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It appears we have a reverse Wayne Bennett-Darius Boyd situation on our hands.
Nrl.com have confirmed the appointment of former Tigers coach Jason Taylor as assistant coach of the Roosters, effective immediately.
This follows the recent signing of Tigers fullback James Tedesco by the tri-colours, re-uniting the pair once again.
Taylor was assistant to coach Trent Robinson when the Roosters won the premiership in 2013.
“Like sands through an hourglass, these are the days of our lives…”
According to AAP, Roosters assistant coach Justin Holbrook has signed a deal to coach UK Super League club St Helens. As a result, a vacancy has been created at the Roosters… enter Jason Taylor.
According to the report, Taylor – who previously worked as the assistant to head coach Trent Robinson when the Roosters won the premiership in 2013 – is in line to replace Holbrook.
This would be particularly interesting, given the Roosters are favourites to sign Tigers fullback James Tedesco. Tedesco, you may recall, was one of the “Big Four” who, rightly or wrongly, were closely tied to Taylor’s downfall at the Tigers.
Honestly, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
It turns out Josh Dugan wasn’t required.
A week after it emerged that the Dragons custodian was the Roosters’ Plan B at fullback, it’s been revealed that they’ve landed their Plan A.
According to a News report, Tigers fullback James Tedesco has agreed to join the Bondi-based club, following his captain, Aaron Woods, out the door. Woods was revealed yesterday to be joining the Bulldogs.
The report indicates that both Tedesco and Woods have already informed teammates of their decisions.
These signings close the book on a tumultuous month for the Tigers, that’s seen them sack coach Jason Taylor, appoint Ivan Cleary as their new coach and lose home-grown stars Mitchell Moses, Tedesco and Woods.
In earlier news, the club today announced the re-signing of David Nofoaluma. So that was nice.
On Monday, the Wests Tigers sacked coach Jason Taylor. In doing so, they brought an end to his tumultuous two year stint at the club, and they’ll be hoping this signals the beginning of a more successful era for the joint venture. The decision does, however, raise numerous questions about the leadership of the club and their decision-making process. The timing of the decision – just three weeks into the NRL season – is baffling. Furthermore, why would a club back their coach in punting one of their most popular players, only to turn around and give him the boot as well? [Read more…]
The Tigers went across the ditch and ended the Warriors’ finals hopes. The Obstruction Rule looks at how it went down, as well as reviewing the Tigers’ performances sans-Robbie Farah and turning the microscope on their opponents’ coach, Andrew McFadden. [Read more…]