Were Wests Tigers fun to watch this season? No.

The Australian view of the Tigers is rooted in Aussie NRL ideals. An old school club with plenty of merger history, based in the Sydney cespit. This is why you'll be seeing plenty of NRL headlines about the Tigers right now. Australian NRL media love to hammer down on struggling organisations and with the glory of NRL Finals here, the Tigers are an easy clickbait story to churn out weekly.

Were the Tigers good this season? No.

The view from Aotearoa though is pretty damn funky considering that Michael Maguire is Aotearoa Kiwis coach, who has led the Kiwis to wins over Australia and Tonga prior to international rugby league being shut down. Maguire will have the deepest Aotearoa Kiwis pool of players ever at his disposal and that factors into account players who will likely lace up for Samoa or Tonga (Marist Saints junior Sitili Tupouniua will likely opt for Tonga for example).

We don't know about it because of the lack of Kiwis footy, yet I'm fairly confident based on those previous Kiwis games under coach Maguire and observing general Kiwi-NRL mahi that Maguire is still highly engaged with Kiwis players and prospects. It's Maguire's job to build a team culture and Kiwis whanau that is attractive to those with eligibility options and that didn't seem to be the case for the woeful period under David Kidwell.

Personally, I'd like to see Maguire given time to actually build something at the Tigers. If the Tigers sack Maguire, they are merely pushing their same old wheel of meh along the road. That's an Aussie issue though and the alternative of Maguire zoning his energy on Aotearoa Kiwis footy ahead of next year's World Cup is also kinda attractive.

Maguire's role as Aotearoa Kiwis coach runs deep and I can see the similarities in how he is building a Kiwis vibe to what he is doing at the Tigers. Aotearoa is a country flush with culture and either footy code has foundations in Maori/Polynesian culture. The Aotearoa Kiwis coach has to bring players from different cultural backgrounds together under the Aotearoa umbrella; it's always up to the individual as to who they represent but the Kiwis coach has to at least create an attractive environment.

That's what Kristian Woolf has done with Tonga and no Samoan official has done with Samoa.

Move past the Aussie headline angst and you'll see that under Maguire, the Tigers partnered with Awabakal which is an 'Aboriginal community-controlled health service'. Awabakal is an indigenous Australian organisation looking out for their people, their communities and the Tigers have also worked with Kari which is a similar oragnisation. Both partnerships help to foster opportunities for Aboriginal youth in footy which is evident in the mahi of Daine Laurie and throughout the Tigers club.

I have noted that under Maguire, the Tigers have signed a bunch of Kiwi-NRL players and prospects who are all Maori or Polynesian. The funky trend here is that all these players have come from other NRL clubs and I believe that Maguire is outlining a similar focus on Aotearoa/Kiwi-NRL culture as has been implemented with their Aboriginal pathways.

Under Maguire, the Tigers picked up Asu Kepaoa (Ellerslie Eagles) from Roosters mid-season last year. Prior to the start of this season Tukimihia Simpkins (Rotorua Boys High School) was lured away from North Queensland Cowboys who recruited Simpkins from Rotorua as part of their impressive regional Aotearoa recruitment. Simpkins was one of the hottest footy prospects leaving RBHS, so Maguire must have done something right to get Simpkins away from the club who invested heavily in his development.

Ken Maumalo (Papatoetoe Panthers) has worked with Maguire in Aotearoa Kiwis footy and the moment that some niggle between Maumalo and NZ Warriors emerged, Maguire pounced. Like Simpkins, Maumalo must see some positives in what Maguire is doing as he is the only legit reason why Maumalo ended up there.

Maguire also singed Junior Pauga (Glenora Bears) from Wynnum Manly-Seagulls (Qld reserve grade) mid-season. Pauga was a dynamic centre for the Junior Warriors and settled in at Wynnum, only to be lured to the Tigers via Maguire. Pauga, Simpkins and Kelma Tuilagi (Glenora Bears) were part of the 18 Kiwi-NRL debutants this season with Tuilagi brought to the Tigers last summer from Melbourne Storm.

All three of the Tigers Kiwi-NRL debutants this year joined the Tigers after the start of 2021. All three are Maori/Polynesian as are Kepaoa and Maumalo. Dig deeper and similar trends are evident throughout the Tigers system as they brought Christchurch's Joseph Taipari over from Parramatta Eels ahead of the 2020 season. Taipari played a bunch of NSW Cup games this year, while Etuale Lui (Otahuhu Leopards) made the same Eels-Tigers move ahead of the 2020 season to play Jersey Flegg.

The Tigers Flegg team also features Israel Ogden (Mangere East) who left NZ Warriors for the Tigers prior to this season. The Tigers also snapped up Samuel Kamu (Mt Albert Grammar) and Okusitino Lui (Waitemata Seagulls) from the Newcastle Knights SG Ball team to play Tigers Flegg this year. Kamu and Lui were part of a heavy duty Newcastle Knights recruitment drive in Auckland (Starford To'a, Simi Sasagi etc), only to join the Tigers system.

The Tigers SG Ball team featured Tray Lolesio, Jarney Proctor-Harwood and Tamehana Paruru who were all part of the NZ Warriors SG Ball team in 2020 and played in the 2020 NZRL Schools vs Clubs game.

All of these players were recruited from other NRL clubs and all are Maori/Polynesian. That's not especially unique, however based on Maguire being the Kiwis coach and the Tigers/Awabakal partnership this is an interesting trend and an insight into what Maguire is building. The Kiwi-NRL reason why we would want Maguire to stay at the Tigers is that he is building a small Kiwi-NRL whanau that is bolstering their NRL squad now with ample development prospects emerging from within.

Maguire is using his Kiwis coach status to help seal some deals, although every NRL club is recruiting from Aotearoa (18 Kiwi-NRL debutants this year!). Every NRL club has Aotearoa recruits in their U18 teams, some have Aotearoa recruits in their U16 teams and some have prospects tucked away in Aotearoa until they finish school. What is clear is that Maguire has added more Kiwi-NRL talent to the Tigers each year since taking over as coach, highlighting an aspect of the Tigers woes that can be improved upon.

Who knows how this tracks over the summer for Maguire and Tigers. If Maguire's kicked out, all good he can focus on Aotearoa Kiwis footy. There are a bunch of Kiwi-NRL players who have joined the Tigers because of Maguire and the Tigers junior pipeline also reflects that. I'm not sure what that all means but it's been fun to observe Maguire go about his Kiwi-NRL mahi. While his results aren't encouraging for the Kiwis, there is plenty of mana in what Maguire has started to build.

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