Wests Tigers favourites for NRL wooden spoon

AS IF the Robbie Farah fiasco wasn’t enough of an insult, Wests Tigers fans will now be sweating on their side dodging the wooden spoon.

Dejected Wests Tigers after a Cronulla Sutherland Sharks try during the round 24 NRL match between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers, at Remondis Stadium, Cronulla, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. (AAP Image/Craig Golding) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

AS IF the Robbie Farah fiasco wasn’t enough of an insult, Wests Tigers fans will now be sweating on their side dodging the wooden spoon.

The Tigers are the new $1.90 favourites with the TAB for the most dreaded gong in sport.

After the Gold Coast and Newcastle scored upset wins on the weekend to move two points clear of the Tigers on the NRL ladder, coach Jason Taylor’s men are in the box seat to win the first spoon in the joint-venture’s history.

Victory against the New Zealand Warriors on Sunday at Campbelltown Sports Stadium will give the Tigers a huge boost. They face the Dragons in the final round.

The Titans ($4) await the Dragons and North Queensland, while the Danny Buderus-inspired Knights ($6) meet Canterbury and then Penrith.

Still, Tigers fans will be wondering where it all went wrong for their club, especially given they were classy at times, and even beat the likes of Canterbury, Souths and the Storm.

Benny Elias, who finished his first-grade career with the spoon at Balmain in 1994, and Tommy Raudonikis, who coached the Western Suburbs Magpies to last place in 1999, both had their opinions on where it went for the class of 2015.

TAYLOR: Tigers need a ”fresh start”

NEXT: The men to replace Farah

POTTER: Tigers brought it on themselves

Benny Elias says the Tigers have gambled on the Farah decision.

Elias said the Farah drama was the last thing the club needed.

“These are some testing times for the club, and only time will tell if it gets better,’’ Elias said.

“I’ve always said you need to get your backyard in order before you can worry about on-field performances.

“I think there’s a lot to be said about the behind-the-scenes that needs to get right. I thought a different management with the NRL (assisting) would have given us more of a unanimous process moving forward (at board level).

“It makes Tony Abbott’s job of trying to push something through parliament a walk in the park.

“We’ve got good young kids. If you were to put Tedesco, Moses, Brooks, Woods or Taupau on the open market, they’d all get north of $600,000 or $700,000. We can build a side around those guys. If you take a good look at Melbourne, they have three brilliant players and build their team around them. We can do something similar.’’

Tigers officials would not comment on Elias’ boardroom claims.

Raudonikis, who won two successive spoons as coach of Wests in 1998 and 1999, the last two years the proud black and white jumper was spotted in first grade, still calls himself a ”Magpie’’ and watched plenty of the joint-venture’s games.

“They’ve been hot and cold, but I really feel their forwards have let them down,’’ Raudonikis said.

“While the two young halves are good players, they also didn’t fire at different times.’’

Originally published as Wests Tigers favourites for NRL wooden spoon