Wests Tigers Grab Second Close Win in July

It's a post victory edition of the West Tigers Podcast, which I always have to joke I have to look up in the manual as they how to do one of these because we don't get an awful lot of bractice at them. Your one word out of that very slim one point victory over the Titans, Oh, I'm going.

about him shortly. I've got fragile, and that's something that we've spoken about a fair bit, Steve, and I want to talk a little bit about that this edition of the pod, and that is the team still at times looks extraordinarily fragile, where something just go the wind blows, shifts direction, blows in their faces and we go to water. So fragile. But I thought it would be nice to

just say fans, Steve. Now, I didn't get the chance to go out to like U, but obviously watched it on television, and I remember talking about this in one of the games last year that we won. I was just so happy to see happy people in West Tiger's colors up on the hill, and I think I don't I can't work out. Let's put it that way. I can't work out why people like us stick around. And you look at that hill and it's chuck full of people, and I'm like, what's wrong with these people? Why do

they keep turning up? So a pat on the back for all the fans. It's it's a rusted on fan base, isn't it. Steve like, if they haven't got rid of us yet, they're probably not going to well.

But dan Ganain said they went through seventy nine minutes of frustration, but they're going to go home. Remember the one minute it was outstanding, And I thought that's a perfect description of the afternoon.

trauma response or or something like that. But in a way, I would suggest that the fan base has been you know, gaut for one of a better term, galvanised by the difficult times where we've been through this together. So you know, maybe there is hope.

about getting behind the Tigers. I don't know what it is. There's a bit of magic in it. Really. It's incredibly frustrated that it's been so negative for so long, that we've been losing for so long. But when there are green shoots appearing, the crowds are there, you know, and they were there then in numbers just on fourteen thousand that are packed like over and it's just a sight to behold them. And despite the crumby toilets and the line up, and if you want to have a winge,

you can have a winge. But there's just no place like it. There really isn't Oh. I went to Alliance the other week against the Roosters and there was twenty five thousand there and it's a lovely place to go and watch footy, you know, and apart from the twenty one dollar hand you could become an infamous comment. But it's nothing like being a Leichha, nothing like it. The atmosphere is not a patch on it.

Tigers can have some degree of sustained success. You know, your Campbelltown's and your like arts are going to you could imagine a time where they are just members only stadiums I mean, we don't know if Campbelltown's going to continue or what form that is, but you could probably see with Like Art that in a couple of years, if the Tigers are up in the top four, top eight, that it might be a situation where you only have members going Steve, do you think that's a possibility.

d and fifty grand? You know, I don't have the answers to that, but it's definitely something to consider, surely.

we call the West Tigers. Does that mean that we have to actually be in to some degree in the western suburbs of Sydney if you are considering that, you know, west of Paramatta, is the Western suburbs nowadays. You know, it would be certainly a change in that regard, but there are things to look at down the track and work out over time. But looking forward to those renovations that like that's going to be I still I don't.

I can't believe it's ever going to happen, but hey, look it looks like it is, so we'll wait and see for that. Let's have a look at the mountain of one word submiss from the West Tigers podcast forum, and in recent times we've made a couple of back end changes to the West Tigers podcast Forum, but a whole bunch of front end new features and new ways of communicating by the West Tigers Podcast Forums about to come in in the next couple of weeks, so we'll

let you know more about that. But a couple of those new members on the podcast forum, let's go with theirs. First, oz Mo seven. Their word was crowd. It was a terrible game, but the win was for the crowd to enjoy. That's a good one. The bing their one word was Mike, but not the well known member of the West Tigers podcast for him talking about Mike the chicken that runs around without a hit reminds them of the West Tigers. Tiger seventy, their word was may, may we avoid the

wooden spoon and may the forest be with us. Barrow's word was may as well, we don't get close without him about tailor may Davy Farrell staggering, staggering that we won that game. Mac Tiger's word was stolen. We stole that one. Wagga Tiger's word was confused. A win's a win. But they look like they just met each other. Yeah, it looked like seventeen guys that met out in the car park who decided to come out and play a game of football. Tiger fifty one to fifty difficult. It

was a difficult game to watch. We made it harder than it should have been, so we made it more difficult than it should have been. It's difficult to see any plan or structure in attack. It's difficult to see how Jack Bird gets another game, and it's difficult to see where the improvement comes from. Yarni's word was who who cares a win? Is a win? Tiger Tragic fifty

six contribution was may the only positive. Peter Ay's word was iq or a complete lack of Rachel Nine's word was how are we still this awful in the red zone after all these years?

