Wests Tigers have pulled the trigger on the end of Michael Maguire’s time as coach, announcing the termination of his contract, effective immediately and Panthers assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo is the early favourite to be the full-time successor.
The club issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon to say Maguire had been told his services were no longer required and former NSW and Australian halfback Brett Kimmorley, who had been working with the club in a pathways role, would be taking over for the rest of the season.
Wests Tigers director of football Tim Sheens addressed the media on Tuesday to explain why Maguire was punted with 18 months left on his contract.
Ciraldo is considered the frontrunner to replace Maguire in a full-time capacity although Penrith are unlikely to grant him a release midway through this season.
Shane Flanagan, who played for Wests, and fellow premiership-winning coach Paul Green are on the lookout for permanent roles and could also come under consideration.
Former Cronulla coach John Morris could also be an option, having previously played for the Tigers.
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf, Cowboys assistant Dean Young and Roosters assistant Jason Ryles are other mentors believed to be caught up in the current coaching merry-go-round.
Cameron Ciraldo. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Sheens would not discuss names, but indicated he wants someone adept at working with the club’s array of promising juniors as well as guiding senior players. That is something Ciraldo has become renowned for at premiers Penrith.
“Of course (Ciraldo’s) name is going to be speculated,” Sheens said. “At the end of the day the usual names will be thrown around. We’re talking about a development coach here who is prepared to work with young ones as well as give the senior ones a go.”
Maguire’s exit came as Penrith engage with Ciraldo’s management on a contract extension to stay at the club for next year. The Panthers know Ciraldo will be in great demand given both the Warriors and Canterbury are also searching for replacements after axing their coaches.
But they want to hold on to their defensive mastermind until he believes the right club is there to jump to. And the Tigers believe they can be an attractive option with the talent in their pipeline.
While Sheens was all but resigned to the club missing the finals for an 11th straight season after winning just three of their opening 12 games, he insisted the future was bright.
Pleading for patience from long-suffering fans, he pointed to the fact Western Suburbs had won the under-17s Harold Matthews Cup this year, while the under-19s were also finalists.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
“We need someone for at least three or four years to take control of that and bring the kids through,” Sheens said. “We’re going to have highs and lows as they gain experience.
“We’ve got a couple of good guys coming in next year. We just need to make sure there are spaces there for our good kids to develop into.”
Ciraldo was briefly approached by the Tigers at the end of last year as part of an earlier review into the joint-venture’s poor performances, before they decided to stick with Maguire.
Sheens was not in Australia with the club then, but said time had run out on Maguire after the poor start to this season and with the need to ramp up recruitment for 2023 and beyond.
“It’s not only results, it’s about our future,” Sheens said. “I couldn’t see or recommend that Michael would be here in three or four years’ time.”
Brett Kimmorley. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Maguire could be as an option for the Warriors, with his axing coming just hours after Nathan Brown was pushed out of the Auckland-based club.
A premiership-winning mentor with South Sydney in 2014, Maguire already has a connection with New Zealand rugby league as coach of the Kiwis.
Under Maguire, the Tigers have finished ninth, 11th and 13th in previous seasons and this year have struggled to a 3-9 record to sit in 12th position. They are due to take on Manly this Sunday at Campbelltown.
The Tigers have struggled to attract marquee recruits in recent years with the likes of Josh Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell and Tevita Pangai jnr negotiating with the club only to sign elsewhere.
They added Jackson Hastings this season and he has been a shining light at halfback but other recruits like Joe Ofahengaue, Oliver Gildart, James Tamou and James Roberts, over the past couple of years have failed to fire.
Maguire was spotted at the Tigers’ Concord headquarters on Tuesday where he had run training before meeting club executives. Players fronted the media unaware of the chaos that was about to ensue.
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Saints
Guest
Absolutely. Though he’s still been one of the better players at West’s .
