Paul Kent: Russell Packer and Josh Reynolds are angry about their treatment from Michael Maguire

Not all is well at the Wests Tigers. What is the backstory to Russell Packer and Josh Reynolds leaving the game to go and get a hot chocolate? Paul Kent explains and takes a look at the NRL culture debate.

Culture is sold on the shelf as the great medicine of sport.

Taken twice a day, good culture fixes a bad club, with talent and depth seemingly now secondary.

St George Illawarra had been twisting itself into small knots trying to decide on a coach for next season after three highly qualified men made the shortlist.

All three, Dean Young, Anthony Griffin and Dave Furner differed in manner and approach.

If the Dragons knew what they stood for first, what a Dragons team winning the premiership might play like, for instance, their solution should have been easily reached. In the end they ignored most of the outside noise and went with Griffin.

A similar conflict is happening at Wests Tigers where, in the hour before their great comeback on Saturday night, two of the club’s higher-paid players felt a shiver up their spines that had nothing to do with the halftime deficit.

So Russell Packer and Josh Reynolds left for a hot chocolate. The decision might have been a solid one in flu season but a bad one for club culture, particularly after the week the Tigers just had.

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Josh Reynolds has been in the spotlight. Picture: Getty Images

Benji Marshall was retired off and Luke Brooks’ value was questioned but, mostly, many good judges continued to question the Tigers’ lack of professionalism.

Finishing ninth once in the NRL is bad luck. Finishing ninth in the past two seasons, which is also where they sit now, suggests something more is missing.

Coach Michael Maguire has not only identified it but also what needs to change.

Maguire has never doubted what his team looks like and before he was appointed by the Wests Tigers’ board made a decision that a premiership-winning Tigers outfit looks something like that South Sydney team that won the comp in 2014 when Maguire was coach.

When Maguire coached South Sydney he introduced policies to drive culture. One went that once somebody scored every player in the team had to get to him and congratulate him. Celebrate your teammate’s success. It’s a simple pulse-taking for culture.

Given that, it was bad practice for Reynolds and Packer not to support Maguire’s approach on Saturday night when they walked out on their team’s performance.

Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire at training. Picture: Brett Costello

Like most tales of intrigue, though, there was a solid backstory. The players are angry about their treatment by the coach.

Maguire has tried to offload them both throughout the season to create room in the salary cap to try to balance out his roster.

He believes in what they can do, just not at the price they are being paid to do it, and they have not reacted happily to Maguire’s fire-sale approach.

It hardly shows support for the players, though, and sadly for them reduces the coach’s options.

When Trent Barrett left Manly in 2018, the club went looking for a replacement and Des Hasler, under his mop of hair, was considered a long shot.

Hasler had left once before in acrimonious circumstances. Owner Scott Penn initially laughed off any suggestions Hasler was a chance. But over time Hasler continued to emerge as the sound choice.

Russell Packer left during the match with Josh Reynolds. Picture: Getty Images

Manly people began saying only a “Manly person” could coach the Sea Eagles.

It was all to do with club culture.

The greatest victory to then happen for the club was for Penn to put his ego in his back pocket and make a decision that was best for Manly.

Penn buried past prejudices and went for the right coach to resurrect the club. The Sea Eagles have profited by Hasler’s return.

What does Dragons football look like?

Do the Tigers have the constitution to support Maguire through rough times? Too often nowadays coaches are being appointed after presenting to the board, which in many cases doesn’t really know what it is looking for anyway. That is the real danger. The days of a club dictator simply getting the best man for the job are gone.

The new board process looks more professional but also has the convenient insurance of sharing blame if it turns bad.

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As the Broncos show, there is protection in making the wrong appointment.

It can go wrong, sometimes spectacularly. Many years ago, Craig Bellamy was considered the front-runner for the Canberra job after Mal Meninga quit.

All that was needed was a final presentation to the board and only Bellamy and Matthew Elliott were left.

Elliott put together a presentation that today is still being talked about.

Poor old Bellamy didn’t stand a chance afterwards and Elliott was appointed, coaching five seasons and finishing as high as fourth. Bellamy was forced to go to Melbourne, and do what he did there.