Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has slammed his side following their hapless 56-14 loss to the Dragons — which has extended their losing streak to nine straight games.
Entering halftime leading 14-12, the Tigers conceded 44 second-half points in a sensational collapse that saw them complete just four of 11 sets and run for 222 metres.
Marshall didn’t mince his words in his press conference, stating: “If the actions don’t change, then the players will change.”
Much of the coach’s frustrations come from his side’s ability to consistently shoot themselves in the foot.
Yes, it is somewhat disappointing. It’s terrible that we seem to say the same thing every week,” he remarked.
“We give ourselves every chance at the same time. We get off to a really high energy start (14–12 at half time). It’s unacceptable to have 20% of the ball and make as many mistakes as we did—schoolboy mistakes, to be honest.
As has been the case all season, the Tigers’ lack of discipline cost them, as seven of their eleven errors occurred in the second forty.
Halfback Jayden Sullivan was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul on Luciano Leilua in the 49th minutes. He was the Tigers’ ninth sin bin of the season, the most of any NRL club.
Marshall admitted the club’s discipline is “hurting us.”
“We find someone to get sin-binned every week. (To) give away silly penalties. We lost our head (and) unfortunately we’re in a position where we can’t do it to ourselves and we do,” he said.
“I cannot talk about discipline enough. The whole week we’ve talked about discipline and it’s unacceptable. There’s no excuses.”
But the Wests Tigers coach insisted his team is headed in the right direction.
Despite the horrible night, Marshall stated, “there have been improvements and we’re on a path to building for our future, especially with our local juniors.”
“I believed that tonight, especially in the first half, we showed hints of the team we aspire to be.
“When you make foolish decisions, your confidence declines. At ten to one, there was a lot of optimism and energy. It was palpable among the team members.
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