What gives with Robbie Farah and the Warriors' attitude?

By David Lord / Expert

If departing Tiger Robbie Farah thought he could publicly humiliate coach Jason Taylor by sitting alone on the deck of the Leichhardt scoreboard yesterday sipping a few beers, the ploy went off like a lead balloon.

If his club-mates were on his side they would have joined him, but not one bothered.

Last July, Taylor dropped 247-game Farah to the reserves, and he was mightily peeved.

How could the coach drop the NSW Origin hooker?

But to Taylor’s credit, the Tigers played infinitely better football to go within a game of making the eight.

But over the last couple of months, Farah has used the media, and loyal fans, to promote his “I’ve been badly done by” sympathy card.

Yesterday, after being feted by the Leichhardt faithful at half-time in the vital clash with the Raiders, Farah decided that wasn’t enough.

At game’s end, with the Tigers thumped 52-10 and missing the finals, that’s when Farah went to the far side of the ground to sit on the scoreboard deck with his legs dangling over the edge.

Foxtel’s Emma Lawrence interviewed Farah on the deck, who again used the opportunity to further his cause.

He hasn’t done badly out of not being wanted – the Tigers will pay South Sydney $760,000 of his first year at the club which will top up his wallet to the tune of $1.2 million.

Farah isn’t worth that much, and he was only the Origin hooker because of coach Laurie Daley’s loyalty when Michael Ennis and Nathan Peats were far better performers.

So the Robbie Farah saga has come to an end, but he did have the final say,

“I’m a Tiger for life”.

Souths will be so pleased to hear that.

By comparison, the Warriors are a disgrace. With four rounds to go they were well positioned to make the eight, but lost all four games to miss out.

But it was the way they lost – 41-32 to Souths at home, 34-6 to the Cowboys away, to finish with two home games and a 36-24 loss to the Tigers, and yesterday a whopping 40-18 defeat by the Eels.

That’s having 151 points scored against them in contention, while only managing to score 70 themselves.

That’s very unlike a New Zealand sporting side that always has inbuilt pride and passion without fail.

I’ve often asked the question why did the NRL invite the Warriors into the competition in 1995?

Why promote the Kiwis, then play internationals against them? It does make any sense.

It would be like admitting a Kiwi side into the Sheffield Shield. Not on.

And when rugby league fans in the northern suburbs of Sydney only have Manly to follow, with the closest club north in Newcastle – 170 clicks away – the Warriors are a waste of space, especially when they aren’t trying.

So dump the Warriors and admit the Central Coast Bears, and all will be forgiven.(Click to Tweet)

The Crowd Says:

2016-09-08T00:29:17+00:00

Joel

Roar Rookie


Your problem Jacko is that you think it's all about game day. Most of the world doesn't get to see what happens during the week, during training, team meetings, etc. After the Mick Potter media merry go round I can't believe you still point fingers at the coach for Farah's demise.

2016-09-07T04:26:42+00:00

Jacko

Guest


Maybe Farah was seeing if it would fit in his new house at south sydney. The money the Tigers owe him he could probably buy the old scoreboard. Along with the whole ground

2016-09-07T04:18:17+00:00

Jacko

Guest


Joel it was Taylor doing all the talking and telling you the things that Farah was doing wrong. The problem is you believed what Taylor said instead of watching some games to see if it were true or just a coach trying to justify a massively controversial decision. From the results it would appear that a experienced player would have been a valuable assett towards the last few games and the biggest thing is that Taylor had no other option at hooker so it was very clear that the decision was not about the team, not about how anyone played, but all about a personality clash and Taylor had the final say as the coach. Now the board should say"well we gave you it all your way and you failed. Bye bye but of course that would mean admitting they backed the wrong horse wouldnt it. Taylor dropped Farah, the Tigers didnt. Lets see who has the better season next year shall we. Souths v Tigers

2016-09-07T04:07:11+00:00

Jacko

Guest


The question was...Which club has proven in the past that they would sack dic head coaches like Taylor...after punching him first.

2016-09-07T01:01:10+00:00

Joel

Roar Rookie


I don't hate Robbie Farah, in fact I have no real opinion of him at all. Nor am I a Tigers fan, but I do like to see them do well. For all we know, it might not have even been Taylor's decision (the board have been pretty damn quiet on the subject, don't you think?) but in any case if you can read between the lines of everything that Taylor has said since the farce started, it's pretty clear that Farah wasn't buying into what Taylor wanted from the team. Taylor put him on the bench, put him in reserves, gave him plenty of opportunity to keep his mouth shut and play the way he was told to play. Instead of submitting, Farah cried to the media about how unfair life is like the giant sook he is and created an untenable situation. Farah literally left the club no choice. There is no way that Jason Taylor is given the latitude to drop Robbie Farah without support, think about it. The Tigers dropped Farah, not Jason Taylor.

2016-09-06T15:16:08+00:00

John

Guest


Clearly the fellow who wrote this article has never grown up watching the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval dreaming of playing for them one day. Farah did what all local junior players want to do at the end of their career. Sit on the hill (or stand) and have a beer watching others play. Judging the way the Tigers choked and fell apart and with the inevitable rise of Manly, Souths, Roosters and Eels, it's hard to imagine the Tigers fairing any better than bottom 4 next year.

