Speculation this week has surrounded the future of Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter. Whether fair or unfair, Potter's position has been questioned in some quarters in the wake of the Tigers winning just 6 of 18 matches this season. At the start of the season, the Tigers lost a club record 7 matches in a row, hardly helping their cause or their coach's.
The truth though is that there is method behind the madness that has ensued this season. Wests Tigers already came into this season with a younger squad than last season. Avg. age of the squad in 2013 was 25. That will drop to just 23 next season according to club CEO Grant Mayer. However this hasn't been the sole reason for their poor form this season. The club battled a horrendous injury toll early in the season that claimed long term casualties including Lote Tuqiri, Keith Galloway, Chris Lawrence, Blake Ayshford,Tim Moltzen and Matt Bell. Now that's just the experienced players. Others including Marika Koroibete have also faced long stints whilst shorter stints on the sideline also plagued the likes of Benji Marshall, Braith Anasta, Robbie Farah, Aaron Woods and James Tedesco. To call that injury toll horrendous may in fact be an understatement.
The trouble with the above injury toll wasn't just the fact injuries hit hard. It was to the wrong players. Mostly experienced players. The Wests Tigers plight was made worse by the fact that the squad was a young one to begin with. A look at the NSW Cup squad also revealed a lack of experience, meaning much of the guys called into first grade to replace the likes of seasoned rep players in Tuqiri, Galloway and Lawrence were rookies such as Shaun Spence, Sauaso Sue, Ava Seumanafagai and David Nofoaluma. In fact the average age of both the NRL and NSW Cup sides was just 22 at one point.
What we start to realize is that Mick Potter has been dealt an extremely tough and challenging initiation in 2013. Wests Tigers have released a host of experienced names in the past two seasons. Headlined by Bryce Gibbs, Andrew Fafita, Chris Heighington, Beau Ryan and the Cronulla Tiger-Sharks. Chuck in the loss of Englishmen Gareth Ellis and that's a tongue of experience! Replaced only moderately by an at first disappointing Adam Blair, Braith Anasta and Eddy Pettybourne to name a few. Of those 3, only Blair has shown any resemblance of good form and even that has only come in the past 2 months. His first season was real underwhelming and his early form in 2013 was not any better.
To make matters even worse for Potter, not only has he had to deal with relying on a squad that is inexperienced more than it is experienced. Potter's also had to deal with the poor form of arguably his most talented player, Benji Marshall. Marshall's form in 2013 has been well, well documented. It's been poor! Adam Blair was in a similar funk through till June but has looked much better since. Having had to rely on such a young squad has its challenges, having that coincide with the poor form of some of your most experienced players, Braith Anasta and Eddy Pettybourne included, has only made it worse.
However, it's not all gloom for the Tigers. A host of the young players have stepped up and shown significant improvement from earlier in the season. In fact some have settled right in, David Nofoaluma, Tim Simona and Sauso Sue have shown they've got tremendous futures if their willing to continue to work hard. This trio possess talent beyond what was expected of them.
Others including James Tedesco, Curtis Sironen, Marika Koroibete, Jack Buchanan and Ava Seumanafagai have all improved over the course of the season, giving hope that they too can be relied on moving forward. For this Mick Potter deserves credit and plenty of it. In a tough situation Potter has turned rocks into potential diamonds. Sure the leadership of players such as Robbie Farah, Benji Marshall, Braith Anasta and Aaron Woods can only help the young guys too, but Potter can't be forgotten here. As an example, look at Ricky Stuart and Parramatta. Stuart and the Eels have struggled to improve all season long whilst the Tigers and Potter have got improvement out of their young brigade. It is a great sign!
In 2014 Wests Tigers will go in a new direction minus Benji Marshall. They will rely even more so on the youth of the club. 18 year old Luke Brooks is expected to step into Benji's shoes. Fellow 18 year old Mitchell Moses won't be far behind either. In these two, the Tigers possess a potential key to success. I'm hoping Mick Potter will be there for the ride too. I've been impressed with Potter to this point. Sure, the NRL is a results driven business and so far Potter hasn't got results. But as I said earlier, there is method and reason behind the madness of 2013. A closer examination reveals Potter is doing good things at the Tigers. Relieving him of his duties would be a case of shooting themselves in the foot for the Tigers. I just hope they don't go there. If Grant Mayer's comments are anything to go by, Tigers fans won't need to worry.
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