NRL 2021: Common denominator in Wests Tigers nightmare isn’t Michael Maguire

The furious Wests Tigers chairman has fired a legal warning shot at critics, calling for an end to the personal attacks and vitriol.

Mitch Moses and James Tedesco during Wests Tigers training at Concord oval. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Don’t make it personal – or there’ll be severe consequences.

Angry Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis has hit out at personal vitriol directed as his board, front office, coaching staff and players, claiming individual condemnation was “offensive, unnecessary, unhelpful, inappropriate and unfair”.

And the Brydens Lawyers principal has threatened legal action against any personal slurs that “cross the line”.

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The Tigers have come under fire after a poor Anzac Day outing against the Sea Eagles.

Hagipantelis is already receiving legal advice over insinuations made about him in a rival media outlet.

Hagipantelis claims to accept criticism about the club and its performances but has come out swinging against personal attacks being fired off at his players and staff.

“Play the ball, not the man,” Hagipantelis said. “If you don’t like the decisions we make then go to town. But when it’s personal, it’s a very different story.

“We are open to criticism because the results aren’t there, they speak for themselves and this is a results-driven industry. There is a legitimate case to criticise the club for not fulfilling the expectations of fans and members, that’s fair enough.

“If there are decisions taken by the club that they do not agree with then we are open to be criticised. I have no qualms with that.

“But what I do not like is the personal criticism. When the criticism is directed at the individual personally, then that is unnecessary and unhelpful. Its inherently unfair and inappropriate to level personal criticism at an individual.”

“It stings. People like myself and the board who fulfil these roles … we don’t get paid. We do it out of the passion, commitment and love for this club. To question people’s motives and agendas, I find that offensive.

Michael Maguire is coming under plenty of pressure.

“It’s difficult to understand why there is such criticism of the front office. I know the front office has fully committed itself to support the football department and the team.”

Hagipantelis confirmed he would consider action against any personal attack.

“If someone crossed the line, and posted any defamatory then that would receive an appropriate response,” he said.

“There is a line that should not be crossed and if any comments were made that we deemed to be defamatory of myself or any person in the club, then that would receive all due consideration from a legal perspective.”

The club continues to support embattled coach Michael Maguire with Hagipantelis adamant his club would continue to be “united” in the face of heavy criticism and scrutiny.

Despite having a bolstered playing roster this season, Wests Tigers are in crisis having won just one of the club’s first seven rounds this season. They sit equal last with Brisbane and Canterbury.

A 40-6 loss to Manly last Sunday has heaped additional pressure and disapproval onto the Concord club, its players, board and management.

Lee Hagipantelis has warned critics not to cross the line.

“The club is not immune from the frustration and disappointment that our fans and members experiencing. We share it with them. As a club, we accept responsibility, and, as a club, we are united, absolutely united, despite all the external noise, distractions and narratives being pushed,” he said.

“We are all on the same page and are working hard because it’s not the beginning of the season we were hoping for. But we have absolute faith and confidence in our structures, in our resources and facilities and our staff.

“The club itself is more financially stable and better run than it has ever been, off the paddock. There’s no doubt about that. And our football department is as well-resourced as it has ever been, with assistant coaches, dietitians and sports scientists.

“There is no reason for any panic or knee-jerk reaction. The response has to be harder work and that’s what we’re committed to working.”

Wests Tigers play St George Illawarra on Sunday in Wollongong. Defeat would add another layer of excruciating pressure on every member of the club.

“All the ingredients are there, it’s just a matter of it coming together over a sustained period,” Hagipantelis said.

“We are working to identify why we are sitting on one win and why there hasn’t been consistent performances over the 80 minutes.

Hagipantelis says the club is in a better financial position now than its ever been.

“Is there a two or five year plan? No, it’s a week to week plan. We want to improve week to week. We are no focused entirely on the game this Sunday against St George and we are looking for a marked improvement.

“Are we looking for long-term, sustained success? Absolutely. But it’s a week to week proposition.

“We have two spots available this year and our football committee, football manager and head coach are extraordinarily active in reviewing opportunities consistently. And there is no doubt we have significantly improved our roster.”

FORGET THE COACH, THIS IS TIGERS REAL PROBLEM

—Paul Crawley

When Wests Tigers chief executive Justin Pascoe signed Michael Maguire at the end of the 2018 season, he should have known what the club was getting.

Either that, or he didn’t do his homework.

Maguire this week finds himself in the firing line, painted as the scapegoat for the Tigers’ dismal start to the season, with his job on the line.

But what about Pascoe, who has overseen this club for the past six seasons?

Michael Maguire is under pressure at Wests Tigers after a dismal run.

Who has been at the helm while 39 free agents have been brought in, year after year, but failed to deliver a finals berth.

Who signed Maguire at the end of 2018, and re-signed him to a two-year extension just four months ago.

Where is his accountability?

