I’ll cut straight to the chase.
He’ll never win a premiership with Wests Tigers and will even be lucky to play in a finals series. A player who shows the potential that he seems to have must have a great desire to be part of a winning team or at the very least a top-line contender.
Wests Tigers don’t have the cattle or the coach. Now I know that I’ll have some or even a lot of people disagree with me regarding Michael Maguire, but hear me out. He has shown himself to be a disciplinarian with a fire and brimstone style attached.
This type of approach works decently and for a period of time if you’re having success but soon turns tiresome if and when there’s no success. When he won the premiership in 2014 with Souths he had the luxury of some top tier players (I’ll run through some names in two groups and I’m sure there’ll be some disagreement).
Top of the line: Sam Burgess, Greg Inglis and Lote Tuqiri.
Very good: Luke Keary, Adam Reynolds, John Sutton and Dylan Walker.
In the following three years they finished seventh, 12th and 12th (followed by coach Maguire being sacked). Seemingly when the going got tough and the success wasn’t there, the taskmaster’s rhetoric fell on deaf ears.
Now let’s look at Wests Tigers.
Top of the line: Harry Grant (possibly).
That’s it, all the rest are journeymen, coupled with some budget youngsters. Two years of Maguire and no semi-finals (reading my crystal ball for this year) with no apparent likelihood of improvement next year.
Aside from Maguire, there are severe question marks on the recruitment team. They seem to chase castoffs or at best cheap players as evidenced by their squad. Whether it’s a fault of the recruitment team, the coach or just the club having no desire to spend money, I don’t know.
I’ll use a saying made famous by Ken Howard and “bet London to a brick on” that Maguire’s time is up by the end of next season. Whether it’s the sack or the merry go round of coaching appointments, time will tell.
He seems to coach in a manner where a loss isn’t such a problem as long as it’s an honourable one. Whether he or his recruitment team are choosing the cheap player route, it shows a total lack of want to be successful (unless an honourable loss is).
I for one don’t understand why Maguire is getting kudos for being in ninth or tenth position.
Once again I’ll use a saying but this time it was made famous by Molly Meldrum: “do yourself a favour” Harry and don’t sign with Wests but go to a team where you can have success.
DaniiyWings
Roar Rookie
Agree with you on this. Grant, needs to go back to Melbourne. Love to see him along Munster and Hughes. Papi sweeping.
Jacko
Guest
Placepunter how do the weaker clubs ever change that and become stronger clubs? Its a constant thing that the stronger clubs buy all the best players and continue to get all the results and titles so how is it that we see other clubs become regular top 4 contenders if none of the best players , either young or old, will sign on for them?
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Journeymen tend to play 130 games. They're just like the proverbial "mother in law", they stick around.
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Nothing landmark about players being loaned in world sport. In a swap deal that suited Melbourne he was "gifted" to Wests. The Storm wanted Harry to gain some experience week in week out in top grade due to having two "Smiths" in front of him. Great business by Melbourne in their landmark deal as if "Harry" continues to improve and display the form he's showing, they get him back and if he doesn't then they punt him. Wests on the other hand are like the proverbial prostitute, used and abused and a cheap a.r.s.e. one at that. Just read that Wests are on the lookout for Jason Saab. As though they need another "bargain basement" back. They need another back as much as Quasimodo needed an extra one.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Apart from Grant, Nofualuma is my favorite Tigers player. He is currently the form winger in the comp.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
If Harry stays at the Tigers he will be idolized (he already is a pinup there). Harry at the Tigers is just good for the game of RL. I am very impressed you can see outside of the usual fan bubble.
TIGER MIKE
Guest
Lol What a joke from either a Melb fan or plant Who’s just a bit nervous and worried one of their star young guns might want out and play elsewhere. What else have you written you hide your name might be the coach himself haha you’re definitely not a decent writer
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Placepunter I normally do not reply to people who are too gutless to use their real name, but Grant was not "gifted" to Wests Tigers. It was a club initiative given that Farah retired, Liddle did an ACL and Jake Simpkin was only 18. There was a lot of painstaking negotiations that took place and was all created and driven by the club in a landmark deal. Don't let the facts spoil a good story.
Aiden
Guest
This really takes the cake. The poorest argument made on this site ... you are worse than the AFL fans who hang around on the football threads. Just saying ‘it’s so’ with zero back up doesn’t make you clever, and you are not as funny as you think you are. What’s the point? Just riling up Tigers fans. Posting rubbish about one of the three form wingers in the comp just makes you look like you have never actually watched a game
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
To no one in particular and to everyone else.............V'Landys is about to have to come to grips with a greatly reduced income from the SOS series. Given that it's the cash cow that the NRL are dependent upon year in and year out, the ramifications are going to be massive. As i've previously said V'Landys has always looked short term in his role with the NRL (maybe he felt he had to) and somewhere down the track over the next few years, numbers of teams and or salary caps WILL be reduced.
Placepunter
Roar Rookie
Roger, I have done research and as stated by you the big money signings and offers are from past coaches. Maguire and his recruitment team either don't want to spend money, can't spend money because club has none or no amount of money is attractive enough for major signings to come to the club...........probably a combination of all.
Tigger
Roar Rookie
I think that was true, but we are changing, we don't have the players yet, but we will. Then we will see. I remember when Easts were a train wreck, its all a cycle. Look at the Dragons.
mushi
Roar Guru
That's what tends to happen under a salary cap. If there's perfect information wouldn't players try to form super teams?
Ben Pobjie
Expert
I'm a Storm fan and I'd rather see Grant at the Tigers quite honestly.
Willie La'ulu
Roar Guru
Grant, Hughes, Munster and Papi... I daresay he wont refuse that spine opportunity.
Willie La'ulu
Roar Guru
Bellamy is rocking next year, you may need to wait until 2022 mate. Enjoy the salt while you can
Busta
Guest
As a lifelong tigers fan I still see more suffering ahead Madge needs to calm down he was absolutely losing it when they were winning I believe he has what it takes to get them back up there but it's gonna take 2 to 3 years whether the boards gonna have patience or not we'll see, anyways mbye 950k way over paid a classy player I'll admit but he's no centre worst goal kicker, Reynolds 800k shocking buy doesn't belong at the tiger's we need whole new 2,3,4,5,6,7 we don't have any real game breakers with speed that's what we're missing I wish we'd chase some Alex Johnston players like him, Harry Grant won't stay he'd be stupid to I'd love him to stay but the storm are still gonna be successful 1 papenhuyzen 6 munster 7 Hughes 9 Grant/B.Smith they have class all around
dale wetzler
Guest
the author is right. harry shouldnt and wont stay . theyd be a premiership force if they didnt let go of the big three plus yrs ago plus addo carr papanhouzen etc etc ...tigers is and has always been a fractured organisation . wests and balmain hatred of eachother has been going on since the 1920s . wests have the $$$ tigers got the name . you will never be sucsessful with the cronies on their board . how can you buy the right players when at one stage they were paying three sacked coaches contracts at once ! they will never get a decent coach because they know its a poor organisation .the white sox of the nrl .the old song "balmain boys dont cry "should be the teams walk on music .without harry theyd be fighting the broncs for the spoon .harry will win premierships and contract up grades at melbourne .at tigers hele end up with arthritic shoulders from carrying the team .
no one in particular
Roar Guru
at least he has moved on from his obsession with V'Landys. He was wrong every step of the way there, so lets see how he does here
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Journeymen don't play 130 games, all at the one club