Wests Tigers

Any thoughts about the 2015 Wests Tigers will be heavily influenced by the late-season drama which saw Robbie Farah told to look elsewhere for 2016 ... and that if he didn't, then he would be playing reserve grade. That's a hefty bit of drama right there and drama that simply isn't needed for a club who could rival the Parramatta Eels in terms of silly drama.

What went missing through all of this was how little footy Farah played this season as he put his Tigers duties on hold to risk his fitness with New South Wales. Now that's an issue for a different day, but during that period we got a look at what life without Farah in a Tigers jersey could look like. Dene Halatau filled in admirably, starting most of those games at hooker but the big positive that Tigers fans will enjoy as well as Kiwis fans was the emergence of Manaia Cherrington who got plenty of minutes off the bench.

I'll try not to mention the Farah situation too much here, but Cherrington showed that he's a capable NRL player who could be the Tigers' long-term option in the no.9 jumper.

2015 was always going to be a tough year for the Tigers as their halves pairing of Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks got acquainted with the weekly rigors of NRL footy. The main yarn on this topic was how they, well more specifically Moses struggled with coach Jason Taylor's structured game plan as it simply wasn't something that they were used to. The young halves endured an inconsistent season, but everyone knew that that would be the case and I'm sure that Taylor's structured game plan is designed to make life easier for Brooks and Moses as they get used to the weekly grind. I don't think Taylor's trying to stop these two from playing footy.

James Tedesco is a gun, we know that and he showed it all season long which was fabulous for the Tigers. Looking at the Tigers in the vacuum of 2015 doesn't paint a pretty picture, but it's also unfair because this spine of Brooks, Moses, Tedesco and possibly Cherrington will continue to improve. Don't underestimate how beneficial it will be down the track that the two halves and Tedesco played together on a weekly basis this season.

Pat Richards looked like he and his tool-belt of kicks were muzzle by Taylor which was a shame and Richards joins Keith Galloway on the departure list. If I'm pretty excited about the Tigers halves, then this season hasn't quite offered the same level of excitement with the Tigers' outside backs. David Nofoaluma, Tim Simona and Kevin Naiqama aren't quite at the game-breaking level but they are all solid NRL players and we were given a glimpse at the future with young blokes like Delouise Hoeter and Nathan Milone playing a few games as well. 

One of the stranger coaching decisions of 2015 was Taylor's decision to move Chris Lawrence in from centre to the back-row. Lawrence played much of this season in the back-row, which on the surface isn't too different to centre but Lawrence's move in-field exposed the Tigers defensively through the centre channel. I would have kept Lawrence at centre of offer some experience and NRL nous there while youngsters got up to speed; I'll be interested to see if Lawrence A) stays with the Tigers and B) how he's used next season.

There's a lot to like about the Tigers forward pack, but for whatever reason they just couldn't put it all together often enough. Aaron Woods is one of the NRL's premier props with a high workload and the ability to off-load and Woods will be better off for taking much of the load on his shoulders this season.

That's not to say that Woods didn't get much support, it's just that Woods was their most consistent forward who caught the slack when others weren't quite doing their jobs. There's prime examples of this in Martin Taupau, Sauaso Sue and Ava Seumanufagai. These three are a strange case because Sue and Seumanufagai both enjoyed breakout seasons with greater responsibility while Taupau generally maintained his efforts from last season. But Sue and Seumanufagai, like their halves pairing, are both young and still learning about this NRL thing which saw them go missing in more games than they would have liked which was evident in the weekly Kiwi NRL Stocks as they'd be hot and cold. Seumanufagai enjoyed a strong end to the season while Sue shone through the middle of the seaso

Taupau's style doesn't suit itself to performing on a weekly basis - just look at Jason Taumalolo who doesn't churn out 200+ metres and 10 tackle busts each week. That's the challenge for Taylor and Taupau as they need to find a middle ground, whether it be less minutes or something, I'm not sure. 

Another young forward who we simply didn't see at their best often enough was Curtis Sironen, who once partnered Benji Marshall in the halves. Sironen is very similar to Bryce Cartwright and while Cartwright lacked consistency, he did have his moment where he showcased his rather freakish skill for a big lad. Sironen didn't even get that far but his potential is great. 

Dene Halatau won't win the Player Of The Year, but he does deserve a special mention. Asked to play in a variety of positions, Halatau did so without fuss and did a classy job in each of those positions. In the centres, back-row or at hooker, Halatau is still a valuable NRL player.

Writing all of this I reminded myself of just how young this Tigers squad is, which makes finishing 15th understandable and I'm quite surprised that they didn't end up with the wooden spoon. 2015 was always going to be a year of development where the promising Tigers young guns got the opportunity to play more footy together and to experience the NRL over 26 weeks, if you were expecting anything other than that then you'll be bitterly disappointed. 

Player Of The Year - James Tedesco

Youngin' Of The Year - Tedesco, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses are all young so they get the nod.

2015 In A Tweet - Screwed by salary cap sillyness and lacking the starch of the NRL's best.