Unwanted slice of Tigers history beckons for Benji
George Clarke |
Benji Marshall will consider whether to use the final four rounds of Wests Tigers’ season to look to the future as he aims to avoid finishing 2026 with the worst win rate of any permanent head coach in the club’s history.
Marshall’s side slumped to a 16-13 loss to Parramatta on Sunday and sit 16th, and after a run of seven consecutive defeats are only being kept off bottom by St George Illawarra.
The Tigers, who are out of finals contention and boast the worst defence in the NRL, are on a bye this week before finishing with games against the Dragons, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland and Penrith.
But if his side fails to show signs of life, Marshall is in danger of surpassing Terry Lamb as the worst permanent coach in the club’s history.
Lamb won just 32 per cent of his 50 games at the helm in the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
After Sunday’s loss, Marshall has just 22 wins from 67 games in charge for a win rate of 32.8 per cent.
Marshall, who signed an extension until 2030 last December, was given public backing from Tigers chair Barry O’Farrell last week.
Asked if he would use the four remaining games of the Tigers’ season to blood players on the fringes of his NRL squad with an eye to 2027, Marshall said: “We’ll have a conversation with what it looks like again this week.
“The bye gives us a good chance to just take a breath and have a look at the final four weeks and what the priorities are moving forward and make a plan accordingly.
“To be honest with you, I want to win as many games as possible to finish the season. That’s the first priority. How that looks, we’ll see.”
One of player who might come into consideration for some time off is fullback Jahream Bula, who has been playing the back half of the year with a shoulder issue and hasn’t scored since May.
Jarome Luai will leave next year to join Parramatta on a one-season deal before heading off to be the face of the PNG Chiefs in 2028.
Luai was quiet in the defeat to the Eels and shouldered the blame for the Tigers’ rudderless attack.
Marshall’s men have scored just 45 points in their past six games.
“We’ve got to block out the noise and I think within our four walls, we’ve got a lot of trust in what we’re doing and what we’re building,” Luai said.
“I think we’re getting a lot of good looks there and when your confidence is a bit down, the execution’s not quite there.”
BENJI MARSHALL’S TIGERS COACHING TENURE
2024 – 17/17 – six wins from 24 games
2025 – 13/17 – nine wins from 24 games
2026 – 16/17 – seven wins from 20 games.
AAP