Wests Tigers on top of NRL ladder for first time in club history
Wests Tigers fans should get a kick out of this, and you couldn’t hold it against them for having a laugh at Penrith’s expense.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Wests Tigers are top of the league for the first time in the joint-venture club’s history, and it’s partly funded by western Sydney rivals Penrith.
It is understood as part of the agreement to release Ivan Cleary to return to the foot of the mountains, Penrith also handed over a settlement payment, believed to be around $400,000, which has gone straight towards Michael Maguire’s salary in 2019.
Fox Sports Lab says that since Wests Tigers kicked off in 2000 they have gone 494 rounds of football without being in first place.
In that time, 223 players have pulled on a Tigers jersey, and there have been eight coaches, including Wayne Pearce, Terry Lamb, Tim Sheens, Mick Potter, Jason Taylor, Andrew Webster, Cleary and now Maguire.
Told of the milestone, foundation coach Pearce couldn’t believe it.
“That is great. It is great to see them start so well,” he said.
But while acknowledging the wonderful work of the players, led by Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall, who are turning back the clock, Pearce said much of the praise needed to go to Maguire for the personal values he brought with him.
In many ways, Pearce said, what we are seeing is a throwback to the old days of Balmain and Western Suburbs.
“You go back to Wests and you go back to Balmain, they were both very much blue-collar-type clubs,” he said.
“They were always built around spirit. And having a little bit of an understanding about how Madge works, he is very much anchored in tradition and spirit and pride in the jersey.
“So that accounts for a lot when you are talking about rugby league. Nowadays, the NRL is super professional and a super slick sport.
“But you can’t put a value on what spirit and camaraderie will do for a team.”
Which is exactly what Maguire has done. The biggest knock on Maguire when he came to the club was that he worked his players too hard and that he was relentless in his pursuit of winning.
But it helped him win an English Super League title with Wigan and a premiership with South Sydney.
On paper, the Tigers hardly have the flashiest squad but what they have shown is that they don’t lack self-belief.
Marshall has made no secret of the fact this pre-season was the hardest he had trained in his career.
Farah just seems to be loving his football and the chance to finish his career back at the club where it all started.
This Sunday the Tigers have a great chance to maintain their position on the ladder when they head to Campbelltown to take on the winless Bulldogs.
It’s also worth remembering it was this week two years ago that former Canterbury Leagues Club chairman George Peponis took a pot shot at his rivals.
When there was talk in 2017 that Des Hasler’s future could destabilise the Bulldogs, Peponis said: “We’re not the Wests Tigers.”
The comment was in reference to the Tigers’ coaching merry-go-round.
Originally published as Wests Tigers on top of NRL ladder for first time in club history
The doping disaster which saw NRL star tackle billion dollar industry
Ten years after his career almost ended prematurely, Raiders star Hudson Young has launched his own supplements company to ensure rising athletes don’t make the same mistake as him.
Storm’s Last Dance? Bellamy plots GF revenge before poaching raid
In what could be his final year in Melbourne, Craig Bellamy has the Storm primed for revenge after last year’s grand final loss. And it may be his last chance before the club is raided by cashed-up rivals.