NRL 2021 Bulldogs v Wests Tigers: Michael Maguire future in question after pathetic performance
It’s arguably the darkest day in Wests Tigers history and it’s set to cost Michael Maguire his job, with the troubled club already on the lookout for a new coach.
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Michael Maguire was on Sunday night fighting a lost cause to save his job at the Wests Tigers with the troubled club already on the lookout for a new coach.
It comes in the wake of arguably the darkest day in the joint venture’s history after they copped a humiliating 38-0 flogging off last placed Canterbury.
It was the biggest-ever loss to a team coming last in the final round of a season, and despite the fact Maguire still has two more seasons to run on his existing contract, it is understood he is as good as a dead man walking as the Tigers’ board awaits a post-season review being conducted by chief executive Justin Pascoe and head of football Adam Hartigan.
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Names such as Shane Flanagan, Penrith’s highly regarded assistant Cameron Ciraldo and St Helens coach Kristian Woolf are all being mentioned as possible candidates.
Chairman Lee Hagipantelis would not speculate on Maguire’s future when contacted on Sunday night.
But a clearly shattered Hagipantelis could only agree when told the pitiful performance looked as though the players had given up on the coach as well as themselves.
“There would be no reason why you could not form that impression on that performance,” Hagipantelis said.
“The Bulldogs to their credit probably played as well as they have all year.
“But still our performance was embarrassing.
“It seems to be the exclamation point on a very disappointing season.”
And three weeks after Hagipantelis publicly told News Corp that Maguire’s job would be safe regardless of how they finished off the season, he did not dispute comments from Fox League expert Greg Alexander who questioned how the Tigers could possibly expect to go into next year anticipating things would get better if the “status quo” remained the same.
“I don’t disagree,” he said.
“If nothing changes then the outcome will remain the same.
“It is just a matter of pure logic.”
While there is no question Maguire has had many challenges since taking over from Ivan Cleary that included a salary cap that was horribly out of shape with too much money being paid to under performing star recruits, there is also no hiding from the fact that in three years under Maguire the team has gone from 9th to 11th and now 13th.
“On any view of it we are going backwards, the figures speak for themselves,” Hagipantelis said.
Reminded that he had guaranteed Maguire’s job along with that of Pascoe and Hartigan and chief playmaker Luke Brooks in our recent interview, he continued: “I am not in a position to speculate on anything at the moment.
“These are matter for the board to determine.
“I have publicly stated that we are in the midst of a year-end review which will hopefully conclude within the next week or two and then the board will decide moving forward as to what if any changes do need to be made.
“And if there are to be any changes made they must be of a kind that will make a material difference.”
Alexander told Fox League: “How do the Tigers just roll into next season as is if status quo doesn’t change?”
Braith Anasta had earlier said: “The Wests Tigers have been poor again.”
Flanagan added in commentary that the players “have been beaten to the punch”
Balmain legend Steve Roach has been a Maguire supporter all the way but big Blocker found it hard to ignore what happened on Sunday when so much was riding on the result given all the recent speculation about the coach’s future.
Roach said he hoped the club at least waited to see what Sheens had to say upon his arrival but told it looked like a performance from a team that had given up on the coach, Roach responded: “Or given up on themselves.
“Mate, you’ve got to have a bit of pride in yourself.
“It just looks like they just don’t care and it is against the side coming last don’t forget.”
Bulldogs leave best until last
Michael Maguire’s career at the Wests Tigers is on life support after his players produced one of the most pathetic 80 minutes by any club in 2021 to heap more pressure on their already under fire coach.
The Wests Tigers were simply awful on Sunday afternoon, finishing the year with an embarrassing 38-0 loss to a Bulldogs side that will head back to Sydney with the wooden spoon after they snapped their 10-game losing streak.
Maguire still has two years to run on his current deal, but calls to replace him will only grow louder in the coming days as the reality of another failed campaign sinks in.
The ongoing internal review will reveal harsh truths about a club that hasn’t played finals footy since 2011 and has seemingly gone backwards under Maguire.
It’s not his fault that they can’t tackle, and he doesn’t deserve all the blame for props taking settlers from 10 metres out after four sets in a row in attack, but it’s clear things aren’t working.
They finished the year in 13th spot with just eight wins, and the Round 25 result was up there with one of their most embarrassing offerings as a club as they failed to score against one of the worst defensive units in the NRL.
It’s a far cry from the pre-season optimism when the Tigers pumped an understrength Sea Eagles side at Leichhardt Oval to give their long-suffering fans false hope of success in 2021.
They made the toothless Bulldogs look like apex predators, and their attack was worryingly bad. They asked as many questions as a rookie reporter at a Wayne Bennett press conference, and defended like it was a game of Oz Tag.
Fans just wanted to see some fight from their club after an abysmal first half saw them trail 16-0 at the break, but things just got worse from the opening set when David Nofoaluma and Zac Cini collided to gift Jack Hetherington the first try of his career.
The cleanout at the club will begin in the coming days, but it might not be just the players who are asked to clean out their lockers.
A NEW HOPE
The Bulldogs of 2021 were never going to beat teams on skill, but that should change next season when the likes of Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Dufty and Tevita Pangai Junior arrive in Belmore.
If they can pair that potential with the effort they showed on Sunday then perhaps things will get better for a club that has struggled on and off the field for a number of years.
One man who won’t be there next year is Nick Meaney, but he was again one of Canterbury’s best with a couple of tries in a sign that he will be terrific at the Storm.
Even when things didn’t go to plan, the Bulldogs were able to dig themselves out of trouble like when Brandon Wakeham dropped a kick-off but then won back possession by finding touch from the line dropout. That’s effort.
INJURIES TO INSULT
If their performance wasn’t bad enough, the Tigers could be without Tommy Talau for the start of 2022 after the centre was carted off with what looks to be an ACL injury.
That’s on top of Adam Doueihi’s knee injury that will keep him out for the opening rounds of next season, while Jake Simpkin was also forced off early with a shoulder concern.
It capped a horror afternoon that saw them reduced to 11 late in the game when back-rowers Luciano Leilua and Shawn Blore were sent to the sin bin.
Originally published as NRL 2021 Bulldogs v Wests Tigers: Michael Maguire future in question after pathetic performance
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