Opinion: ‘Civil war’ issue threatening Wests Tigers young gun

The Wests Tigers’ 2023 nightmare has had one shining light, but even that glimmer of hope may be lost, according to a facetious claim.

Benji Marshall. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

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Jahream Bula is the only thing to catch the eye at the Tigers this season other than Alex Twal’s try and a bunch of US Marines.

The superstar rookie has soared the spirits of Tigers fans by showing potential to be their long-term saviour, thus begging the obvious question:

How long until he knocks back a $1.5m upgrade to join the Roosters on $450k?

While this may sound facetious (it’ll probably be closer to $300k), there’s an element of truth that cannot be denied.

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When a generational talent like Bula emerges at a vulnerable halfway house like the Tigers, they are no match for the impulse buying of the wealthy elite.

Add rumours of various civil wars being fought between Benji Marshall, Scott Fulton, Tim Sheens and the administration, and you can see why Tigers fans musing about the potential ceiling of their junior talents isn’t a question of how high they’ll go, it’s whether they’ll be reached somewhere else.

Bula has been a breath of fresh air in a wheezy lung of a season for the Tigers, with the 21 year old outshining his counterparts with a vigour and poise belying his age and club.

He was impeccable in the Tigers defeat to Newcastle last Friday, delivering two tries and numerous acts of desperation in defence that had the faithful dreaming of better days.

Jahream Bula has been on fire.

Sadly, these ‘better days’ are limited before Bula is snapped at busy cafes in ‘secret meetings’ with big-time recruiters and their big-time calculators that aren’t big enough to accommodate all their zeroes.

No doubt the Tigers will naively declare Bula is contracted until 2025, but we all know contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on these days, nor the paper funneled underneath the table on which they’re signed.

In fact, contracts are mere ‘sticking points’ in an elite club’s recruitment process, a tiny roadblock sidestepped with ease by agitation-by-media or ‘homesickness.’

Yep, there’s not a court in the land that can stand up to the constitutional statute of wanting to move to Maroubra to be closer to your family in Auckland.

Assistant Coach Benji Marshall of the Tigers. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

And either way, if the big fish don’t get their man now, they’ll get him in the long run.

That’s because similar to the Queensland Cup and English Super League, the NRL is now a feeder comp for clubs like the Roosters and Souths, and all the other Saudi clubs bankrolled by oil and Oscars.

It’s the reason Jack Wighton and Dom Young are leaving for unders and even less car space, and why The Big Four, Josh Addo Carr, David Nofoaluma, Andrew Fifita, Marika Koroibete and Ivan Cleary have all defied physics by stepping down off the Tigers bus and up on to a bigger stage or premiership podium.

Conversely, it’s also why the Tigers are forced to cough up huge money for gambles like Josh Reynolds, Ben Matulino and Russell Packer, all chewing gum deals which despite being washed down have remained in their system for eight years.

Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.