It’s been two weeks since the NRL saw two Head Coaches sacked within hours of each other.
Warriors Coach Nathan Brown was the first to go.
Former Head Coaches sacked within hours of each other.
Brownie advised the Warriors that his family were no longer wanting to relocate to Auckland next season. He did offer to stay on for the remainder of the season. Quite rightly the Warriors boss had no choice but to start looking for a new head coach immediately.
All conversations and media interviews were very respectful between the two parties.
But in Tiger Town, things are done a little differently.
A midseason review that started during the bye round was not delivered until the Monday the team were preparing for their clash against Manly.
Madge had a Monday morning training session with the team before being told of his fate afterwards. Professional the Tigers are not.
Wests Tigers Coaching Director (i.e. interference) Tim Sheens has warned Tigers fans that it will take three years to become competitive, and then changed it to three to five years.
The great Gus Gould had similar plans with Penrith. His five years blew out to eight before he was discarded and a former coach he sacked because “he looked tired” broke the premiership drought.
Wests Tigers fans are entitled to be disillusioned with that comment.
Currently, twelve years with no finals football. Potentially it will be a twenty year wait. Fans are paying for season tickets, attending games, buying merchandise just to be told they are no hope.
Someone should have been brave enough to make the call last season. 2022 has been a waste of time.
Sheens’ comments about installing a premiership winning coach is also confusing.
Madge won competitions in the Super League with Wigan Warriors in 2010, and, in the NRL with South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2014.
But there is hope.
Granting Luciano Leilua an early release to the Cowboys will free up salary cap space. They can’t make the finals so, may as well.
The return of Adam Doueihi with Jackson Hastings, Jock Madden, Jacob Liddle and Daine Laurie make a solid spine. Someone needs to answer the Luke Brooks elephant and let him play somewhere else.
Since Brett Kimmorley has taken over the interim coaching reigns, the Wests Tigers have lost to the Sea Eagles 30-4 and the Bulldogs 36-12.
The last match is the same game wooden spooners, the Bulldogs, won 38-0 in the final match last year. That should have been the catalyst for change.
It’s déjà vu all over again.
