The last placed Tigers are getting a cruel reminder of what they let go amid former assistant Andrew Webster’s rise as an NRL coach with the second placed Warriors.
Webster was interim coach of the Tigers for two games after Jason Taylor was sacked three games into the 2017 season, before Ivan Cleary was appointed coach.
He also coached the Panthers for one game last season with Cleary sidelined due to an injury.
“I don’t want to rub it in, but it is fair to say that the coach came through the Tigers system,” Kent said of Webster on NRL 360.
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“They let him go and he is doing a magnificent job.
“There is a stark difference in the way they are playing the Warriors. You talk about that grit and their application to what they are doing, that is a trademark of what Webster has brought to them.
“That’s what his junior teams always possessed. he has gone there and the flighty Warriors of the past where they are in and out of games, they go on runs but then they will concede a stack of points, that is slowly disappearing.
“Obviously we saw that a little bit on the weekend down 20-0, but their ability to come back into the contest is something we haven’t seen at that club for a long, long time.”
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Phil Rothfield believes the key to Webster’s success, especially with the Warriors is his ability to not overdo it when coaching the team.
“I’ll tell you something about the coach, I was at Cronulla yesterday and I looked up to his box 15 minutes before the game and he was still in his box,” Rothfield said.
“What it shows you is he doesn’t over-coach. He is not down there loading them with information.
“He went down eventually about eight minutes before kick-off. I think it is great and wise with that football side that he is not going down there and ramming them and overloading them.”
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Kent agreed sometimes the less information the better for young coaches, especially right before a game.
“That can be a mistake for young coaches and rookie coaches,” Kent said.
“But look he has been around a long time Webster and it is great that he has finally got his chance and it is great that the Warriors are responding to him.”
The biggest turnaround Webster has made at the Warriors on an individual player is halfback Shaun Johnson, whose form compared to last year is chalk and cheese.
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The Tigers would love a coach to be able to help Luke Brooks rediscover his best form, but can now only look on as Webster rebuilds the Warriors and Johnson into a force again.
Legendary halfback Cooper Cronk commended Johnson and Webster for turning the Warriors around in such a short space of time.
“I have got to tip my cap to him (Johnson) because he has done a tremendous job,” Cronk said of Johnson.
“Number one, Webster has reshaped the Warriors as an image or a brand because we traditionally think the Warriors when they are on they are red hot, but when they are not they are poor. They are [historically] an offload team and quite risk vs reward.
“But now their fundamentals are good. They don’t offload. They have a high completion rate and they fought back from 20-0 down on the weekend.
“The thing with Shaun Johnson is he has always had top shelf skill, but he is actually putting all the game management pieces together at the moment and that is something we haven’t seen from Shaun Johnson for a long time. I hope it continues because he has done a tremendous job.”
