'A couple of weeks': Under-fire NRL coach's grim outlook laid bare

Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire has just two more games to prove he's the right man for the job, according to veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield.

Already reeling after a winless start to the new season, the pressure has intensified on Maguire after Sunday's insipid 30-4 thrashing at the hands of the Cronulla Sharks.

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The 26-point drubbing was the Tigers' fifth straight defeat to start the season, with many disgruntled fans and league experts calling on the club to make a change.

“I just don’t know where Madge goes, you look at their draw the next couple of weeks,” Rothfield said.

“I had a chat to (Wests Tigers football boss) Tim Sheens as he was driving home last night and look you could hear the concern in his voice, but again he rammed home he’s supporting Michael Maguire.

“I like Madge and I think he’s doing the best he possibly can but from what I saw yesterday, that team needs changes.

“I don’t think they can wait until the end of the year, I think if they are going to rebuild for 2023, they’ve got to do something about it in the not-too-distant future.

The Tigers have now recorded their worst ever start to a season while their losing streak of eight dates back to last August.

While they were close in recent losses to both the Warriors and Gold Coast, there was little to like about the Tigers' output on Sunday afternoon.

Maguire's men missed 29 tackles and failed to break the Sharks' line once, with their only try coming from a Ken Maumalo intercept in the last minute.

The coach was under pressure to keep his job after last year, having presided over the last three of the Tigers' 10 straight seasons out of the finals.

Rothfield says he believes the Tigers coach has two games at most to try and turn things around, before the club parts ways with the man who took the Rabbitohs to the 2014 premiership.

“They can’t keep performing in the manner in which they have been this year. I didn’t think Cronulla played all that fantastically... but they still beat them 30-4.

“I think something is going to break very soon, if the Wests Tigers have two more performances like yesterday and get towelled up... I think Madge has got a couple of weeks to go.

“There are some other coaches, like Shane Flanagan, around, there’s Cameron Ciraldo around, there’s Paul Green, I think they’ve got to make the change if they are going to improve for next year.”

Maguire, however, insists that things are on the up for the club despite concerns from ever-tiring fans.

Wests Tigers coach remains defiant

"Of course, every fan wants to win. We all want to win," Maguire said.

"But you just can't wave a magic wand when you have to change a few things in an organisation. It's about looking at all the smaller areas.

"There are so many good things going on at our club from juniors upwards. But it takes time.

"We haven't been able to do those things in the past. And that plays a big part in being able to establish yourself that sit at the top."

Maguire also refuted a suggestion from league great and Nine commentator Andrew Johns that his team were still yet to hit rock bottom, seeing hope in the return of Jackson Hastings next week.

"I disagree (with Johns)," Maguire said.

"He is able to have his comments. But what I see is what is going on in internally.

"I have been able to see what it looks like at a number of organisations. And the commitment of the players every week have really turned up."

After losing fullback Daine Laurie to COVID and James Roberts to a back injury before play, the Tigers were regularly stripped for numbers on the edges.

Cronulla's first try came when stand-in Tigers fullback Starford To'a dropped a Nicho Hynes bomb, while Jesse Ramien and Sione Katoa three times ran through the Tigers' flimsy left.

Katoa bagged a double and Ramien one, as Nicho Hynes and Matt Moylan regularly linked up as the Sharks bagged four straight wins for the first time since 2018.

And in truth, it could have been worse for the Tigers if the Sharks had taken all their chances as they completed at only 67 per cent and let at least three tries go begging.

with AAP

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