It only took over a whole chuffing season but it is finally over. Finally, we can watch a Wests Tigers game without the announcers mentioning the Farah and Taylor feud eight million times.
Yes, Jason Taylor has finally axed Robbie Farah before Farah could do the same to him and now moves into 2017 with his focus on this young side of his.
You know, I actually think 2016 was a good year for the Tigers. Yeah, they missed the eight, but they only just missed it and this was despite the antics of Farah and Taylor presumably distracting the playing group.
James Tedesco stamped his class on the game while Mitchell Moses finally began to demonstrate his class and their young forwards started to show promise.
However, they didn’t make the eight. Now that Farah has finally left the club that he has been so entwined in for all of these years, will the Tigers flourish like Jason Taylor has been claiming? Or will they once again fail to make the finals?
Strengths
James Tedesco. Do I even need to say anything else? He is the best fullback in the game and if you think otherwise, congratulations, you are wrong.
He reminds me of a 2005-2008 Brett Stewart. He is stupidly fast but also has the ability and smarts to create point-scoring opportunities at a whim. A wonderful player who seems to have got over those injuries of his. The Tigers better hope he re-signs with them.
As stated before, Mitchell Moses finally started to carry on in first grade in 2016. He still has the defensive capabilities of a wet noodle which will really needs to be sorted out if he wants to become a great player, but he is finally demonstrating his potential. He set up some brilliant tries last year and seemed to be getting more confident in attack each game.
This is a relatively decent all-round pack. Last year saw the growth of a lot of the younger forwards into decent first graders. Aaron Woods may be a bit of a ‘stat fraud’ at times but he is still making all of those metres and tackles.
I like their second row of Josh Aloiai, Chris Lawrence and Elijah Taylor who was excellent for the Tigers last year and probably their best buy of the season despite only being there for a couple of games.
Unlike in the first half of the year I don’t think the bench will take too much away from this pack. It isn’t a world-beater pack but it sure isn’t useless like it was a few years ago.
Weaknesses
Jamal Idris is an incredibly frustrating player to watch play for your team. He can just be so damn lazy and disinterested in playing, so have fun with that, Tigers fans.
Meanwhile, Jordan Rankin is not a winger. He is a below-average playmaker at best, but looks like with Tim Simona’s betting-related suspension he will be stuck playing on the wing, and he proved he is not a good enough winger with the positional problems and his errors under the high ball that he demonstrated last year.
I have already praised Mitch Moses’s attack and criticised his defence. Now, I am going to criticise both the attack and defence of Luke Brooks. Ever since his admittedly great debut game, Brooks has completely stagnated in his development.
He is barely a first grade half at this point. Heck, at a lot of clubs he wouldn’t be a first grade half, and he seems like he has a bit of an ego considering his rumoured ridiculous asking price to re-sign with the Tigers. He is not a good enough player to guide this team to success, in my opinion.
But the biggest issue with this club seems to be the attitude of it.
Last year, the Tigers could and should have made the eight, however when push came to shove they allowed themselves to be shoved. For example, in Round 26 they had a match against the Raiders with a chance to make the eight if they won.
They let the Raiders score 52 points.
And their display against Penrith two rounds earlier was equally as bad. And while they were missing Tedesco, that doesn’t excuse the terrible attitude of the club.
Also, I have huge questions over their coach. He finally has the Farah-less squad he wanted, but Taylor really hasn’t demonstrated great form as a coach. It has to be shape up or ship out time for him, and I just think he isn’t a good enough coach to lead this side.
Summary
This is a club with a few talented players in it, but its cap management over the past few years has been bananas. They really need to make the eight this year, however I don’t think they will.
Their culture problems, relatively weak backline and poor salary cap management are really going to come back to bite them this year. I have them finishing 12th, although I could see them landing anywhere from 14th-7th considering the logjam of teams in contention for those spots.
Out of the ‘big four,’ I really hope they keep Moses and Tedesco at the very least for this club to have any future. They have all of the potential in the world, with Tedesco riding that potential and Moses finally beginning to grasp it.