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
I said Griffin is a decent coach and Maguire is a mediocre coach. Comparing them on the basis of premierships isn’t really valid because Griffin has never had the quality of roster that Maguire had in 2014. That roster was either the best, or at least in the top 3 of the completion that year, so a premiership was always on the cards for a reasonably competent coach. Griffin is a decent coach because he has coached three different teams and they have all improved under his watch. That doesn’t happen 3 times in a row if a coach is bad. Players obviously like playing for him because he is able to sign players who he has coached before. He’s not a SuperCoach like a Bennett or a Bellamy, but his teams perform at the level they would be expected to based on their talent. Maguire … he won a premiership in 2014 with a really good team, which is definitely a good achievement, but then only 2 years later coached them to 12th for two years in a row. That was due to poor coaching, proven when Seibold immediately took them to 3 the following year. He then went to the Tigers who had finished 9th the year before. He took them down to 11th, 11th, 13th and they are again on 13 this year. They have both taken over teams from Ivan Cleary. When Griffin took over the Panthers from Cleary, they improved under his watch, when he left, they got worse under Cleary. When Maguire took over from Cleary, the Tigers immediately got worse and have got even more worse since then. That’s an extended period (6 seasons) of deteriorating results. That’s definitelynot a sign of someone who is still a good coach, if he ever was. The dragons are not the Tigers and the tigers are not the dragons, but it would be fair to say that of their two most recent coaching gigs - Maguire took over a stronger team than Griffin did. The tigers got worse under Maguire and the Dragons have gotten better under Griffin.
Bernie
Guest
ditto for Douhi, he was going well at Souths. Luciano the same, i was sorry to see him leave Saints, but now not really as he hasn't exactly kicked on.
Bernie
Guest
poor Madge, always trying to catch a deluge in a paper cup ....
Paul
Guest
The best thing Penrith could do. Would be to give Ciraldo another important job to do as well. To really make him feel that he’s a very important part of the club. As he really is!
Saints
Guest
Some people will argue that black is blue souvalis. Laurie was Penrith’s player of the year for NSW Cup , a much sought after player. Before the Tigers bought him. As you said, Api Korisau is one of the top players playing hooker right now. Papali’i from Parramatta , has been one of the top forwards on form, over the last couple of years. Stephano Utoikamanu was one of the most sought after young props going around, when West’s signed him. Tahmou was a veteran, but still playing very well , when West’s signed him . Shaun Blore was one of the most sought after young forwards going around, when West’s signed him. You’re totally correct about all of them.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Api has been playing in the NRL for 9 years now and he has played one dead rubber origin off the bench. That makes him a fringe origin player, which is definitely not top tier. A player’s pay packet might not be definitive of how good they are, but it’s a decent guide. And the fact is that when these guys were last on the market, the best deal they could get from the people whose jobs depend on it was $600k, which is second or third tier money. Sheens has also now come out and stated that one of the big reasons that Maguire is gone is due to problems he was having in attracting talent. So that’s why he is gone.
Bernie
Guest
same with the Dragons, split between Kogarah and the Gong ..... who are we, where are our fans?
Kurt S
Roar Pro
Thank you Neil and Tim
Bernie
Guest
i heard BBQ Vaughan was taking Dufty to England with him, hiding him in his carry on luggage.
Bernie
Guest
because he just spent six months in a leaky boat, lucky just to keep afloat .....
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Both. The Dragons are tied on points with the Roisters and Rabbitohs in 7th place. With the roster the Dragons have, do you seriously think the Dragons should be in 6th place or higher?
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
Why would Ciraldo go anywhere and why would the Panthers let him go? Ciraldo is the one constant in the success of the Panthers. Through the build of the junior pathways to the style and execution's of the first grade side. The Panthers need him. And why would Ciraldo go? He gets to essentially be a head coach without the media responsibilities. Yes some bloke called Ivan gets all the credit, but if you want Nathan, and he is clearly vital to their success, the Ivan is necessary baggage. But the pro of Ivan is, he has to front the media and do the things coaches like doing least. So provided the Panthers pay him well, he may as well stay.
EastOfDivide
Guest
Would that be the other leaky boats that are taking on water in the bottom half of the competition, with St.George? Or the less leaky boats in the top half of the competition?
Tony
Roar Guru
I'm sure they're considering it
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Get Trent Barrett. A club legend. Experienced coach. Knows how to win. He's the putty to all the holes in the Dragons dinghy
Tony
Roar Guru
It could be worse. We could have big ears who's on track to lead Souths from the grand final to the bottom eight
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
That leaky boat sails better than most other boats and has done for an extended time.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
If you think Api is not top tier you're not watching.. Freddie's not going to put him in there in front of Cook. Jacob Saiffiti made the team, must be top tier. A Reynolds was passed over in that same dead rubber, the Blues were screaming for a classy half replacement, brushed.. then virtually punted out of his club, again by that criteria , not top tier. That logic is nuts. As is ranking quality of players on their pay packet. The buyer's regret around Fifita and Brandon Smith is almost palpable. On Papall'i , a far better gauge of his quality is asking how many starting sides either on an edge or in the middle would he start in... go thru them every single one, even Penrith, Moses to the bench, would start him.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Haven't the Tigers' fans suffered enough?