Do you remember the 2005 Grand Final and the Benji Marshall Flick Pass?
That’s a long time ago, and that’s why the long-suffering supporters of the West Tigers are demanding a return to glorious days, but one of their members wrote to me: “Mark, we’ve become the stock of rugby league laughter and it breaks my heart.”
The joint venture club has been looking for its fifth coach in nine years since the sacking of NRL and Super League Premier League winners Michael Maguire, but even the ‘Maj’ has failed to turn things around for the Tigers.
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I look back at the percentage of wins the coaches have won at the club in the past and it paints a horrible picture; Mick Potter 35 percent (2013-2014), Jason Taylor 39 percent (2015-2017), Evan Cleary 42 percent (2017-2018), and Michael Maguire 36.25 percent (2019-2022).
The easiest option is to get rid of the coach, but the common complaint I hear from fans; When is there going to be some accountability from the West Tigers management and the board … I think that’s a valid question.
The moment Maguire learned of the Tigers’ dismissal
Chairman Lee Hagipantelis spoke with 2GB Continuous call team Saturday acknowledged “we are all responsible for what we do.”
“I’m the chairman of the board, so I’m responsible for that role. Justin (Pasco) is the CEO of the company, so he’s responsible for his role, like Tim Shins – the football director and Michael Maguire as head coach,” said Hagipantelis.
“I understand the perceptions and concerns of the supporters, who have spent 10 years in the desert without enjoying a final appearance.”
CEO Justin Pascoe told the San Herald: “It’s not acceptable at all, nobody at the club – from the board, me and by all means – thinks these results are acceptable.
“We all hold ourselves to a higher standard. We have a clear direction on where we want to take this club on and off the field, and we’re working hard to get to that point.”
Mr Pascoe is 10 years old and the club is still in recession.
As I posted on social media this week, I received a lot of support from supporters of the West Tigers’ long suffering. “The definition of madness is that the same people make the same decisions and the results do not change.
If the West Tigers are accountable, can anyone explain how the club has a CEO when it is out of the top eight every year?
Okay, he’s not coaching the team, but he’s still part of the decision-making process when it comes to hiring and retaining the football department and players.
It is understandable that they offered Cameron Sierraldo a five-year contract worth $ 750,000 a season to take over as head coach; If this is true, they have stones on their heads.
I have no doubt that Siraldo will be a successful head coach, but he is unnecessary.
Remember, he’s working with talented players who have grown up together; If the Panthers assume the top position of assistant West Tigers, he will have to sweep through the joint and create a roster that will be able to compete with the competition heavyweights, which he never did.
Doesn’t that emphasize the West Tigers ’dubious decision when they’ve already been forced to pay-outs like Maguire, Taylor and Potter in the last 10 years, why would they even enjoy the idea of a five-year deal? ?
I know they are desperate and they want a ‘development coach’, but it seems extremely risky and expensive, if they go the way of another coach on a long term contract and he fails.
The West Tigers and Lee Hagipantelis are hanging their Fedora at the $ 75 million Center of Excellence that will be unveiled at Concorde next month, but why not build it in Campbelltown or the Southwest Corridor where AFL and Soccer are hiring thousands of kids who can play rugby league?
Naden said goodbye to the spear
Mr Pascoe described it as “a legacy for the club, not just about bricks and mortar, it evokes an elite atmosphere … it will attract players and help retain players and staff.”
If they isolated potential supporters in the Southwest, that legacy would not make much sense; Unfortunately, this already seems to be the case with the handful of games they are playing at Campbelltown and a new headquarters 44 km away.
I asked Mr. Hagipantelis what they were doing to make the most of the huge increase in the Southwest Corridor, and the West Tigers chairman said, “As chair I have spent most of my time formulating and implementing a policy for the area.
“My personal view is that the future of the West Tigers lies in the southwest of Sydney, no doubt, but we must remain faithful to our historical roots, this is the inner west and southwest of Balmain. The western suburbs.”
Encouragingly, Mr. Hagipantelis added, “All we have to do is create something similar for the Southwest and we’ve made good progress in those discussions … I can assure you and your audience that we are fully committed to the Southwest.”
It has to happen soon and I can ask myself why it hasn’t already happened, because the longer it takes, the more kids are snatched away as lifelong supporters of sporting franchises like the Western Sydney Wanderers and the A-list MacArthur FC. The GWS giants in the league and in the AFL, when they should follow the West Tigers.
It’s been a decade of forgetting for NRL clubs and let’s hope their plan doesn’t take them another 10 years to finally make a difference.
Let me know your thoughts via an email on the WWOS radio show by clicking this link; https://form.jotform.co/70601482897867
Wide World of Sports Radio with Mark Levy and co-hosts Billy Slater (Monday), Paul Galen (Tuesday) and Brad Fitler (Wednesday) on 2GB 873am from 6pm AEST.
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