2016-09-06T07:02:51+00:00

Jacko

Guest


He was captain when they won the GF too and I find it ironic that Farah is going to the very club ( well one of them ) that sacked Taylor as coach

2016-09-06T07:00:48+00:00

Jacko

Guest


With Cleary he was clearly a better option. Who was the better option at Tigers. A winger? Halatau? really?

2016-09-06T06:56:39+00:00

Jacko

Guest


TWAS if you could actually read a complete post you would have read that I am not a Tigers fan, not a NSW fan yet you accuse me of being one-eyed towards Farah when you constantly argue against anyone at all based on one or two words they may use. Are you then a no-eyed d head? or do you just have no opinion of your own and just argue everybody elses opinion. I have my beliefs around the fans view of league rather than the commercial view of league and the business side needs to learn that a fans perspective is not all about winning, not all about trophy's otherwise we would all follow 1 or 2 successful teams. Look at the Newcastle fans this year, they were awesome. They showed the true fans spirit and you could learn a lot from watching them.

2016-09-06T06:42:22+00:00

Jacko

Guest


Joel that has been is No 1 in NSW this year. Lets account for different opinions and call him no 2 or no 3 in the state. Still by far the best hooker at Tigers by a long shot at Taylor chooses a winger to replace him and we saw how that went. Hate Farah all you like but admit that judges far better than you still rate him highly. Now the Tigers have $750k less to spend for next year and their hooker has a career ending injury. Thats not good business its called "cutting your nose off to spite your face"

2016-09-06T01:05:06+00:00

Casper

Guest


Get it in perspective, narcissist who killed off two coaches trying for the 'coup de gras' on Taylor as he exits to ruin the Rabbitohs future. He was captain fir the last four seasons when they finished 10th or worse and won 36 from 96 games, has had his chances and always played for Robbie Farah first, team second (remember the last minute Hail Mary kick in origin that was a joke). Warriors need a few more tradesmen like Jacob Lillyman & a few less show ponies who don't roll up the sleeves when the going gets tough.

2016-09-06T00:41:03+00:00

Joel

Roar Rookie


It's a team sport. Whether he's a good hooker or not (and he's not.. he's in has-been territory) if you can't work with the rest of your team then you are essentially useless. Farah's ego is the reason this situation exists. in the second half of this season the Tigers have looked a whole lot better than they did in the first half of the year and all of last year. Taylor has this team looking a lot better than Mick Potter did, and if they can get some consistency in their defense there is no reason they won't be able to play finals next year. If they want to sack another coach though, so be it. You can see how successful the coaching merry go round is by all the "success" at the Warriors.

2016-09-05T16:00:33+00:00

Chris Love

Roar Guru


He completely resigned a New contract that meant his previous contracted salary for that year or two was cut then back ended. He deserves every cent he was paid out.

2016-09-05T12:21:50+00:00

LMM

Guest


Robbie Farah made this all about Robbie Farah from the start. Jason Taylor,as the head coach, was well within his rights to do what he felt was best for the team and their chances of winning. Farah should have taken his lumps and gotten on with it and tried to earn a recall. Jamie Soward was dumped from the Panthers, did not whinge, he took it with grace. And why? Because the coach made the decision that Nathan Cleary was a better option for the Panthers.

2016-09-05T11:59:56+00:00

PureAussie

Guest


I have sat on the Leichhardt oval scoreboard and can confirm is is one of the best places in the world to have a beer whilst the sun sets on that magnificent ground. Why shouldn't RF be able to go up there to soak up the atmosphere hours after the match and reflect on all the times he has left blood, sweat and tears on the ground he has loved so much since he was a junior? And why would current players (who are currently employed there) join him? Would they want to be JT's scapegoat next year? This article reeks of bitterness and is a poor excuse for journalism. I've noticed David is always keen to stick the boot in when it come to Farrah. Leave the poor bloke alone. It was a very sad day for him, as it was for most of the fans at the club. Think what you will about RF, but the way JT has managed him out has left the fan base divided and has had a drastic effect on membership numbers, which will be even fewer next year. Everyone keeps banging on about the game being a business- well the wests Tigers should start running it like one. Showing some integrity would be a good start.

2016-09-05T11:40:42+00:00

PureAussie

Guest


Yes hours. It was a 2pm game

2016-09-05T11:25:20+00:00

Train Without A Terminus

Guest


I'd actually have a couple NZ teams in the Sheffield Shield myself. It'd be great for the game but that boat's long sailed.

2016-09-05T11:22:11+00:00

Train Without A Terminus

Guest


In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. Except in this case Jacko, your one eye is blinding you.

2016-09-05T11:17:39+00:00

Train Without A Terminus

Guest


Fess up, that's moosie in there isn't it you goose.

2016-09-05T09:31:30+00:00

M hughes

Guest


Spot on Jacko Tigers will not make the 8 next year it will be another wasted year, Taylor should never been given the job but that's what happens when you have a useless board and hopeless management

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