symmetry deliverance. We bank the win, no small thing. Enumerator's word was thieves. We stole that one. Mike there is there's Mike. Ugly. An ugly win and an ugly game we would normally lose. And on the rich ometer, poor, poor team performance, Farmer. Rando's word was twenty twenty three,

we looked like the Tigers of twenty twenty three. Tiger's I another new member of the podcast forum coaching, we aren't a well coached side that Mak seventy eight's word was contract, give one to Tailor May and Adam Dewey for next year, seek and destroy. His word was punish. Why do I punish myself every week with this team? Canbra Tiger's word was lucky. Tiger Lily said, dysfunctional. Lord knows how we won that one. Kenny four five one seven their word was diabolical and Teddy s their word

was z That's what grade I thought. I was watching zed great football Steve the Football Gods, Eddie's famous football Gods. We had a little bit of luck in that game, didn't we. The God smiled us on us just a little bit.

most of the stats do go our way. We made more meters through the game, our completion rate was marginally better, our mistackles were less, so we actually did beat them legitimately. But it was a very low standard game. But you know, at the end of the day, we've winged and winged and wined when we say we can't win the moments and we don't know how to win, and we don't like there's no arguing that we struggled to know how

to close the game out win. But what we saw on the weekend was a team that played poorly, that continued to play poor, that made basic errors, that never really got into a flow, but won the game, found a way to win it. And it was a little bit of brilliance by Adam Dewey, but it was a

little bit more than that too. And I'll probably do it Joel, So I hope I'm not jump in the gun, but I'll just mentioned one thing, and that's that's our left edge attack and our left edge at tap looked great, and we're all going to talk about Taylor May quite rightly. He was absolutely brilliant and we're found we've found a superstar in that position. And I don't think I'm being

over the top in saying that. We can talk about that later, but I just want to talk about that whole Like Feinu passing out to Leui, getting it to May, getting it to Skeleton, that combination is going to be dynamic for US. Loui, without doubt had his best game in attack for US. I gave it to him last pod that I was on saying that he's doing a whole lot of good stuff, but his attack is just horrendous,

and I still stand by what I said. But he was awesome in the attack, his combination with Feynu like Fanu giving him good early ball, and the way the way ran off the Feu pass and straightened the attack and then gave good ball to Taylor May, who then delivered good ball to Skelton when he needed to. Was that that is something that we should be really looking forward to seeing develop the rest of this year and in the next year. That is going to be a dynamic,

powerful point scoring machine at that left edge. I'm convinced.

I was really impressed with it. And some of his defense too.

over the off season. We're talking about we're talking about Naden, and we're talking about Olham and all sorts of conversations. But you would think that that May is going to be one of those centers moving forward. And then you start to think, well, Stafford Tower's there, but you've got Makassini coming through as well. So I'm going to be

interested to see which way they go with that. I suppose the thing that you could probably say is, barring injury, probably do these days in the centers for the West Tigers are probably over but Teller apparently not re signed Steve. Should we be backing the youth there or should we be giving Tower another contract?

only just started to play all age football. You know, he's only got a couple of games where he's played against men. So he's still got a bit of a journey ahead of him and he needs to come through that. Maybe it'll get to the point where he's knocking down the door and they have to find a spot for him. And so that that's a conundrument Benji's got to deal with. But it's a great problem to have to have someone like Taylor Maine, staffa Tower as you're starting sentas and Macasini.

You know, if he's as good as we think, he's going to be sitting in the background knocking down the door for a spot in first grade, that that's awesome. And we talked about doing the other night as well. So I don't want to go over it too much, but I liked what I liked what I saw on the weekend and when he shifted flock last of the

week before. I don't know whether do is going to be satisfied in that role, playing thirteen or possibly playing fourteen in the fourteen role, but if he is prepared to give that a go, I think there's something inner for us. I think he gives us another option as a board player. He gives us another kicking option. What concerns me. And it wasn't a huge There were a lot of mistackles in the middle, but they do He wasn't, you know, one of the main offenders there on the weekend.

So if he can, if he can defend for eighty minutes in the middle, then he could make a goal thirteen and he could give us an answer for thirteen because we've been looking for it for a while. There's talk this week that in the last couple of days that he might be going to the Panthers or elsewhere.

the world's slowest lock. I thought Jackson Hastings had that title, but Adam Dewey, he yeah, he takes a little bit of winding up to get up off the line. Just back to the backs. If you if you play macas any on the wing, no great place to start a career on the wing, But then you've you've got to try and fit to Ruvera and Skelton in and it's going to be an interesting one as well. So you know, there's going to be some headaches there, I think for the club, and maybe a couple of tough decisions to

make in regards to all of that. We're not going to beat up on the guy, but he had an unhappy game. Charlie stains, Steve, you do get that out of a Charlie Stains every now and then. He has been used as a backup. He was primarily a backup at the Panthers, maybe a potential candidate for the Shredder, because I imagine that Charlie probably wants a little bit more money than a fringy winger might sort of command.

