Monday Buzz: Phil Rothfield goes one-on-one with Tim Sheens on how he will fix Wests Tigers
New head of football Tim Sheens has issued a strong critique of the F-bomb-laden Tiger Town documentary that trained a spotlight on the struggling club.
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Tim Sheens has revealed his plan to repair the much maligned Wests Tigers in his return to the club where he won the 2005 premiership.
The message to long-suffering fans is to be patient — the four-time premiership-winning coach says it could take three years before the club can become a genuine title contender again.
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Buzz: You’ve been back a month. What sort of shape is the club in?
Sheens: We’ve got a really professional operation. The new high-performance centre will be ready in March. Commercially and financially, from when I left in 2012 to what it is now, it’s chalk and cheese. The place is in great shape. I’ve walked back into a healthy club.
Buzz: That’s all well and good but the results on the football field don’t reflect that.
Sheens: I understand that. The results are black and white but they don’t always tell the full story.
Buzz: The results show you’re going backwards the last three years – 9th, 11th, 13th.
Sheens: If we’d beaten Canterbury in the last game there would have been five teams behind us.
Buzz: I understand you don’t want to put shit on the place because you’ve only just arrived, but …
Sheens: And I’m not going to.
Buzz: Look at your finals record, you’re the only club that hasn’t been in the eight for more than a decade. Not good enough. Agree?
Sheens: Of course we need to do better but for me it’s not just about making the eight. Not unless when you make the eight you’re a chance of winning the comp. You run eighth and then go out the back door week one.
Buzz: Sheensy, in the last 10 years you’ve been in the bottom four five times. That’s poor.
Sheens: What’s happened in the past is out of my control. I was moved on in 2012. I’m back to help out in every area I can. I’ve had my feet under the desk for a month. Of course we’ve got to improve. And a lot of that is going to come around recruitment. You want to have one good side, a good spine and then depth. If you haven’t got it you’re going to struggle. There are only three or four sides each year that are spoken about as potential premiers.
Buzz: You’re a long way off that.
Sheens: For me it’s about sustained success. Making the finals regularly and being a chance of winning the premiership. There’s no point making the eight one year then running 15th the next.
Buzz: You speak about recruitment. The club hasn’t been able to sign big names other than Api Koroisau and Isaiah Papali’i. There have been so many knockbacks.
Sheens: Well, in 2005 we didn’t sign big names. Not one.
Buzz: But your current roster is nowhere near as good as some other clubs.
Sheens: We don’t have any major rep players. This is exactly what they said about my side in 2005. Not one played for Australia or Origin that year. We had a couple of Kiwis. You can have a couple of great players but a great team is what we’re looking for. A group that wants to be here, play together and try to improve every day. We’ve got to build towards that.
Buzz: So you don’t have a Gus Gould five-year plan?
Sheens: (laughs) Please. I use the Jack Gibson three-year plan. Jack always did three-year contracts. The first year you assess it, the second year fix it, the third year you try to win it. Jack mentored me when I was a young coach. I’ll be forever grateful. We’ve changed coaches, we’ve changed administrators. The culture has gone up and down. I looked really hard at the place before I took the offer to come back. It had to be financially stable and it is. You can’t do anything without money and the resources. Back when I was last here we didn’t even have enough money to use the full salary cap. Other clubs, as you and I know, not only spend their salary cap but have the ability to extend it.
Buzz: You can afford players now and you’ve got space in the cap.
Sheens: A little bit, not as much as people think.
Buzz: Is Madge (coach Michael Maguire) a problem? We hear players don’t want to play for him because of that aggressive over-the-top style of coaching. He’s got that reputation.
Sheens: No player has said that to me. No agent has said that to me. I’ve watched training since I’ve been back and seen him coach. What’s wrong with having a reputation for being tough? You think (Melbourne coach Craig) Bellamy is not tough? He sends them out to dig ditches when they first arrive in Melbourne. It’s a cultural thing. And you know what, if you’re not fit you’re not going to go far in this competition. You have to be tough to coach NRL. Our training is well organised. There’s lots of ball in hand and good drills.
Buzz: What about the Fox Sports documentary and all the F-bombs. Would you have done that?
Sheens: No.
Buzz: So it was a mistake?
Sheens: I’ve got no more comment other than I wouldn’t have done it in-season. Maybe during the off-season. It’s too big a distraction with cameras in places where you don’t want cameras.
Buzz: It’s been done well overseas. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Sunderland Till I Die. The Australian cricket team on an Ashes tour.
Sheens: Maybe I’m old fashioned. It’s just not my go.