REPUTATION PRECEDES HIM

The stories that followed Maguire out of South Sydney were not exactly the best kept secrets in the game, and not all of them painted the premiership-winning coach in a great light.

It would have been impossible for Pascoe not to have heard them.

Sure, you won’t find anyone at Souths who will ever question Maguire’s relentless work ethic, dedication or professionalism.

They all say he has an exceptional footy IQ with outstanding ethics, and is always on time, for everything.

He can also command a room, while never getting in any strife in his personal life, and his planning is meticulous.

Those were the positives.

The flip side was that Madge could also be a bit of a punish to play under, and that’s putting it mildly.

But again, Pascoe signed him.

Some of the stories were legendary.

Wests Tigers' CEO Justin Pascoe (left) after signing Michael Maguire as coach.

Not only about how he drove high standards for himself, but expected the same from everyone. Without exception.

But right there is the issue when it comes to NRL coaching, because there are always exceptions. And if you don’t get that, that’s when the trouble starts.

Old Johnny Lang used to have a saying that some players go better when they are ridden hands and heels, to use a racing analogy, while others need to be cracked with a whip.

A case in point at Souths was little Adam Reynolds.

Word has it that it got to the stage where the cheeky No. 7 had almost arrived at the point where he just didn’t want to play anymore while Madge was there.

Whether you think it is a coach’s prerogative to train a team any way he sees fit, it’s no use if the players don’t respond.

And while cracking the whip worked in 2014 on the way to that drought-breaking premiership, it had worn thin on the squad in the years following.

Souths insiders don’t exactly say that Maguire had lost the dressing room, but there were certainly individuals who’d had enough of him and it was time for a change, for all parties.

Most Wests Tigers fans are fed up — and haven’t been afraid to let the club know.

HISTORY REPEATS

But fast forward a little more than two seasons and now the rumour mill is back in overdrive that Maguire’s methods are again wearing thin at the Tigers, if they have not exposed the skin already.

Yet, should this have really come as any great surprise?

If it is the case, why on earth did the Tigers hand Maguire a new two-year contract extension only months ago, even if they had clauses written into it that they can get rid of him at any time and it won’t cost the club a small fortune?

Was that really the plan the Tigers put in place, you are entitled to ask?

THE INVISIBLE MAN

Because it brings us to Pascoe’s role in all this.

While he has come out this week and said Maguire was safe, for now, what is increasingly difficult to understand is how Pascoe himself has remained the invisible man throughout it all.

Because it’s the chief executive who has been the one constant at this club since 2015.

And in that past six-and-a-half years the Tigers have churned through Jason Taylor before Ivan Cleary cleared off to Penrith, along with former football boss Kelly Egan and now Adam Hartigan.

But despite every one of them playing a significant role in what can only be described as a diabolical retention and recruitment strategy, it seems as if it is now the latest coach left to carry the can once again.

Yet, will the Tigers ever find a way out of the tailspin they have been in for at least a decade if they just sack another coach?

Ryan Papenhuyzen is one of many who got away for Wests Tigers.

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Just looking at the list of players the Tigers have let go during Pascoe’s time at the club alone would make fans cry over what could have been.

From being unable to stop James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses from walking out the door to not realising what they had in Josh Addo-Carr and Ryan Papenhuyzen.

James Tedesco charges forward for Wests.

Then there are others like Corey Thompson and Paul Momirovski, who have gone to Gold Coast and Penrith respectively, and left you wondering why the Tigers let them go.

Instead they went and threw a career lifeline to James Roberts, having already dropped one for Joey Leilua, and Jamal Idris before that, despite their previous challenges.

Throw in the likes of Russell Packer, Josh Reynolds, Ben Matulino and Moses Mbye, who all came for huge dollars under Ivan Cleary’s watch, and Maguire was left to deal with it.

At least this year we are finally starting to see some significant moves forward in respect to the recruitment of some young guns in Dane Laurie and Stefano Utoikamanu, while Shawn Blore looks to be a real player of the future, joining others like AJ Kepaoa and Adam Doueihi.

LOSING IS A HABIT

But if Maguire doesn’t survive, will it mean another coach comes in and starts again?

And where will that leave a club that hasn’t played finals since 2011, the NRL’s longest current streak?

Because in the 22 years of the joint venture’s existence the Tigers have had seven full-time coaches and not one of them has a better than 50 per cent winning record.

Tim Sheens had the best at 48.8 per cent, followed by Wayne Pearce (42.3) Cleary (41.9), Jason Taylor (39.2), Maguire (37.3), Michael Potter (35.4) and Terry Lamb (32).

For the record, since Pascoe joined the club the winning record is 41.4 per cent.

It can’t always just be the fault of the coaches.

This week it was conveniently reported how Maguire had now fallen behind the winning record Taylor had when he was sacked.

Shouldn’t the question really be why it seems that every coach is set up to fail at this club, and what is the management doing to help?

Maybe then will we find the answers as to what truly needs to change.