NRL 2022: Michael Maguire insists football boss Tim Sheens has his back at Wests Tigers

Underfire Tigers coach Michael Maguire insists he’s not a dead-man walking and is adamant he is on the “same page” as football boss Tim Sheens, despite a winless start to the season.

West Tigers coach Michael Maguire. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Michael Maguire has blasted talk of a rift with Robbie Farah and insists he is not a dead-man walking amid fears a loss to the Titans on Thursday night could trigger his sacking as Wests Tigers coach.

The underfire Maguire opened up to News Corp as he prepares for one of the most critical games of his 10-year coaching career against the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium.

Maguire addressed the Tigers’ winless start to 2022, hit back at claims the joint-venture club is a rabble headed for the wooden spoon and explained his decision to install a controversial five-man captaincy group at Concord.

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Maguire withstood enormous political pressure last season and ultimately survived amid rumours a Tigers faction wanted his scalp, but the premiership coach is adamant a fourth-straight loss this week will not finish him.

“Externally, people want to make out we’re a club with all these dramas,” Maguire said. “But as long as everyone internally stays the path, I’m not concerned.”

New football boss Tim Sheens (left) and Michael Maguire at Tigers training. Picture: Toby Zerna

IN THE FIRING LINE

New season, same narrative. The whispers swirling around Maguire suggests he is on borrowed time at the Tigers, but he claims new head of football Tim Sheens, who delivered the joint venture club’s maiden title in 2005, has his back.

Asked if he will be sacked if the Tigers crash to the Titans this week, Maguire said: “I’m not worried about being sacked, not at all.

“I’ve been here a while now and everyone is after results, which is where the pressure is coming from. But ‘Sheensy’ and I are on the same page.

“The beauty of Tim is that he is experienced and he doesn’t panic. He gets it. He understands where we are at the moment as a club. Sheensy has been around the game a long time and knows the journey we’re on. I’m comfortable.”

THE FARAH FEUD

Maguire is bemused by claims from one of the club’s own fans that he and Farah engaged in a verbal spat over an interchange bungle in last week’s 16-12 loss to the Warriors.

“This stuff with Robbie Farah is bloody embarrassing. It’s simply farcical,” he said. “It’s the most comical rumour I’ve had in my entire career.

“The truth is Robbie was trying to get Zane (Musgrove) off and Stefano (Utoikamanu) on and he used one word which a spectator picked up. Robbie was saying, ‘Who the f*** is going on’ and the next thing it turns into him having a crack at me.

Wests Tigers champion hooker Robbie Farah, now a club trainer, was furious over an interchange bungle last week. Picture: NRL Imagery

“Robbie was frustrated with the guy that does the (interchange) cards on the sidelines. We were trying to make a sub, but Zane got cited on a play, so he couldn’t come off and Robbie didn’t know that on the sideline because he was getting the message from me to get Zane off.

“In the heat of the moment, we had a few new guys operating things and Robbie got frustrated, and all of a sudden the whole world is blowing up.

“I am so close with Robbie. On the day of the game, we trained together. I love his passion. The gossip and misreporting in the game is ridiculous. If we win, no one says anything, but we lost the game, so then I have to cop this.

“It goes on in every team. Every team has a guy in the blue shirt who has to pull players off. Sometimes there is confusion. Did he use some choice words? Yeah he did, but they weren’t directed at me.”

PLAYER MORALE

Maguire is in his fourth season as Wests Tigers coach. He has won 26 of 70 games for a 37 per cent success rate and is staring at a seventh consecutive loss dating back to the Tigers’ 50-20 drubbing against Cronulla last August.

The former Souths mentor, who broke the Redfern club’s 43-year premiership drought in 2014, rubbished suggestions he has lost the dressing room.

“I can see every day the attitude the players have. There’s no issue in that regard with morale,” he said.

“We’re in a better spot than people think. We have eight first-graders sitting on the sideline and that doesn’t help. The challenging part of coaching in the NRL is getting through the tough periods when your roster has been decimated and you need depth to fight through it.

Michael Maguire is adamant he still has the backing of the players. Picture: Toby Zerna

“Of our 30-man squad, I’ve got 20 players available for selection. I know people say that’s an excuse, but that’s the reality of the situation.

“Stefano is one of our best young props and he’s out for eight weeks. Tommy Talau is gone for the year. Jackson Hastings is suspended. Adam Doueihi won’t be back for a while (due to injury).

“I know where I want to take the team and that’s all I’m focused on. I know how quickly in the NRL teams can turn their fortunes around because I’ve experienced it first hand. We have to stay focused on what we want to achieve here.

“All I want is a team to come out and have a crack every single week. The boys had a crack last week, but we bottled it at the end of the game. It got ugly at times and we lacked a bit of class in the big moments.”

THE SPOON

After three rounds, the Tigers are the only team in the NRL yet to win a game, fuelling the belief they are specials for the wooden spoon.

“When people say we will win the spoon, it doesn’t annoy me, it motivates me more than anything to prove people wrong,” Maguire said.

“I don’t believe we will finish last, but we need to learn from experiences like the Storm game in round one and last week’s game and learn how to close out matches.

“I won’t be giving up. I believe in the players at this club. I believe I have systems here that can work and we showed in the Melbourne game our systems can work.

“We could easily be 2-1, but the reality is we are 0-3. We’ve made modifications to our attack and any coach will tell you how important continuity of selection is at this level.

“If Daine Laurie (fullback) scores last week, we win that game and people are talking about some other team. I know the talent is there to make this club competitive.”

Michael Maguire believes Luke Brooks is unfairly targeted by critics. Picture: Getty Images.

THE BROOKS DILEMMA

There is a view Luke Brooks has gone stale at the Tigers and both he and the club should consider an amicable divorce.

The 27-year-old, in his 10th season at the Tigers, plays his 176th game this week and has shown no sign of taking the Tigers to a second premiership.

But Maguire believes Brooks is an easy target for the club’s wider collective problems.

“If you look at his workrate in games, Luke is putting in,” he said. “But people do focus on the big moments, which is understandable because Luke is our halfback.

“As a team, we need to do our jobs at a higher level so he can just concentrate on what he needs to do. That plays a part. Against Melbourne, Luke led us around the park well, but any team on the back foot will put pressure on their halfback.

“We need to help Luke a bit more.”

CAPTAINCY CHAOS

Maguire has been hammered for naming five captains in James Tamou, Doueihi, Brooks, Ken Maumalo and Tyrone Peachey, the former Titan who hadn’t played a single game for the club.

“I wanted to strengthen the levels of expectation around leadership at our club,” he said.

Maguire has defended his decision to name five captains at the Tigers this season.

“As a front-rower, James Tamou is only on the field for a period of time, so I had some discussions with Jimmy about how we can develop more leaders in the team. He was supportive of having other guys involved.

“The funny thing is I had more than one captain at Wigan and it was the best thing I ever did. It put more accountability on the group, rather than making one player carry the load.

“I did the same thing at Souths and we won a premiership. Other teams have done it in the past, so it’s not new. A lot of teams have co-captains. Melbourne and the Cowboys have two captains this year. If I had two captains, would people blow up?

“But because we are under the spotlight, everything becomes an issue.

“Ultimately, if the guys keep putting in the way they are, I know we will come out the other side.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Michael Maguire insists football boss Tim Sheens has his back at Wests Tigers