Embattled Tigers key figure set to front those calling for his resignation in boardroom showdown
A boardroom showdown is reportedly looming at the Wests Tigers regarding the future of embattled chairman Lee Hagiptantelis.
The Daily Telegraph are reporting that the club have a board meeting scheduled for October 23 with early feedback from the Tigers’ independent review set to be available.
The Holman Barnes Group, who commissioned the review, could be armed with fresh information after previously asking Hagipantelis to stand down.
However, Hagipantelis is reportedly willing to face the individuals calling for his resignation.
Hagipantelis denied the initial request made by Tony Andreacchio on behalf of the Holman Barnes Group and will now prepare for the findings of the independent review to be handed down.
The review’s results are expected to be delivered to the Holman Barnes Group by mid-November and could be focused on Hagipantelis as well as other board members.
Powerful figures within the club, including Hagipantelis, chief executive Justin Pascoe and head coach Benji Marshall were all interviewed.
Former NRL chief financial officer Tony Crawford and Gary Barnier are conducting the review, sparked by over a decade of disappointing results.
Should Hagipantelis and Pascoe be shown the door, recruitment manager Scott Fulton could be ousted also.
The pair brought the former Manly official to the club, but he has reportedly had multiple run-ins with new head coach Benji Marshall.
The latest of which reportedly came regarding the potential signing of Sean Keppie, with Marshall against Fulton’s plan to lure the Manly prop to the club.
Eventually, Keppie signed with the Rabbitohs and as a result the Tigers retained Alex Twal on a three-year deal.
Mad Madge: What Maguire needs to do now he’s entered the Origin Thunderdome
So instead of signing Laurie Daley, a coach it last sacked, the NSWRL has plopped for Michael Maguire, a coach last sacked by the Wests Tigers.Brad Fittler’s best NSW Blues memory and talks team’s future
Brad Fittler talks about the future of the NSW Blues and reflects on his fondest memory with the team.
A week after seriously looking at Daley as NSW coach comes the news Maguire has all but accepted the job – essentially because there are few viable options left standing.
It gets better: the NSWRL will also allow Maguire to continue as head coach of New Zealand and assistant coach of Canberra. Where will Maguire stand when the next young player with links to New Zealand is faced with the decision of playing for the Kiwis or NSW?
Neither the Kiwis nor the Raiders are overly thrilled with this scenario, though, for obvious reasons the NSWRL cannot see, and it won’t surprise if Maguire is forced to give away one or both.
Nor will his appointment imbue all Blues fans with great confidence. He’s a good coach, sure: he led Souths to the promised land of their first premiership in 43 years; he’s done well with New Zealand, coaching them to within a whisker of a World Cup final last year; and he’s been a welcome addition at Canberra for Ricky Stuart.
The argument goes that “Madge” is better suited to an extreme three-match series like Origin instead of the grind of a 30-week season. But his signature intensity can drive players mad.
Maguire has also never been involved with the NSW team as a player nor coach. None of the players he’s recently coached, except for Raiders back-rower Hudson Young, have worn the sky blue.
His priority shouldn’t be motivating players who don’t really require motivation to enter rugby league’s Thunderdome. It should be to pick the right players in the first place, and then stick solid.
Maguire needs to make the same sort of sweeping changes Fittler made in 2018 when he took over from Daley following three consecutive series losses.
That means backing new, younger players while moving on others whose time has passed. Having lost the last two series, the time for new blood is now. There is no need for loyalty. At all.
A lot can happen between now and May next year, but Maguire will need to make the tough call of tapping captain and fullback James Tedesco on the shoulder and telling him to concentrate on the Roosters.
He’ll need to abandon the two-hooker system Fittler tinkered with at various stages, mostly because the Maroons were doing it with Harry Grant and Ben Hunt, and just pick Api Koroisau ahead of Damien Cook.
He’ll need to stop the Pantherisation of the side, which doesn’t mean excluding Penrith players for the sake of it but making sure his side doesn’t play like them in the NRL.
Queensland’s defence picked off almost every Blues move in the first two matches of this year’s series, their outside defenders racing up and suffocating the play each time the ball shifted wide.
Nathan Cleary’s virtuoso performance for Penrith in the final 20 minutes of the grand final against Brisbane showed that he plays just as well, if not better, without Jarome Luai and Isaah Yeo on the field.
Mostly, Maguire needs to find the right forwards who can roll through the middle like bowling balls, scattering defenders before peeling off lightning-fast play-the-balls. Payne Haas is one, but who can help him out?
Like anyone who coaches at Origin level, though, Maguire needs to find a way to ignore the noise and scrutiny of the Thunderdome.
It’s something he’s never handled well. If the pressure was too much at the Tigers, how will he cope with the weight of coaching NSW?
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