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Brad Fittler defends Jason Taylor

BRAD Fittler has stood up for the under-fire Jason Taylor and delivered a stinging rebuke to Robbie Farah and the Tigers in the process.

4 min read
July 24, 2016 - 12:13PM
Clearly Tigers fans’ loyalty is with Farah, not Taylor.
Clearly Tigers fans’ loyalty is with Farah, not Taylor.

BRAD Fittler believes Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor shouldn’t need to explain himself regarding his decision to drop Robbie Farah to reserve grade.

After the NSW hooker starred against the Newtown Jets at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, he spoke out against Taylor’s decision to demote him. But Fittler believes Farah and the rest of the Tigers should just pipe down.

“I noticed he (Farah) came out after the game and made a few comments and went a bit too far there,” Fittler said on Channel Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.

“I don’t think Jason should really have to explain himself. On the whole the Tigers should just close their mouths and get on with it, I don’t know why they’re talking.

“Robbie himself, keep your head down and get the job done.

“I don’t know why they’re doing it and I don’t know why they’re all talking.”

Freddie also suggested the club’s general manager of football Mark O’Neill — a former captain and member of the Tigers’ premiership-winning side of 2005 — was under more pressure than most because he has to answer to the board about the football-specific decisions being made at the club.

“Maybe he’s the one in the spotlight. He’s the one under pressure,” Fittler said.

“From the point of view he’s got to go back and make those comments (about whether Taylor or Farah is in the right). I’m sure the board will be asking him these questions.”

FARAH LASHES JT

An emotional Robbie Farah conceded his Wests Tigers NRL career could be over and says he has been treated differently than other players by coach Jason Taylor.

Farah starred on Saturday in the Tigers’ 42-24 NSW Cup win over Newtown at Leichhardt Oval after being dumped to reserve grade on Wednesday. More than 3000 people turned up to cheer on one of the club’s favourite sons, with fans mobbing the star rake after the final whistle to show their support.

The Tigers’ premiership winner said the occasion — despite being the result of some controversial circumstances — was one he would always remember.

“I’m a bit emotional actually,” Farah said after the game. “It’s been a tough week and to see that (the support), I’m speechless.

“I’ve done my utmost to do what what’s required of me, but it just seems that nothing I do is good enough at the moment.

“All the sentimental stuff’s gone out the window for me now, today was just as good as playing my 250th at Leichhardt to be honest. Today’s a day I’ll never forget.”

He wasn’t in the NRL, but Farah was still a hero.
He wasn’t in the NRL, but Farah was still a hero.

The 32-year-old said it was unfair he’d been made a scapegoat for the Tigers’ problems in 2016, and attacked Taylor’s explanation for dropping him, saying his reasoning made no sense and went against what he’s said in the past.

“That’s the most disappointing thing. I’ve had the finger pointed at me and copped the blame for how things have been going. I find that unfair,” Farah said.

“Our biggest problem is our defence. When JT came to the club his priority, and he said publicly, was that as a club we’ve been an attacking sort of club. I find it ironic now that he’s talking about a lack of cohesion in attack when we’ve got the second worst defence in the competition.

“I’ve played four games in the last 12 weeks for the Tigers — three of those have been wins. In three of those games we’ve scored over 30 points, so if you think that’s a lack of cohesion in attack, I think you guys can form an opinion on that.

“I’ll continue to train hard as I have always done and I’ll continue to be professional and try and keep my mouth shut and try not to do anything wrong because I think that’s what they’re trying to get me to do. I’m smarter than that.”

Current and former teammates such as Aaron Woods and Benji Marshall turned up to the Tigers’ spiritual home to watch their good mate, while plenty tweeted their support for Farah.

TAYLOR: FARAH’S CAREER NOT OVER

Taylor didn’t attend the match due to a prior family commitment, but he did say earlier Farah’s NRL career wasn’t necessarily over.

“There is no doubt Robbie will be considered for selection after this weekend once we see how both teams (NRL and NSW Cup) play and put everything together,” Taylor said on Saturday.

“I would like to think we could get to the point where Robbie is able to get that (250) but we don’t know what the future holds.

“No one expects us to put individual milestones ahead of what we genuinely believe is best for the team.”

Taylor denied there was a personal issue between he and the NSW No. 9 and said the decision was based purely on the performance of the team.

“Robbie is a creative dummy half and we have a number of creative players in our team,” he said.

“There is only one ball and it is hard to have too many creative players. That is the clearest way I can put it in terms of how of our team runs and how we would like it to run.

“Robbie is a great player and a State of Origin player and that is why I understand how tough it is for people to understand this and it is very tough for Robbie to accept it but he has accepted it in great fashion.”

Plans have been shelved for a 250th game celebration at Farah’s beloved Leichhardt in round 22 and the future of the NSW hooker is uncertain despite him being under contract at the Tigers through 2017.

— with AAP

Originally published as Brad Fittler defends Jason Taylor

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Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/sport/nrl/robbie-farah-fires-back-at-jason-taylor/news-story/d410c173089db862133ee33ed1ca7ca3