But if Buller comes back, I think Buller was hopeful of being back this week. So if that's the case, then Taruver back to the wing and Skelton keeps his spot because you know, I don't know before the weekend that Skelton was laid down, Like I still think i'd picked Skeleton before Stains. I think he goes starts our sense. Well, his power out of the back end is pretty important to us. But Stains was probably putting a bit of

pressure on him. But Stains was playing decent footy, and Skelton's defense has has led us down and did again and when we can. But yeah, I think I think Stains might find himself back in reserve grade if if Bullet comes back.

watch for that. We know lu I likes to run. Running game was the best speed all season on the weekend, so they've got to watch him that he doesn't dart and go himself. But then he can give good ball. He can give good ball to Buller coming around you know and joining in the back line on a squeek. He can he can give it to the second row up was his name, Finnu simla Fein who coming straight or coming running an inside line, or it can now go out the back to Taylor May who gives it

on to Skelton. You know that there are so many points of attack on that left side that the opposition back line have to watch for the first time in a long time. We're going to create problems for defensive ones. They're not going to know which way to go, and the minute that happens, the defensive line breaks and gaps appear, and that's how you get through and score points. So, as I said Jim, I know the weekend was poor.

There's a poor performance, but what I took away was that left edge and that left edge is going to be dynamite.

get revert to mercy rule here, Steve. He says, apart from winning a game in the eightieth minute against the bottom place side who were ever so slightly more inept and awful than we were, there's nothing positive at all to take out of that effort today. But I would suggest what we're spoken about as a positive to take

out of it. But there's some strike in that left edge that is that is not just something that looks like it worked yesterday or Sunday, like it looks like it's going to work week in week out, because they're quality players, So that's a possive.

Like there's two errors in the first minute of the second half, and I think we had two had we had two tries scored just before half time. I can't remember when the next one was scored. But we started the second half really poor anyway, So there's a lot. There's a lot to be disappointed about, but there is still positives and this team in years gone past, we wouldn't have won that game, you know, we would have been like I said, this is a couple of weeks ago on the Poden. You know, se we tended to

play ten percent worse than who ever we're playing. So you know, we played the team coming first and we just get beaten. We played the team coming last and we just keept beaten. It makes no sense. Whereas we probably still did the same thing, we found the way to win. You wouldn't have done that. That's a positive in itself. It was scrappy. It was a bit of a fluke. You're gonna no one's going to look at

the Warriors win against the Knives. They're going to say the Warriors are a top four team, they deserve the win. They got the win. That was a fluke. That was a bigger flute than ours. Look, you get those wins. It's two points.

But you could also look at it from the perspective of just losing no matter what happens, you lose, no matter how well you play, you lose, and then you become a team that starts to jag wins when you play poorly, and then when you become an average team, it's like you win quite regularly playing average, you know, you don't have to play out of your skin every week, and then you just you go up to the next level.

So that's another way of looking at it. And I think, coming back to your word needed, I think we need some of these results to go our way, So bank a few wins, to take some pressure off, to breathe, to just get into a different headspace. And actually, because I think as a fan, like we're even as fans, we're so nervous and so anxious and so traumatized that we're so scared of it and so ready for it to go so horribly wrong. And I think some of

that comes through to the players. I think that's the players. Even though we've introduced a lot of players, they tend to take that on, that scar tissue. So if we can continue to, you know, hold our head above water and just even if it's an even if it's not quite fifty percent win rate over the next twelve months, you know, but we're in the fight and we're getting some results, then that's something to build on. And then you can build off that and get up into it being a better team.

a couple of points. Then all of a sudden, we're looking at the next game where we could lose three in a row, and all of a sudden, we've won two from ten. Right. Unfortunately, that's how this season has panned out. Could have been very different. You take the Lucky Galvin disaster out of the season, and this season

could have looked very, very different. And I think we could have been like you said, I think we could have been at the just outside the eight probably, you know, really pushing to get into that seventh or eight spot. But we're not, and I think our confidence is diminished as we go. So even though we were rubbish on the weekend, we found a way to win. We got two points and they got to, you know, sing the song in the sheds and a little bit of belief would have come out of.

to win the game and he took it. Yeah. Sure, the structure to set the field goal wasn't there, and I've banned on all year about us not playing with enough structure. But what he did then he was so close to go there and we and we got back and we kicked the field goal. So that's the minute I'm talking about.

