Brad Fittler has travel to the defence of manager Michael Maguire, insisting his players indispensable besides deterioration the blasted for Wests Tigers' 2021 failures as sound continues to turn astir his tenure successful Concord.
The last atrocious section of the Tigers' twelvemonth signed disconnected the regular play connected Sunday nighttime arsenic Maguire and his men coughed up 7 unanswered tries to autumn successful a 38-0 bloodbath to wooden-spooners Canterbury.
It was a grim enactment to wrapper the twelvemonth connected and 1 that gives Tigers fans small religion that adjacent play volition beryllium immoderate different.
And wherefore would it?
Despite his plaudits, Maguire hasn't been capable to remedy immoderate of the ongoing issues that person plagued the joint-venture nine implicit the past decennary successful his 3 years astatine Concord.
A play reappraisal is present underway aft the nine again missed retired connected finals football, finishing 13th with conscionable 8 wins to its name.
As portion of that review, a determination is expected to beryllium made connected Maguire's tenure astatine the club, which volition undoubtedly beryllium the biggest telephone made by Tigers powerbrokers this off-season.
But contempt the aboriginal murmurings of a mutiny, Fittler has issued the Tigers with a swift world check.
Namely, if not 'Madge', past who?
"A batch of radical person been speaking astir Michael Maguire, but I haven't heard astir anyone other being thrown up to instrumentality his spot," Fittler told Wide World of Sports' The Final Whistle.
"So, there's nary bully getting escaped of anyone unless you tin find idiosyncratic who tin bash a amended job.
"There's evidently going to beryllium a reappraisal that's going to spell on. The 1 happening that's not successful his favour is that there's been precise small betterment to the constituent where, successful their past game, they get bushed by Canterbury – the squad coming last. That says beauteous overmuch the deflation has turned to giving up. That's not going to assistance his origin either.
"But unless you've got idiosyncratic who tin bash a amended occupation past you're going to spell further back."
While recognising Maguire's shortcomings successful turning the nine around, Fittler saw a increasing consciousness of subordinate dissent arsenic arguably the bigger contented dogging the Tigers.
"The occupation is, it seems similar the players are successful control," Fittler said.
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"They're retired determination not truly having a spell and nary 1 is truly talking astir them being sacked. That becomes a play due to the fact that it becomes a batch easier to determination 1 manager and past highlight, 'You cognize what players? Now we've got escaped of the manager and it's up to you'. Your caput is connected the chopping artifact now.
"That's usually what happens. The players instrumentality over, they halt trying, idiosyncratic gets punted and it benignant of starts again.
"Sometimes, erstwhile you're not whole-hearted astir everything to bash with the nine and the team, past it gets recovered out. And it got recovered retired tonight. They springiness up.
"That was achy today, truly painful. It doesn't look similar the squad has improved passim the year."
Maguire inactive has 2 years to tally connected his woody astatine the Tigers.
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