Robbie Farah’s negative influence ruining Wests Tigers, writes Phil Rothfield

THE sour influence of Robbie Farah is threatening to ruin the Tigers. But no-one at the Wests ­Tigers has the courage to stand up to him.

WESTS Tigers captain Robbie Farah can be a difficult and grim character.

It’s one of the reasons NSW didn’t appoint a vice-captain for State of Origin this year.

No one wanted him in the role.

Laurie Daley is too nice a person to say it publicly, but it’s true.

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And it’s a contributing factor to why there is so much drama at the Wests Tigers right now over coach Mick Potter.

Farah carries enormous influence at the club, particularly with the younger players.

There is no secret in the fact he does not rate his coach.

Dejected Robbie Farah (R). Picture: Brett Costello

Gorden Tallis revealed on Triple M over the weekend that Farah had told him that to his face. He repeated it on air to Farah’s manager Sam Ayoub on Sunday afternoon.

At the after-match press conference, Farah denied saying it but Tallis is sticking to his guns and insisted the comments were made.

You only had to listen to the Tigers’ press conference after last week’s win over the Bulldogs to understand the friction that so obviously exists.

Farah tells reporters he has been at Potter for weeks, nudging him to pick Mitchell Moses in the side.

By doing so he’s either trying to take credit himself for the youngster’s outstanding performances or telling fans the coach was too slow to recognise and acknowledge the kid’s potential.

It was said with a total lack of respect for his coach.

Farah has a bit of history in this area.

He spat the dummy and fell out with his previous coach Tim Sheens when he failed to make the Test team on a Kangaroo tour of England. It didn’t matter that Cameron Smith is a future ­Immortal and far superior player.

Robbie Farah and Mick Potter speak to the press.

Sadly, no one at the Wests ­Tigers has the courage to stand up to him.

In this area, chief executive Grant Mayer has a lot to answer for. He was the one who hired the old and unemployed coach Brian Smith to conduct the ­review that almost brought Potter down.

He is the one who hasn’t had the courage to pull Farah into line like stronger leaders would.

He is also the man who had similar issues when he was chief executive at the Sea Eagles before the board got rid of him.

On Sunday the Tigers played as one might expect they would.

Down 22-0 at half-time, they rallied in the second half but were never going to win.

Still, they remain just two points away from the top four.

The madness and stupidity of the whole situation is that Potter has proven himself an excellent coach in a short space of time.

He was the one who had the nerve to bench Benji Marshall last year when his poor form warranted it but other coaches might have not had the courage to do it.

He is the one who has carefully and cautiously introduced Moses, Luke Brooks and Curtis Sironen to first grade and has overseen the development of Aaron Woods into the best young front-rower in the game.

This doesn’t just happen. With so many outstanding youngsters, no club is better placed for the future than the Wests Tigers.

It’s just that they need some stability and a strong management that is prepared to back their coach.

MISFORTUNE COMES HOME TO ROOST

I NEVER thought I’d feel sorry for the Sydney Roosters.

Forget the transit lounge, the latte set, the Bondi billionaires, Sonny Billand the caryard king.

This club has been dudded, its premiership defence derailed by circumstances beyond its control. Shocking refereeing on Friday night, the World Cup last year, and Origin injuries have combined to almost ruin their chances.

The Roosters had to provide 15 players for last year’s World Cup, which seriously ­affected their pre-season ­preparation.

We get to Origin. They lose Michael Jennings and Daniel Tupou to serious injuries.

That’s $800,000 of their salary cap gone for the run home to the finals.

On Friday night they travel to Newcastle to play the Knights. It’s a crucial game for their top-four hopes. Admittedly they don’t play well but at the same time they are robbed.

James Maloney scores a fair try but it’s disallowed by the video ref.

The Knights score their first try to get back into the game from a set, when they should have been taking a line ­drop-out instead of a 20m tap ­restart.

They clearly took the ball dead. In other games, the video refs have overturned line-drop-out calls but in this NRL competition there is no ­consistency.

These mistakes cost the Roosters 12 points and the game.

Sonny Bill Williams of the Roosters.

DEAL WITH CAP DRAMA

WHY is the NRL taking so long to sort out major salary cap issues?

We now have two Queensland teams under suspicion of being more than $400,000 over the salary cap.

The NRL has privately known about both cases since the start of the season, although it took this newspaper to flush out the details.

The Broncos and Titans investigations need to be cleared up before the finals. No team should be allowed to play finals football if they are $400,000 over the cap. It would be totally unfair on all their rivals.

BURGESS EYES FITTING REWARD

NO forward has won the Dally M award since Cameron Smith in 2006.

South Sydney’s Sam Burgess was on 18 points when voting went ­behind closed doors.

That’s just one point behind joint leaders Johnathan Thurston and Ben Hunt.

No prop has won the award, although big Sam plays everywhere in the pack, bar hooker.

It would be a fitting end to his NRL career if he could become the first Pom to take home the game’s most prestigious medal.

FADING PANTHERS

THREE weeks ago I wrote Penrith were in the top four because of a soft draw and the fact they were unaffected by Origin for eight weeks.

They have since lost to the Roosters and Sharks and have a tough run home that includes the Bulldogs, Storm, Sea Eagles and Warriors.

Looks like the five-year plan can be put on hold for another season.

HIGHLIGHT I

JARRYD Hayne’s sensational second-half performance for Parramatta against the Titans. He has to be a huge chance to win his second Dally M award.

HIGHLIGHT II

THE Waratahs’ victory over the Brumbies. Let’s hope the final against the Crusaders is a decent game of footy and not a typical rugby union penalty shootout.

LOWLIGHT I

MORE than 70,000 empty seats at the Bulldogs v Cowboys at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. Why wasn’t this game played as a one-off Back To Belmore event, which would have had some atmosphere?

LOWLIGHT II

DANIEL Geale getting bashed, outclassed and knocked out in three rounds in New York. It might be time for Geale-Mundine III to decide matters once and for all.

GRUMPY DOGS

THE Bulldogs could be dealing with their own Glenn Stewart type of disruption judging by their terrible form in recent weeks. It’s common knowledge the players are unhappy about coach Des Hasler’s decision not to offer popular skipper Michael Ennis a new contract.

TERRIBLE TITANS

THE sad part about the Titans’ salary cap investigation is that nobody on the Gold Coast really cares. They gave up on the club a long time ago because of issues involving the previous management and the ill-fated building of the centre of excellence.