our side. That just shows we are way too low on cattle and tigertown sfs a little bit of a longer one, but saying it's true that we have not had attacking structure. Partly that is because we lost one of our starting halves who demanded to be the center of attention, and it's partly because we have no attacking philosophy. Do we play with the dominant seven? Do we play a ball playing lock? Do we center our attack off

our nine? We have a new attempt to each week depending on who is in the team that day and the result of the previous week's game. I'm giving Benji a pass because we have been competitive without a game plan, and I put that down to his capacity as a men manager. But things need to change for next season. If that means we need to bring in new assistance, and so be it. But we need to develop and identify a game plan that we can stick to week

in week out despite the results. I think that's a really good point, Steve, because it seems like exactly as Tiger town SFS says that even within the context of a game. We saw that last week where we shift things around in the middle of a game, and I wonder if that sort of fragility, that sort of, for want of a better term, schizophrenic sort of way that we play in attack is not being helped by the fact that we keep sort of chopping and changing the

way that we're doing it. And you made the point earlier, the Gallvant situation was definitely a big hiccup in all of that. So maybe that's something that we can work on over the course of the rest of the year, is get a style and then perfect the style.

with nearly everything that he said there. Yeah, I think I think definitely Galvin situation muck us up because we were we were putting together a style of play that's centered around Lochlan Galvin and what he wanted and his desire and need to call the ball every single play, and Jerome Lewi trying to build the guy's confidence, I imagine, was trying to give him the lead there that that in hindsight, that was a mistake but I think you know, before the blow, we were all on board with with

what was what was happening. The only thing I disagree with that but we don't want we want a basic structure. I agree with that, but we don't want a game plan at set in stone week to week two week. We've got to adjust just to the opposition, look at their areas of weakness. And that's one of the things that frustrates me a little bit is that we don't

seem to do that enough. That our game plan is centered around us and and our strength, which is kicks the box, but it's not centered around opposition weakness enough and where we should be attacking across their defensive line. I suppose as they become more confident and played with play together more often, then the game plan might expand and that that will start to happen. But nearly everything that was said there's you. I think we've got the

playoff appy to play around the ruck. I think we've got that sort of When we do that well, we play well. The only the only concern with that is we tend to be less dominant as the year goes on, And I don't know whether that's because Happy's playing too many minutes and gets tired. Earlier in the season. We look more dominant than we do through the ruck were in the back end of the season. But I think

Happy controls the ruck beautifully. If we can get If we can get Luay and phone Who playing the way they did in the work getting down that left side, and do that consistently throughout the season, I think our structure, the way we move around the football field will look a lot better.

Tristan Hope at hooker. So yeah, I'm not sure what the logic might have been with that.

I really liked it. I know he's gone now, but I really liked it when we had Abby playing for thirty minutes, he go off just before halftime, have a break before halftime, after halftime, and come back on with twenty five to thirty to go and telling the Silver come on the back end of our first half and with his nippiness around the ruck would sort of get in there amongst the tied forwards and create havoc. I'm not sure that Hope can has that ability to do that.

He can company can come on and just do a job while Happy has a breather, But I don't like it at the start of the game. They are better minds than me that that might be able to come up with a plausible explanation, but I certainly don't think it worked.

it's looked all season for short for short bursts. What really got got me worried in that game on the weekend was that it was our defense, like we just weren't working to get the lack of awareness. Lack of it like the first try, the first try to where I think it was Jamie Campbell through further long ball. Yeah, it lod up through long ball. You know at they score like against Skelton was just so far in field, but there was no awareness, There were no awareness of

where their their players were. And again the try where Campbell kicked across field, again there was just no one there and there was no one with him of that player. So and then there was another time there where Tower came running in and they were attacking our line, and our defensive one was retreating, like you don't retreat when you're that close to the line. You've got to go. And then Tower obviously realized that, tried to rectify it

and then ran in one hundred miles an hour. And when he did it on his own, well that's just useless unless you're going to ball and all and wrap him up and put him on the ground quickly. That that's that's a recipe for disaster. So our a defensive structure, a defensive plan working together. It just seems that there's a lack of awareness and they're not trusting each other,

they're not in sync. And put that together with some of the mistackles in the middle the first contact miss is in the middle and the straight mister, there was a few bit where where players will just step round on the weekend defensively, that was, Yeah, it needs a lot of work.

going to be our day. This is horrible, this is terrible. There's a steve the encapsulation of attention to detail.

you nailed it at the beginning of the pod. I'm not sure whether you said it or whether you read it from the forum, but the only reason Jack Bird's there is because of our lack of depth. Right that he was poor, really poor on the weekend. He's been poor for a few weeks now.

