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Player power ended Jason Taylor’s tenure as Wests Tigers coach, and that’s just one of many problems Ivan Cleary has to conquer as the replacement.
The job is a poisoned chalice. The club has had four coaches in the last six years, and just one premiership in 2005 in 17 years as the amalgamation of two proud and passionate foundation clubs in 1908 – the Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers.
An amalgamation that should never ever have been considered.
So far under coaches Wayne Pearce (2000), Terry Lamb (2001-2002), Tim Sheens (2003-2012), Mick Potter (2013-2014), and Jason Taylor (2015-2017), the Wests Tigers have won 186 of their 424 games for a 43.8 per cent success rate.
Nothing to write home about.
The 46-year-old Cleary in two stints as Warriors coach from 2006 to 2011, and the Panthers from 2012 to 2015, has a 121 win record from 249 games for a 48.59 per cent success rate.
And to prove how tenuous a coach’s life can be, Cleary won the Dally M Coach of the Year award in 2014 at the Panthers only to be sacked the next season.
So it’s vital for Ivan Cleary to do well at the Wests Tigers.
Hopefully he told the unimpressive Wests Tigers board it was his way or the highway before he signed on the dotted line, and that he would be in sole charge of his support staff, selections, retentions, and new recruits.
Anything less and he might as well drink from the poisoned chalice today and get it over with.
Next cab off the rank today would be to sit across the desk with skipper Aaron Woods, James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses, and Luke Brooks to sign on the dotted line sooner than later.
All four gave the impression they wouldn’t sign until the coaching drama was settled, and that time has arrived.
But full-back Tedesco has been mentioned as a Dragon which has Josh Dugan spitting chips, while the other three have been linked to the Bulldogs.
Tedesco summed up the general feeling that all he wants is to be a member of a winning side that has genuine premiership aspirations.
That begs the question will the quartet give Cleary the space to make them happy, or not take the risk and head for greener pastures?
It all boils down to how good a salesman Cleary is, and he’s already under intense pressure not of his making – he has inherited the mess, but the salary as well.
One thing for certain, without that quality quartet Cleary hasn’t a hope in hell of realising his positive prediction yesterday that the Wests Tigers will make the finals this season.
But they are at the bottom of the table with one win, and have the Cowboys to deal with at Townsville this round.
Any fair-minded rugby league supporter will wish Ivan Cleary well, the NRL can’t afford to have any club just making up the numbers.
And right now that’s all the Wests Tigers are worth.