2016 finish: ninth
Predicted 2017 finish: 12th
Transfers
Gains: Jamal Idris, Matt McIlwrick
Losses: Josh Addo-Carr, Jack Buchanan, Josh Drinkwater, Asipeli Fine, Lamar Liolevave, Billy McConnachie, Jesse Parahi, Manaia Cherrington, Dene Halatau, Robbie Farah, Curtis Sironen, Chance Peni, Rod Griffin and potentially Tim Simona
Full-strength team
1. James Tedesco
2. David Nofoaluma
3. Jamal Idris
4. Kevin Naiqama
5. Jordan Rankin
6. Mitchell Moses
7. Luke Brooks
8. Aaron Woods
9. Matt Ballin
10. Tim Grant
11. Chris Lawrence
12. Josh Aloiai
13. Elijah Taylor
14. Sauaso Sue
15. Ava Suemanufagai
16. JJ Felise
17. Michael Chee-Kam
PW
Guest
Good luck making a backrower out of Jamal. I think your best bet is try to turn him into a Meninga-type centre. He's got the raw materials for it.
Freddy
Guest
The biggest problem by far with the Tigers is the coach! Taylor is the one responsible for many if not all of the major negatives within the club. First year in he decided that the style of play that the Tigers will adopt will be similar to what the roosters did yet the Tigers didn't have the player personnel to pull it off. At the same time they ended up being the team with the worst defence despite his playing philosophy being based on defence. At the same time he stifled the growth and development of the attacking traits of both halves brooks and moses. The second year it was evident that he decided to change the team strategy which allowed the young halves an opportunity to be more attacking, this is clearly an admission that in his first year he got it all wrong. The halves particularly brooks have developed a lot slower than their expected potential this is despite Taylor being a halfback himself, it's clear to see that he hasn't been able to impart any influence of significance in the area of the halves. Taylor himself played in a dinner suit and was purely a halfback who's game revolved around kicking not much else, yet this is also an area that has been poor during his coaching so much so that he stopped pat Richards from executing those ridiculously high and dangerous kick restarts as he thought they were a poor percentage play. Other significant issues is that his coaching staff seems to change yearly meaning there is no loyalty or poor choices in the first place, to think that rod reddy got a job after calling him up and making himself available, is clear that it was a jobs for the boys situation, clearly a poor choice. Other notably poor decisions include the number of players he has signed who have done absolutely nothing or being released they include addo Carr, Billy mc, Jesse p, chance p and rod g. This is on top of amateurs/reject which he has signed including Edwards, rankin and Chee kam. He clearly hasn't got the charisma or leadership necessary to coach a first grade team having been rejected from the eels and Rabbitohs, the only reason he has survived two years is the fact that the team is so young to know any better. The fact that the Tigers even got close to the top 8 last year had nothing to do with his coaching it was more a case of teams like the Rabbitohs, roosters and warriors doing so poorly. Taylor needs to go if the team struggles in the first half of the year, there are better people out there who could do a much better job than him most notably, Cleary and Payton, just imagine Bellamy with the so called big 4?
andrew
Guest
I wouldn't get hung up on Tedesco being the best fullback in the competition - I think Dugan was the best returner of the football in the NRL the other day...
eels47
Roar Rookie
Spot on billyg, those last few spots in the 8 are going to be highly contested this year, and I don't think the Tigers are quite there to take one of them. It is a very big year for Moses and Brooks this year. If they don't fire there are no more excuses with Robbie gone. I am interested to see how Idris goes, he is saying all the right things in regards to taking it for granted before etc, so hopefuly he can back it up on the field. If he does I would like to see him move to the back row to provide a bit more starch in the pack.
billyg
Roar Rookie
joey, I heard their football manager interviewed towards end of last week and he was singing from the same songsheet as Taylor re: no comment on signings, it seems its not JT thing but a organisational view. When asked by the interviewers his reply was along the lines of "we wont be commenting or discussing anything to do with contracts, next question".
Kilgore Trout
Roar Rookie
I agree . I think the back row has been their problem for quite a few seasons now .
souvalis
Guest
Odd..can't see any reference to Teddy as a backflipper..isn't he the banner man for all backflippers..must be just cherry...
