Unless you have been living under a rock for the past ten months, you would know about the on-going conflict between Wests Tigers head coach Jason Taylor and former club captain and NSW hooker Robbie Farah.
The feud started towards the back end of 2015, when coach Taylor, stated he would play Farah in reserve grade, if he did not move on from the club. Farah was determined to stay at his beloved Tigers and remains at the club to this day, although English Super League side the Leeds Rhinos are offering Farah big money to move overseas and play for them.
The 2016 season has brought a fresh start for the Wests Tigers, with Farah standing down as club captain in an attempt to allow the likes of Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and James Tedesco to run the team.
Controversy did not arise at the club until the Tigers Round 13 clash with the Sydney Roosters. After a tough 80 minute performance in the loss to Queensland the previous Wednesday, Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor made the decision to rest Farah for the joint venture’s clash against the Sydney Roosters, four days later on the Sunday, despite the likes of Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk backing up for Melbourne the night before in their win over the Penrith Panthers.
In dramatic fashion, the Wests Tigers entered the match without a full-time hooker. Dene Halatau was moved to the bench in place of Matt Ballin, who was ruled out through injury, while new recruit Elijah Taylor, was named to start at hooker.
This caused a media attack on coach Taylor, who made the decision not to play Farah, despite the fact that they would go into the clash without a hooker. The controversy once again arose at Concord, and off-field dramas made their way back to the Wests Tigers.
The Farah-Taylor feud seemed to have re-surfaced, and this wasn’t looking good for the Tigers, who were heading into a near must-win match against a fancied Rabbitohs outfit.
Jason Taylor added fuel to the already burning fire by starting Farah off the bench in their impressive 30-14 win against South Sydney. Farah brought the Tigers faithful to their feet, with a brilliant solo try, off the back of a Jesse Sue offload.
But the question remains, is there really anything going on behind closed doors at the Wests Tigers? Is this big feud the real deal, or just a media bash up?
Wests Tigers prodigy five-eighth Mitchell Moses, spoke to the media after the side’s hard 32 points to 18 loss to the Roosters. When asked if he had witnessed a feud between Jason Taylor and Robbie Farah he responded with “I haven’t seen it at all, I think thats just a beat up in the media, so I think they’re going alright.”
The subject certainly has Tigers fans split, with Farah supporters taking one side and Taylor supporters taking their own side. While other league fans are no doubt sick to death of hearing about the constant controversy surrounding these two.
What do you think is really happening at the Wests Tigers? Is the conflict for real, or are the media spinning tales? Let me know in the comments below.
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