Jason Taylor’s sacking from the Wests Tigers after just three rounds of the 2017 NRL season shows a club that is unsure of its future and how it wants to operate.
Ever since Balmain and Westerns Suburbs merged in 2000 the joint venture has been on a rocky road.
Their stunning grand final win in 2005 under Tim Sheens was a rare moment of joy in a tough 17 years. Built around the youthful exuberance of local products Benji Marshall, Robbie Farah, Dene Halatau, Liam Fulton and Bryce Gibbs, unfortunately that tremendous triumph over the Cowboys didn’t last. It was quickly back to decline and rebuilding, something the Tigers have been doing ever since, except for a brief successful two-year period between 2010 and 2011.
In 17 years Wests have reached the finals just three times, claiming the wooden spoon in 2002. They’ve battled off-field issues, drug use, John Hopoate’s arse-poking shame, underachievement, poor recruitment, player departures, in-fighting, coach sackings, financial problems and the Tim Simona scandal. You name it, they’ve had it.
The Tigers have churned through three coaches in the past five years with first Sheens, then Mick Potter and now Taylor shown the door. Players have come and gone at an alarming rate, with the club struggling to retain key talent. There was some hope that with the emergence of local juniors Aaron Woods, James Tedesco, Luke Brooks, and Mitchell Moses over the past five years that Wests could finally be building towards something special.
When they’re on, they are certainly something special to watch. Exciting, thrilling, an attacking tour de force. Last year they missed out on the finals by a whisker. But too often when the pressure is on the Tigers have gone missing. Defensively they are not up to scratch. While Woods has established himself as a NSW and Kangaroos prop, and Tedesco has bounced back from injury to earn State of Origin honours, and quite possibly Australia selection at the World Cup later this year, young halves Brooks and Moses have not continued to develop.
Coaches have been cast aside because of a mixture player power and dire results. Sheens in 2012, Potter in 2014 and now Taylor. The former South Sydney coach, who was axed from that job after a drunken altercation with a Rabbitohs player back in 2009, was involved in a messy power struggle with club captain Farah for two years. At the end of last Farah was finally forced out, ironically moving to Taylor’s old club Souths.
It seemed as though the club has thrown in its lot with Taylor. The 46-year old former halfback was the future. But just three games into the new season and he is gone too. Wests started 2017 well – putting 34 points on South Sydney in a round one win. But then in round two they were dismal against Penrith, losing 36-2 to their western Sydney neighbours. And in round three, Taylor’s final game in charge, they were spanked 46-6 by Canberra.
Truth be told, Taylor was on thin ice for some time. Regarded highly as a technical coach, there have long been questions about his ability as a head coach. Some have tagged him as a poor communicator, as an arrogant operator who can’t get the best out of his players. Others have criticised his dealings with the media and were displeased with the treatment of club great Farah, with that saga permanently tainting him in the eyes of many fans and ex-players.
Whatever the reason, Taylor has departed and the Tigers are back to square one again. It’s now down to Andrew Webster, Ivan Cleary or whoever takes the job to get them back on track.
But first Marino Go, Justin Pascoe and the Wests’ board need to work out what the club stands for, what its actual identity is. They need to create a plan for the years ahead and stick to it, come hell or high water. They need to start to lead effectively or leave their roles, and fast, because once again the joint venture is in crisis mode. And that’s becoming an all-familiar tune in the NRL.
