The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield has slammed the Wests Tigers for damaging the coaching credentials of Brett Kimmorley.
Kimmorley was appointed following the dismissal of coach Michael Maguire with the Tigers only able to win one game during his tenure.
Rothfield believes the Tigers may have potentially destroyed the coaching career of one of the game’s great halves.
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“They also ruined a coaching career,” Rothfield said on Fox League’s NRL 360.
“Noddy’s by throwing him the worst hospital pass in the history of rugby league.”
Kimmorley opened up on his coaching future ahead of the final round of the season, a disastrous outing which saw the Tigers humiliated 56-10 by the Raiders.
“People will judge and say, ‘You’ve made no difference, you’ve won one out of 11 games’, and say that it’s been a poor performance that’s finished ugly,” Kimmorley told The Sun-Herald.
“But it was also an opportunity I’m thankful for, and I’ll be a better coach for it. I won’t say with hindsight I shouldn’t have done it because I’ve loved this opportunity.
“It’s been draining, that’s for sure. You’re disconnected from your family and partner for a couple of days after a bad performance, and it’s hard to let it go. As a player, you could get over a result quickly.“Tim has helped with bits and pieces.
“I like to think come November 1 the club is in a better position than it was when I got the job 12 weeks ago when it was a bit broken.”
While Kimmorely remained upbeat, Rothfield said he was forced to coach with his hands behind his back after the club let players go during the season.
“Now you guys howled me down a few weeks ago when I mentioned Leilua, Nofoaluma and GIldart going,” he said.
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“When you let three players go like that the rest of the players turn it up, they’ve shown that yesterday.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Kent said the spotlight needed to be shone on incoming coaches Benji Marshall and Tim Sheens, who he said remained distant throughout Kimmorley’s tenure.
“Whatever practices you’re going to put in place for next year, why weren’t they saying to Brett Kimmorely?” Kent questioned.
“Even if he stays there as head coach for the last half of the season, why were they not saying to him, ‘this is what we want to start seeing out of the team, we want you to start doing this’.”
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“Instead it’s just, ‘you know what we don’t want to be attached to the stink that’s associated with this club, so you go ahead and do it and we’ll take over in November 1’.
“It’s such poor management, I just don’t know what they are doing at that club and I’ve said it before they do not know what success looks like.
“Until they can get somebody in there and I know Sheens is the saviour in this area supposedly, but Sheensy’s I don’t know, I don’t want to say if he’s up for the job, he’s got so much work ahead of him I don’t think he realises how much is there.”
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