Buzz: Ok, let’s talk about Madge. He’s got two years to go. He nearly lost his job before you got here. Is he under pressure to get results in the first 10 weeks?
Sheens: No, I wouldn’t say the first 10 weeks. Everyone is under pressure. It’s a results-driven business and there are a lot of NRL coaches under pressure. The expectations of every club is to be successful. (North Queensland’s) Todd (Payten) and (Canterbury’s) Trent (Barrett) are under pressure. You actually embrace it but don’t coach or act that way. You can’t panic. Madge has got to improve us. Simple as that.
Buzz: You seem like too nice a bloke to be sacking coaches.
Sheens: You think? What about some of the conversations and disagreements you and I have had over the years. I like to try to keep a level head. There are so many things in sport that are out of your control. The bounce of the ball. Injuries. Depth. The referee. Politics in a club. We used to have that with the division between Wests and Balmain but not anymore.
Buzz: Okay, onto some more individuals. Luke Brooks. Can you guarantee he will be here next year?
Sheens: Yes I guarantee it. He’s got two years on his contract.
Buzz: Is he happy?
Sheens: (pause) Look … happy in what respect? Is he happy to play? Yes. We discussed this with Brooksy and we discussed it with his agent. He’s getting on really well with Jackson (Hastings) who will probably start at six. He’s got a smile on his face.
Buzz: Didn’t he ask for a release to play for Newcastle?
Sheens: No he didn’t.
Buzz: You didn’t give a very convincing reply when I asked if he was happy?
Sheens: He had some issues about his relationship with Madge. In saying that he’s never been dropped. They’ve had a couple of good discussions. I’ve had plenty of blues with players over the years. Are you happy with every boss you’ve had? You always have some angst inside footy clubs. In our business it’s blown up when high-profile people are involved and a lot of journos in town are looking for every bit of information they can get. You all want a back-page story.
Buzz: Ok, Jackson Hastings. He’s been a troubled figure at previous clubs.
Sheens: Seriously, he’s hit the ground running. I knew he would. In England he had a really tough gig at Salford. He walked in there and turned the place around on his own. Jackson can play nine, seven or six. He’s actually 103kg and could play lock as well. His defence is very strong.
Buzz: You’ve got this fantastic new facility at Concord but what about Campbelltown and the massive nursery that has produced Jarryd Hayne, Israel Folau and James Tedesco. What are you doing about that area?
Sheens: We’re all over it. The pathways we’ve introduced now are the best I’ve seen. We have Matt Betsey (former coaching and development manager at Cricket Australia) heading it up with Brett Kimmorley. We’ve got a clear vision of what we’re doing. It’s a huge area. We’ll have four teams — the Andrew Johns Cup, the Laurie Daley Cup, Harold Matthews and SG Ball. We had more than 300 kids trialling the other day. It’s huge.
Buzz: I was up in Newcastle last week looking at their pathways. Their old legends like Joey, Danny Buderus, Steve Simpson and Kurt Gidley are all involved. Your club seems to have turned its back on its legends. I’m talking about Blocker, Benny, Siro and Jimmy Jack. Why aren’t they involved?
Sheens: There are Balmain legends and Wests legends. We also have Wests Tigers legends. The club formed 20 years ago. I want to make this clear. They are all very welcome. We already have Robbie Farah, Benji Marshall, Ben Galea, John Skandalis, Simon Dwyer, Siro and Pat Richards doing stuff for us. Siro is in charge of Balmain pathways, Noddy coaches the halves in pathways. I’m involved as well, watching as much as I can. We’ve got Warren McDonnell back doing recruitment. He knows more about rugby league in the western suburbs than anyone on the planet. Warren thinks our Matts group is the best he’s seen in 10 years.
Buzz: You seem quite excited about what’s ahead. Will you stick your head into the NRL squad?
Sheens: No. I’m not coaching. Madge and I chat regularly. We are in each other’s ear and with his new assistant coaches. I’m not looking over his shoulder and watching every training session. I will have an opinion and Madge knows he’s got me as a sounding board. We’re starting with a blank piece of paper and I’m here to back him up.
Buzz: Okay, what can you guarantee Wests Tigers fans next year?
Sheens: I’m going to work hard and so is everyone else. We’re all doing extraordinary hours. Processes lead to outcomes. The goal is to improve the effort every week and the results will come. You have fans and you have supporters. Fans come and go. Supporters and members put their money in every year and stay solid through the tough times. We have a great bunch of those supporters at the Wests Tigers. They’ve got a lot to look forward to.
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