was in Santa Claus mode over the weekend, handing out presents here, there and everywhere.
If you like your drama off the field, you had the player unrest at Manly continuing to bubble along at the same time as the speculation over Potter’s future at the Tigers exploded.
Last night, the Tigers’ board met and decided to put contract negotiations with Potter on hold until after they see how the team finishes the year.
That came at the end of a day in which a feud erupted between Tigers captain Robbie Farah and radio commentator and ex-international Gorden Tallis.
Potter took Farah into a private area of the dressing-room at ANZ Stadium for a chat, presumably aimed at establishing exactly where the two stood with each other, and the Tigers lost 28-12 to St George Illawarra.
That defeat wasn’t fatal to the Tigers’ chances of making the finals, but it was certainly a blow. They are in 11th place, in a logjam of teams from seventh to 12th which are all on 22 points.
The Tigers need three wins from the last six rounds to get to 28, which is considered the least amount that may be good enough to get a team into the finals.
Tallis claimed Farah had told him to his face during a conversation last year that Potter “can’t coach”. Farah fumed when he heard about this.
We’ve also got another investigation into a possible salary cap breach on our hands. Gold Coast joins Brisbane in that category. The Titans don’t provide much interest on the field, so they may as well provide some off it.
Which brings me to Parramatta, and Jarryd Hayne, easily my favourite subject coming out of the weekend. That second-half attacking blitz from him in the 24-18 win by the Eels over Gold Coast on Saturday night was phenomenal.
The long-range try Hayne scored to pull the Eels level in the second half, when he made Greg Bird look like a second-rate defender and Kevin Gordon look slow by standing him up before scoring in the corner, was in his top five all-time in my view.
And that is saying something, because Hayne has scored a whole bunch of stunners over the years.
Hayne’s second try, scored from inside Gold Coast’s 20-metre area when he careered on to a good ball from Chris Sandow and continued on an angle to the line, was brilliant as well, and then he made another important run in the lead-up to the try that gave Parramatta a match-winning lead.
If Hayne wasn’t out there, the Eels would have lost. Simple as that. He was being freakish.
Alternatively, the best defence on the weekend came from Manly. They were superb in the way they repeatedly held out the Warriors in Auckland.
The Warriors led 6-0 early and were banging on the door to go further ahead, but the Sea Eagles simply refused to let them and gradually got on top, winning 22-12.
I tipped the Roosters to win the premiership at the start of the season, so I’m stuck with that, but if I was allowed to change I’ve been thinking for at least a month now that I’d rather be tipping Manly
The Sea Eagles may have their own issues off the field, with some players unhappy about retention decisions that have – or haven’t – been made, but it’s not going to stop them on the field.
Once we get to the finals, I doubt if any opposition teams are going to stop Manly either.
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