Wests Tigers Face Challenges, But Coach Remains Optimistic
The Wests Tigers are currently navigating a difficult period in their season, but coach Benji Marshall remains confident that his team can turn things around in the coming weeks. A recent 46-18 defeat to the Manly Sea Eagles highlighted several issues within the Tigers’ lineup, and Marshall has taken responsibility for the team’s poor performance.
During the match, the Tigers made 11 errors, incurred five penalties, and had four players on report. The situation worsened when they were left down a man and without Taylan May due to an injury. Marshall confirmed that May’s season might be over after a shoulder dislocation, though scans are needed to confirm the extent of the injury.
Jock Madden also faced a potential setback, as he suffered a hamstring concern in the final minute of the game. Although he felt okay post-match, scans will be required to assess the severity of the injury.
If the scan results are not positive for Madden and May, they will join Api Koroisau, Adam Doueihi, Jahream Bula, and Alex Twal on the sidelines. Marshall believes a week of rest is crucial for his players at this stage.
“We are in a bit of a hole at the moment,” Marshall said after the game. “We are down on troops, not playing the footy we want to play, and we are also lacking a bit of confidence. Again, we weren’t good enough today.”
Marshall praised the performance of Kieran Foran, who he believes is doing a great job with the Manly side. He acknowledged that the Sea Eagles are a strong team and congratulated them on their success.
“Congratulations to them, but I have to find how we get out of the hole,” Marshall added. “We have the bye next week, so that’s probably come at a really good time for us because we are a bit wounded.”
The team had a bye in round one and has played 10 games straight since then, which has left them exhausted. The last three weeks have not been good enough, according to Marshall.
When asked about what has been going wrong, Marshall listed several issues:
- We are our own worst enemies at the moment.
- We are making mistakes and showing poor discipline.
- We are giving the opposition too much ball.
- Defensively, we expect more from ourselves.
Marshall admitted that the team has let their bundle go in recent weeks, which is not good enough. He plans to look at his own strategies to ensure the team understands why they haven’t been performing defensively.
Jarome Luai, the team’s star player, did not let his coach take all the blame for the Tigers’ results. He acknowledged that he also needs to work on inspiring his teammates to perform better.
“Coach doesn’t need to take it all on by himself; I am right beside him,” Luai said. “It is a challenging period and it will challenge us as leaders. The hardest thing to do right now is be positive, but it is what I need to do for my team.”
Luai emphasized the importance of honest conversations among the team and getting back to the drawing board. He believes the issue is an easy fix, and he is focusing on staying positive.
Despite the poor run of results, Marshall maintains that the team is still “united and happy.” He acknowledges that losing makes people unhappy but highlights that there are internal factors the team likes.
“I don’t want to make excuses or whatever, but we have some things happening internally that we like. It is just not happening on the field,” Marshall said. “I know people will look at the last three weeks and we will cop it, which is fair because we haven’t been good enough.”
Marshall expressed his belief in the team’s potential and their ability to achieve their goals. He noted that a 5-5 start would have been an overachievement for most people before the season began.
“On the bright side, there is still a lot of good that we can takeaway from our start,” he added. “I have belief in my team, what we are doing, and what we can achieve. There is hard work ahead, but it will be good to have a break.”
