After back-to-back picket spoons within the final two years, and a membership administration as chaotic as a late-night Monty Python script assembly, you need to admire the braveness and optimism of latest Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall as he takes the reins of the membership for (doubtlessly) the subsequent 4 years.
Marshall is becoming a member of a listing of well-known names to teach the membership, and it’ll take all of the mercurial ability and aptitude he displayed as a participant for him to show the tide on the Tigers and to outperform his largely failed predecessors.
The very very first thing you discover while you have a look at the Tigers’ teaching efficiency desk under is that not one of many seven coaches they’ve had within the 24 seasons because the shaky three way partnership first took the sector in 2000 has achieved a win ratio of greater than 46%, and that features Tim Sheens who received 4 premierships in his profession, Ivan Cleary who went on to win three, and Michael Maguire who received a title with Souths in 2014.
Debacle would possibly appear to be a harsh time period when describing the membership’s teaching historical past, however it’s the Wests Tigers in any case, the place teaching conjecture and intrigue has been an nearly day by day prevalence. Let’s have a short stroll via their teaching historical past.
Wayne Pearce was their inaugural coach again in 2000 however he solely lasted a 12 months, ending with a win ratio of 42%. After having the Tigers firing early within the 2000 season they pale badly in the direction of the tip, misplaced eight of their final ten matches and completed tenth on the ladder.
The number of Pearce as coach within the first place was ill-advised at worst, and stop-gap at greatest, however in all probability necessitated by the hurried method by which the joint-venture was put collectively. Pearce’s observe file as coach with Balmain over the earlier six seasons was woeful, with an general win ratio of simply 35%, however nonetheless marginally higher than that of Tom Raudonikis, who coached the opposite joint-venture accomplice in Western Suburbs.
Given extra time maybe Wests would have had the chance to supply a extra appropriate long-term coach who could have gotten the joint-venture off to a greater and extra secure begin.
Of the seven coaches Wests have needed to date, the good Terry Lamb, who adopted Pearce and coached the Tigers in 2001 and 2002, has the unlucky distinction of being the least profitable, with a win ratio of simply 32%. Beneath Lamb, Wests received simply 9 video games in 2001 and 7 video games in 2002, to complete in twelfth and 14th locations respectively.
To be truthful to Lamb, it was his first (and final) foray into first grade teaching, he inherited a considerably dispirited staff, and so they have been struggling for expertise. Simply as an instance, does anybody bear in mind the next Wests gamers who performed below Lamb – Hassan Saleh, Trent Runciman, Mark O’Halloran, Lee Murphy, Makasini Richter and Ben Black? I assumed not!
After three years within the teaching wilderness, Wests then pulled off their most essential signing up to now after they appointed Sheens as coach for the 2003 season and past. Sheens had received three premierships with Canberra, had coached NSW to the narrowest of losses within the 1991 origin collection, and had 421 first grade video games below his teaching belt by the point he joined the Tigers.
Tim Sheens. (Photograph by Mark Evans/Getty Photographs)
He rebuilt the squad, regardless of a diminished wage cap, and steadily turned the tide at Wests, ending thirteenth in 2003 and ninth in 2004, earlier than taking the staff all the way in which to grand-final victory and the Tigers first, and solely, premiership in 2005 on the again of an excellent younger backbone in Brett Hodgson, Benji Marshall, Scott Prince and Robbie Farah, who have been ably supported by a strong three quarter line and a hard-working younger pack of forwards.
Sheens stayed for one more seven years, passing the 600 first grade sport teaching mark, and turning into the Kangaroos’ extremely profitable coach alongside the way in which, however the Tigers couldn’t reproduce their 2005 kind, making the finals simply twice extra below Sheens, after they have been eradicated early in each 2010 and 2011.
Wests and Sheens then fell out of affection, and though he was contracted till the tip of the 2014 season, the clipboard was handed to Mick Potter in 2013, having served his teaching apprenticeship within the UK.