Big Daddy
Guest
Isn't it great when you have such enthusiastic support from supporters like tiger ted and joey b.
billyg
Roar Rookie
Tigers will be in that logjam of teams competing for 7-14th and most likely will succumb to the pressure in the run home and finish about 11-12th. While Tedesco, Woods and Moses are fit, they could challenge most teams on their day but if they are off most teams apart from possibly the Dragons and Knights would tear them apart. Aparts from Woods and Taylor, their forward pack wouldn't inspire too much confidence. Aloiai has some potential but apart from that it is stacked with what can best be described as journeymen. Backline can be exciting one minute, frustrating the next. Cameo Naiqama can do some freakish things but is not consistent. Nofoaluma is sold but not great, Simona was ok but is now gone. Idris could be good but needs to get rid of his laziness. Only the most fervent supporter would say they were good for anything above 8th spot.
Ben
Roar Guru
They'll be big movers in my opinion. No more Farah, and Matt Ballin will be a piller of strength for them. The overrated Dene Halatau is gone. Your assessment of Luke Brooks is odd, he's a future rep player i reckon. If they could bench Idris and use him as an impact forward off the bench, he would be better suited.
Box
Guest
The only thing you have wrong with this preview is the line about Tedesco being the best fullback in the comp. Yes he is a talent who can break a game open, but there is a big chance he won't even be the best fullback in NSW let alone the comp. Hayne, Trbojovic and Moylan will all push him for an Origin spot and then there is the fact that the current fullback for Australia is a very, very good footballer at the top of his game.
The eye
Guest
The Tigers have 3 of the best runners of the football in the NRL in Tedesco,Nofa and Moses..if Idris is 'back' he's a huge asset and will remind people with short memories of what a brutal defender he is..unfortunately thats it,forwards are a continual disappointment of loose defence..same as last year.
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
The hype for Moses has been a bit OTT, but from what I have seen he is a better player than Brooks. Brooks has played 3 full years of FG now and hasnt showed much. Moses has played 2 full years and has at least showed improvement, his defence is getting better and is making better choices. A split for them could be good.
Joey B
Guest
Am I the only one who can't understand the hype around Moses? Sure, I've seen flashes of brilliance but for someone supposedly demanding a big salary, he's seemed dreadfully inconsistent to me. Not to mention he's been the biggest defensive liability in the NRL. Same goes for his mate Brooks. The Tigers have been stupid paying them overs based on potential. What ever happened to players getting paid based on proven performance? Having said that, the potential is there for the Tigers to prove a few people wrong this year, but when you look at the list of departures vs signings it's a bit of a worry. Hard to see them making the 8 unless they get lucky with injuries and the halves really step up. JT has lost his scapegoat now so the pressure will be on him more than most coaches in the league this year. Considering his bizarre move telling journalists off camera no one will be answering any questions about contracts when that's clearly the biggest story for the Tigers at the moment, I don't think he will be up to the task. Seems to me like he's a paranoid control freak who suffers from small man syndrome. Not the type of personality for success as an NRL coach I think.
Tiger Ted
Guest
Your preview is precise. Anybody who thinks we can make the 8 is up with the pixies. We have a soft culture that surrenders when the going gets tough, our defence is shithouse, the coach is a paranoid juvenile & our depth in the outside backs is an Achilles heel. The no. 7 is not anywhere near an NRL standard player.He is devoid of all the necessary attributes required of a competent halfback.He should thank his lucky stars the tigers screwed up by paying a fortune based on potential over the last 3 yrs for no return. We can't finish higher than 13th but most likely will finish 15th.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
Thanks mate!
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
This should be an interesting year for the Tigers, my mate who is a Tigers supporting said he is just sick of them never being in the 8. They should be able to make the 8 this year, they will have negotiate Origin with out Woodsy and more importantly Teddy. This will be an interesting year for the Tigers, no Farah for the first time in years, no Benji, only Chris Lawrence is the only old guard there
Haradasun
Guest
I just read that as marshmellowing the new defensove structure. Which would be much more appropriate. Big issue for the tigers will be depth and how they cope with injuries through the year. It has been their achilles heel last few years.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I like what I saw in the trial against the Cowboys. I think having a hooker that is playing to Taylors game plan made a big difference. I do think this is a 5-9 position team. I'm just wondering about the depth of the team. Hooker and halves look fine with the stand ins Littlejohn and McIlwrick doing an oustanding job in the trials. Not so sure about the forwards, and outside backs now that Simona might be out long term. Having Rankin in the starting team sound like they're reaching their limits.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Cheers...as I say happier for them to all re-sign with the Tigers. Feels right. Good luck for the season.