With four losses in a row and barely a point logged in the try column since Round 1, Wests Tigers are officially on life support.
Their lively performance against Souths in Round 1 surprised the experts and provided their fans with some much-needed optimism for season 2017.
But that performance seems a lifetime ago.
Since the sacking of Jason Taylor, things have continued southward for the Tigers, with the list of fan grievances, ongoing player contract uncertainty, coaching upheavals, and boardroom issues suffocating the club.
What’s more, all grades are following the compass south and have been tasered into fits of bad footy.
Once considered the club’s lifeblood, the Tigers’ lower grades have been bleeding points. Their usual top-eight returns have in the past salvaged some hope; the future at least looked bright. The depth was there, the success was there.
Fans would cross their toes and think perhaps, one day, that success would transfer to the top grade. But this year is different, with all grades coping a pasting. Wests Tigers HQ is resembling the ER.
And it doesn’t look like things will improve quickly either.
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Ivan Cleary’s impending arrival is desperately needed and sure to provide a much-needed defibrillation to an outfit already receiving CPR. But he faces immense challenges.
The better-than-average four are all facing a crisis of confidence. The reliable James Tedesco seems to have lost something. His usual surgeon-like skills have abandoned him. It’s obvious he’s struggling to find the chalk, but the biggest concern is that Teddy isn’t setting up tries either. His dependable passing game seems strangely absent.
The assumptions we can make here are that Tedesco has lost confidence in his outside men or he’s been reading too much of his own press. Both instances are tough fixes, and need tending to pronto, however, I’d say the former is less of a concern than the latter.
Then there’s Mitchell Moses. This guy could guy could be the Tigers’ dominant half for the next 15 years, or he could end up being a hybrid Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah. His most recent comments of wanting to play finals footy smacks of arrogance and has injected yet another calculated serum of manipulation into his already drawn-out contract negotiations. Strong club leadership is required in this instance; too much power to Moses will end in tears.
As for Aaron Woods and Luke Brooks, most fans would agree that both are replaceable at this stage of their careers. Woods has a solid motor and is handy forward, but he’s not the type of prop to have opposition players seeking a pre-booking of the on-field medi-cab.
And since starting back in 2013, Brooks’ form has plunged lower than the value of Tim Simona’s memorabilia stocks. Brooks’ kicking game, in particular, is in dire need of bandaging and rehabilitation.
The recovery process looks long and tiresome. Again, they will more than likely be forced to watch finals footy with the lingering sting of mad Monday’s hangover.
Fans will recall that this was the year that the Tigers were meant to challenge for the title if you listened to the experts back in 2013-14. However, a litany of bad decisions and costly mistakes made by management, board and players has stifled growth and reads much like a death certificate.
They need some steady hands to fix this mess.
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