In what was a really unstable time for the membership, and in a basic case of the tail wagging the tiger, poor outcomes and participant energy put an finish to Potter’s tenure as Wests coach by the tip of 2014, after he achieved successful charge of simply 35.4%.
He was then changed by the marginally extra profitable, however even much less fashionable, Jason Taylor, who solely noticed out two of his three contracted years earlier than participant energy claimed one other sufferer and Taylor exited after spherical 3 of the 2017 season.
So, after these 5 years of turmoil and intrigue, you’d assume that issues would possibly simply cool down, however after all, you’d be incorrect, it’s the Tigers in any case. Andrew Webster stepped in as caretaker coach for a few video games after which it was former Penrith coach Ivan Cleary driving his now notorious bus who stepped into the teaching breach in spherical 6 of 2017, chalking up a victory at his first try, because the Tigers defeated the Cowboys 26-16 in Townsville.
Sadly, the Tigers would style victory solely 5 extra instances that 12 months ending in 14th place on the desk. Wests went quite a bit higher below Cleary in 2018 and so they simply missed out on the finals after ending in ninth place, however simply because it regarded like a a lot wanted rebuild was in progress, Cleary jumped off the bus, stated goodbye to his gamers by way of textual content, and returned to Penrith to make a reputation for himself.
(Photograph by Mark Evans/Getty Photographs)
Cleary completed with a 41.9% win charge from his 43 video games on the helm of the Tigers, and whereas that’s nothing to put in writing dwelling about, even worse was but to come back within the form of former premiership winner in Maguire who took over in 2019.
Issues didn’t go significantly better for the Tigers below Maguire’s “robust love” teaching method, and with the added harm and distraction of the membership’s boardroom machinations, it was no marvel that they slowly slid down the ladder from ninth in 2019 to thirteenth two years later.
Issues actually got here to a head for Maguire in 2022 when he was punted after the Tigers managed simply three wins within the first half of the season. Clearly, the whole lot incorrect with the Tigers should be the coach’s fault, however certainly Maguire couldn’t be held answerable for the staff’s efficiency for the remainder of the season, as they received only one sport below interim coach Brett Kimmorley, completed the 12 months by conceding over 200 factors of their final 5 video games, and took out their first picket spoon. All in all, 2022 was an utter catastrophe, even by Tigers’ requirements, however was there a light-weight on the finish of the tunnel?
Cometh the hour and cometh the person, or on this case Tim Sheens 2.0, and the grasp plan was for Sheens to behave as head coach throughout 2023 and 2024, then hand the clipboard to his assistant Marshall in 2025, and proceed in his function as Director of Soccer, no matter that’s. After all, nobody besides the Tigers’ board and Sheens thought that this was going to work, and it proved to be one other horrible 12 months for the membership.
(Photograph by Mark Kolbe/Getty Photographs)
They received simply 5 video games, misplaced their spherical 18 conflict towards the Cowboys by a file 74 factors to nil, and as soon as once more completed on the underside of the desk. Then the dung then actually hit the fan (and the followers for that matter), with Marshall stepping as much as the top teaching function, the CEO and the board have been punted, and Sheens was moved sideways right into a mentoring function the place he couldn’t do any hurt.
Lamb apart, Benji takes the reins this 12 months because the Tigers’ least skilled coach of their historical past, having served solely very temporary apprenticeship below Sheens throughout a interval of instability within the membership.
He’s coming off a really low base after the membership completed with back-to-back picket spoons within the final couple of years, so nearly something higher than that in 2024 shall be seen as an enchancment, nevertheless Tigers’ followers have been ready an terrible very long time for a staff they are often pleased with, and so they deserve extra, so the unrelenting strain shall be on Marshall from Spherical 1.
It will likely be fascinating to see whether or not switching from probably the most skilled coaches within the sport to an absolute novice shall be both a grasp stroke or simply one other chapter within the Tigers’ ongoing teaching debacle.