I think it probably shows you. Probably the other point, Steve is that because we've got plenty of middles, it shows you that I think, sayfar stays in the in the back row numbered when Jack Bird's taking your spot.

But put him in the middle, not starting, I don't think at the stage, but put him in the you know, in the middle on the bench, and him coming after twenty five minutes, you know, I think he's does more than a good job really and you know the effort is going to be there. You know that's going to be there from him.

day and age. I've got to give, as I seem to be doing every time I'm on the pod, giving Si Feinu a rap. Once again, I thought he was really good off the bench. I would still start him. I would start him over twelve and move Twell back to the bench personally, but I thought Siani was really good again. I thought Suka had a pretty good game as well. What I think the thing that stands out when we look at the forwards, Steve is the impact that Reagan Campbell Gillard had for them off the bench.

I think his performance was. You know, he's definitely getting towards the end of his career. I'm not saying sign him, but if we can have someone like that, coming off the bench and making that kind of impact that he did. I thought he was he was very impressive. But I think the thing too that they studied the Tigers very well and their line speed when they were offside. Pretty much every play the ball, they were up on the Tigers very quickly, which needs to be factored into our performance.

We really had very little space to operate.

We got done against the Warriors because we were manhandled by a better forward pack that just absolutely demolished us and rolled through the middle. Now they've got some big guys, you know, their lock and and as you say, Campbell Gillard and also what's the other guy came in off the bench for fea. Yeah, Like they've got some big forwards and they can roll down the middle. I don't feel that we were I don't feel we lost the ruck. We weren't losing meters through the middle of the field

like we were against the Warriors. Actually, I think we we held our own. I think we made it hard for ourselves, but for very different reasons. So there was too many there were too many misstackles in the middle. If you go to the statue, our tight forwards and happy between them missed a lot of tackles one on one missus or ineffective tackles at the very least. So that was a problem. But the fact that the Titans definitely did not roll down the middle of the field.

In fact, we probably we probably got the better of them, I would say in that.

not as far. And I know it was a terrible performance, and I'm not saying that we've turned the corner, but sometimes just the injection of one player in one position kind of can bring up the team. If that makes a little better sense, Like you know, I think that's if there. Albeit it was dreadful and it was terrible, but I think there's something to work with this team. And if we can just continue to strengthen the weaknesses, and there's probably still two or three, then I think

we could make that next move up. And I think Tailorm is the first step in that. Now, let's hope he turns around Steve and signs another contract with US and doesn't get poached next week because he's off contract next year. That would be classic Typers.

is the word. We've got to add a touch of class to what we do. We make mistakes at four times, we go to sleep at the wrong moments, right, But I believe that this group, with a couple of additions, we're pretty close to having the personnel that then need to be coached into doing improving in the areas that

lacking at the moment. But I don't know. I would suggest that the fact that this was probably Leui's best game in attack has probably got something to do with the fact that he had a Tailor may outside of him and was probably confident that if he could, if he could create something, he could get a ball to Tailor Maye, who could then do something with what Lui has created. So naturally, Leui is just a little bit more confident, you know, before he starts to play, and

that's that looked that way. It looked that way out out on the field. You know, Luis was markedly better in the way he attacked them, the way he straightened and gave space to Taylor Maine.

Melbourne Storm. I think what we should be aiming for is we should be aiming for a penrith of you know, the last few years where it's just that all out attack where it's you can improve the defense, defense, defense, defense, concentrate one hundred percent on the defense, but score lots

of points. I think that's that's probably the team that I see there, and their potential is to go all out on the attack and not become and not become a disciplined, well drilled team, but just be more of a well classic West Tiger's flairy type team.

same page. You all buy into that structure. You all know what the man either side of you's job is. You know what your job is. Then you go out on the field with confidence that that structure is going to keep other teams at bay, hold them at bay. And then you add the effort and the ability to scramble, then you've got a rock hard defensive line. That's where we've got their effort. We've got the players with the mindset to go out there and do it. What we

haven't got is that consistent approach of that structure. That's what still needs to improve. Whether we've got and I don't know, I don't know, I don't I think Benji is the guy. I do. But you said at the top shold, and I tend to agree with you. I think we've got to have a look at who we've got under Benji. And I'm not being disrespectful of the guys that are there. I just I think we need to have a good look at it.

Wooden Spoon. The NRL's renamed it because he's always talking about it.

So I'm going to say, so we might get six more points, six six more points. Maybe if we're really lucky, we get eight more points that includes the by so that that would be we would that take us to ten wins?