The silence has been deafening from the Wests Tigers front office since the NRL side capitulated to the Sharks 30-4 yesterday afternoon.
Their long suffering fans deserved an apology from the club, from the chairman to the coach, the half a dozen captains they have appointed this season and the players.
But of course they got nothing for wasting two hours of their lives watching the Wests Tigers meekly go down for the fifth time in as many matches.
Good clubs, well, they would be on the front foot and saying sorry to their fans for such terrible performances.
At the post match media conference, the coach, Michael Maguire, looked and sounded like a man who knew his days were numbered at the club. Alongside him, one of his captains, James Tamou did not sound too convincing in trying to defend the players.
It’s obvious he’s lost the dressing room, and while he won’t say it, Maguire knows the writing is on the wall.
But if the club bosses were hoping the side could muddle through this season before they rung in the changes for 2023, well, real life like is nothing like that, chaps.
Awaiting Wests Tigers in round six on Easter Monday are the Eels, and they will show no mercy when they get on top of Wests Tigers.
We all know how much Mitchell Moses likes to rub our noses in it.
And as I said at the start of the season, it’s quite likely Wests Tigers will be 0 and 10 after ten rounds.
That’s why Maguire needs to go now, and replaced with Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall in a caretaker capacity.
On top of that, the club needs to take fans into its confidence and tell them what the long term plans are for the joint venture.
If it’s about moving to Campbelltown and adopting the Penrith Panthers blueprint of player development, do it now, because there is no time to lose.
But when it comes to transparency, also explain to the fans some of the recruitment decisions, including signing hooker Apisai Koroisau from Penrith.
That’s a great signing, sure, but what will happen to the current hookers Jacob Liddle and Jake Simpkin, not to mention the 21 year old Rua Ngatikaura, who has just signed on for 2023 and 2024.
These sort of things would not be good for morale among the players, but God knows if they are being managed behind the scenes.
But first things first, and changing the coach should be the number one priority right now.
