Pressure is mounting on Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire amid claims members of the playing group were taken aback by his press conference comments last week.
Maguire described his team’s performance against the Rabbitohs as “garbage” after the 38-22 loss, adding that he “needs to find men who are going to be accountable”.
Those comments did not go down well with some players though.
“Quite a few of the players had their noses out of joint a little offended by Michael Maguire’s comments last week.”
The Tigers currently sit in 14th position with just five wins from 16 games and are yet to qualify for the finals under Maguire, who took the Rabbitohs to a premiership in 2014.
Maguire’s role in the club’s poor form has been excused at times with suggestions his hard edge is needed to address the soft underbelly at the Tigers.
But now he and the club face a stark reality.
“I’m not defending the players because I think there’s an element that the players are partly to blame,” Chammas said.
“It’s the reality of the situation that if he’s starting to lose them and comments like that, sending text messages amongst each other about ‘what’s the coach saying here about us’ and they’re taking offence to it.
“Whether they are right or wrong that is the reality of the situation Madge now finds himself in. How you overturn that, given their start to the year, given they are struggling to recruit players. I’m starting to feel he is losing a lot of support with the people that matter.”
It comes as theDaily Telegraph believes Maguire has six games to save his job and a defeat to the Broncos in their next match could prove fatal.
“They play Brisbane on the back of a bye, have lost to Melbourne and South Sydney which most people expected, but if they lose to Brisbane things could start to unravel pretty quickly,” Chammas added.
“The club is waiting for Tim Sheens to arrive, he probably won’t be out of quarantine until August but the whispers are getting louder.”
“The sense I get is they’ll wait until Tim gets here and gets his feet under the desk and a feel for the environment,” he said.
“I’ve been one of Madge’s biggest fans and I cop flak for it but even I acknowledge now the sense is unless things change dramatically in the next month or two, he can’t survive. They’re just making no headway, they’re actually going backwards.
“The players have to take a lot of responsibility for it but as we always see in these situations, it is easier to get rid of a coach than to clean out the dressing room. So ultimately if Tim Sheens gets there and they lose a couple more. If they lose that game [Broncos], that is another mark against him.
“If Tim gets there in August and things haven’t changed, I don’t see how Madge can be there next year.”
However, one of the other questions the club needs to ask itself is that if Maguire is not the coach to lead the Tigers forward, then who is?
Shane Flanagan, Paul Green and Paul McGregor are three high-profile former coaches looking for a full-time gig but Chammas is hearing another name.
“When I speak to people in the NRL about who the best coach the one name I keep hearing is Cameron Ciraldo,” he said.
Ciraldo was pursued by Cronulla to work as assistant coach alongside Craig Fitzgibbon but declined the offer, instead opting to stay put at Penrith.
Panthers great Mark Geyer though believes a head coaching gig would be enough to see Ciraldo leave the foot of the mountains.
“The hype is real,” he said.
“I think he’d leave for a first-grade job. I know that Fitzy wanted to headhunt him at the Sharks as an assistant but ultimately he stayed at Penrith and that got approved with a roar of cheers. The players love him.
“He’s the Fitzgibbon of Origin. Fitzy does all the talking to the players, Freddie will go on the record and say that. Freddie has that aura where he doesn’t need to say much and when he says it they jump. He’s got the whole squad juggling – one bloke who has gone to the next level juggling is Nathan Cleary – hand-eye coordination.”
When you combine Ciraldo’s open mindset with his strong communication skills, Geyer said the 36-year-old would thrive in head coaching role.
Maguire described his team’s performance against the Rabbitohs as “garbage” after the 38-22 loss, adding that he “needs to find men who are going to be accountable”.
Those comments did not go down well with some players though.
“Quite a few of the players had their noses out of joint a little offended by Michael Maguire’s comments last week.”
The Tigers currently sit in 14th position with just five wins from 16 games and are yet to qualify for the finals under Maguire, who took the Rabbitohs to a premiership in 2014.
Maguire’s role in the club’s poor form has been excused at times with suggestions his hard edge is needed to address the soft underbelly at the Tigers.
But now he and the club face a stark reality.
“I’m not defending the players because I think there’s an element that the players are partly to blame,” Chammas said.
“It’s the reality of the situation that if he’s starting to lose them and comments like that, sending text messages amongst each other about ‘what’s the coach saying here about us’ and they’re taking offence to it.
“Whether they are right or wrong that is the reality of the situation Madge now finds himself in. How you overturn that, given their start to the year, given they are struggling to recruit players. I’m starting to feel he is losing a lot of support with the people that matter.”
It comes as theDaily Telegraph believes Maguire has six games to save his job and a defeat to the Broncos in their next match could prove fatal.
“They play Brisbane on the back of a bye, have lost to Melbourne and South Sydney which most people expected, but if they lose to Brisbane things could start to unravel pretty quickly,” Chammas added.
“The club is waiting for Tim Sheens to arrive, he probably won’t be out of quarantine until August but the whispers are getting louder.”
“The sense I get is they’ll wait until Tim gets here and gets his feet under the desk and a feel for the environment,” he said.
“I’ve been one of Madge’s biggest fans and I cop flak for it but even I acknowledge now the sense is unless things change dramatically in the next month or two, he can’t survive. They’re just making no headway, they’re actually going backwards.
“The players have to take a lot of responsibility for it but as we always see in these situations, it is easier to get rid of a coach than to clean out the dressing room. So ultimately if Tim Sheens gets there and they lose a couple more. If they lose that game [Broncos], that is another mark against him.
“If Tim gets there in August and things haven’t changed, I don’t see how Madge can be there next year.”
However, one of the other questions the club needs to ask itself is that if Maguire is not the coach to lead the Tigers forward, then who is?
Shane Flanagan, Paul Green and Paul McGregor are three high-profile former coaches looking for a full-time gig but Chammas is hearing another name.
“When I speak to people in the NRL about who the best coach the one name I keep hearing is Cameron Ciraldo,” he said.
Ciraldo was pursued by Cronulla to work as assistant coach alongside Craig Fitzgibbon but declined the offer, instead opting to stay put at Penrith.
Panthers great Mark Geyer though believes a head coaching gig would be enough to see Ciraldo leave the foot of the mountains.
“The hype is real,” he said.
“I think he’d leave for a first-grade job. I know that Fitzy wanted to headhunt him at the Sharks as an assistant but ultimately he stayed at Penrith and that got approved with a roar of cheers. The players love him.
“He’s the Fitzgibbon of Origin. Fitzy does all the talking to the players, Freddie will go on the record and say that. Freddie has that aura where he doesn’t need to say much and when he says it they jump. He’s got the whole squad juggling – one bloke who has gone to the next level juggling is Nathan Cleary – hand-eye coordination.”
When you combine Ciraldo’s open mindset with his strong communication skills, Geyer said the 36-year-old would thrive in head coaching role.
