The Tigers' big four are a big flop

By John Billiris / Roar Guru

After arguably some of the worst few weeks in the club’s history, the Wests Tigers are in need of a new direction and a complete cleanout.

Changes obviously need to be made in administration, but the playing group must accept some of the responsibility for the club’s issues.

I sat back and watched the events of the past few weeks and noticed a perennial presence in any news story about the Wests Tigers: the ‘big four’.

Firstly, the fact that people are calling them the ‘big four is absolutely ridiculous. These players are undoubtedly talented, but have not performed adequately enough to be called ‘big’. In fact, aside from Aaron Woods, they have barely accomplished anything big at all.

James Tedesco’s sole NSW Origin appearance came last year, and he isn’t even guaranteed a spot on this year’s team. Luke Brooks is a young player with immense talent, but he is riddled with inconsistency and prone to errors. Mitchell Moses is in similar vein, and although he is solid, he is by no means anything more than a decent first grader at this point.

These players have been an unnecessary distraction for a club plagued by myriad other issues. Not only have they disrespected the administration, but the fans of the club should be angered by the way these players have also disrespected them. Woods’ demeanor during some of his on-screen interviews has been appalling.

Woods has a responsibility as the team’s captain and leader to take things seriously. He has compounded the problems by the way he has approached interviews and questions about his future. He has wronged the Tigers and their fans by publicly commenting on his protracted contract negotiations, and expressing his desire for the club to appoint a new coach before recommencing his negotiations. These comments are fair in private discussions, but they should not be aired publicly.

I get the sense that these players, puppeteered by their management, just don’t care about the club. I sympathise with Tigers fans.

The chances of the club retaining all four players were slim enough as it was, and these recent events have made it even more unlikely. I would say that’s good news for you Tigers fans. The big four, as a group, should not be retained. The focus should be to acquire leaders and players who can consistently deliver on their talent.

The Crowd Says:

2017-03-24T16:42:30+00:00

Darren

Guest


should have merged when they had the chance .........

2017-03-24T06:24:01+00:00

no one in particular

Roar Guru


For a couple of flops the 2 halves seems to have piqued the interest of some of the bigger clubs and coaches

2017-03-24T05:11:08+00:00

Darren

Guest


the big '4' (WHAT A JOKE),, wait till sunday when they play against (THE BIG 3) then you will see '' the difference between melb storm a well balanced oiled machine - against a club with no future , no snr coach, and a club with players with out any ticker,, Darren..

2017-03-24T05:00:07+00:00

Darren

Guest


the big '4' (WHAT A JOKE),, wait till sunday when they play against (THE BIG 3) then you will see '' the difference between melb storm a well balanced oiled machine - against a club with no future , no snr coach, and a club with players with a ticker,, Darren..

2017-03-24T03:39:01+00:00

Birdy

Guest


Assuming your rant is aimed at me tigerboy, every time I've gone off the rail about the tigers i keep saying 18 is the year. I'd be surprised if every supporter is not aware of that fact. Having said that , why shouldn't any fan be pi $$ed off about the latest fiasco. Everytime something like this happens , its back to square 1.

2017-03-24T02:47:59+00:00

Epiquin

Roar Guru


I was going to propose a swap, but I can't think of a club with two old hands in the halves. Newcastle would've been a good choice if there was none of that unpleasantness with Mullens.

2017-03-24T02:44:54+00:00

Epiquin

Roar Guru


I don't think it matters if they're playing at suburban grounds in front of nobody as long as they're creating better pathways that better develop players.

2017-03-24T02:33:07+00:00

The eye

Guest


How would Milford go in this side with Naquima,Chee Kam and a 2 match rookie outside him...and a nothing of a pack..?

2017-03-24T02:18:23+00:00

ask

Guest


Only Tedesco and to a lesser degree Woods are of any value to the Tigers or any other team for that matter, Brooks is barely a first grader and moses has potential but is very inconsistent. Even as a leader Woods has been disappointing, at no point during the interview on NRL 360 did he admit the players need to take more responsibility for the team's performance. It was Elijah Taylor who did "A lot [of the blame] falls to the players. The last two performances haven't been up to par," he said. "It's not the coach out there dropping balls, it's not the coach out there controlling our energy or missing tackles. That's our job as footy players. Round 3, yeah, Round 3 I thought was a bit early. It caught me off guard big time. We'll see what happens, we'll train hard, all the boys will buy in 100 per cent [to whoever the new coach is]. We have to." I see no problem as others have with him wanting to know who the coach is before he re-signs, that is fair enough. But as a senior player and the captain of the team, if the other players see that the captain doesn't (publicly) take any responsibility for the losses and the team's performance why should the rest of them (publicly or privately).

2017-03-24T01:26:01+00:00

Will Sinclair

Roar Guru


Great post Baz.

2017-03-24T01:06:37+00:00

steveng

Roar Rookie


Add to that, all of us at the Bunnies, will chuck in the 'Burgi Twins' also!

2017-03-24T01:03:13+00:00

kk

Roar Pro


You're right,TB. I was probably expecting the inclusion of a hypothetical Klemmer to lift the team to a standard of excellence beyond their capabilities.

2017-03-24T00:56:28+00:00

Tigerboy.

Guest


I said it the other day, when are people like you, who are too bloody lazy to go and do some real fact finding as to why this club has had so many problems the last few years. It is because they have no money. And why is that so. Because irresponsible individuals of past administrations run the club into the ground. Present Chair of Tigers board, Marina Go said on numerous occasions on becoming Chairwoman, that the club would not see any joy until at least 2018. Why don't you go and write a column as to why St George and the Titans, two clubs who both still owe the NRL millions still run around spending money like drunken sailors. Oh by the way the Tigers paid their debt back in FULL. Also how about a column about salary cap compliance??.

2017-03-24T00:34:07+00:00

The Barry

Roar Guru


Agreed. Brooks and Moses seem to play better when one of them is out and it's Brooks OR Moses...

2017-03-24T00:31:55+00:00

The Barry

Roar Guru


Gladly, although I reckon he went alright against the Warriors. I was watching it with some mates and giving the Beast a spray before the game. They were very quick to remind me...

2017-03-24T00:14:07+00:00

Magnus M. Østergaard

Roar Guru


Fair call. Should change from next year anyway with younger blokes playing the the QLD & NSW Cup now. I would surprised if theres a big difference between the crowds they get, but the stadium quality would certainly vary.

2017-03-24T00:13:10+00:00

eels47

Roar Rookie


I am off to the Eels tomorrow night, and the NYC is on before the main game. As far as I know that is still the case for most games. It is quite rare now that you get the "triple header" with the NSW/Qld Cup game on the same fixture I think.

2017-03-24T00:09:13+00:00

eels47

Roar Rookie


Exactly. We all want the players to speak their mind and not be robots, so we can't criticize them when they do. I also don't think Woods has said anything out of line, in what I have seen anyway. It isn't as though he has made any public demands, he has simply answered questions thrown at him.

2017-03-24T00:08:59+00:00

The Barry

Roar Guru


Agreed. I think he's handled a difficult situation well. He's not really negotiating in public I don't think that's an accurate reflection of his comments.

2017-03-24T00:03:56+00:00

Zedman

Roar Rookie


Haven't been to a game this season, what do the lead up games consist of.?

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