‘Aren’t all-in’: Slater’s brutal assessment after Tigers’ collapse
Billy Slater has delivered a grim assessment of the Wests Tigers, admitting that their season has become unsalvageable with seven rounds remaining.
After starting the season in red-hot form, the Tigers have dropped well outside the top-eight and now only remain a mathematical chance of playing finals.
Jarome Luai is set to leave the Tigers. NRL Imagery
The well-documented saga surrounding co-captain Jarome Luai has coincided with a major form slump, with the Tigers now needing to win all of their remaining games to even be in contention for a drought-breaking finals berth.
Luai’s move to the PNG Chiefs for 2028 and the club’s decision to part ways with him next year, allowing the five-eighth to join the Parramatta Eels, has become an unwanted distraction according to Slater, who believes the team harmony that Benji Marshall was able to instil during the pre-season has slipped away.
Asked whether they could still salvage their campaign during Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast, the Maroons coach conceded that all hope appeared gone at Concord.
“I don’t know the answer to this one - I think the damage has been done to be honest, I don’t know if you can salvage it,” Slater said.
“The same players are on the field at the moment as the start of the year and they looked like they were gonna play finals. Benji Marshall drew a line in the sand in pre-season and they went out and all bought in to what Benji was bringing.
“The injuries were a circuit breaker for where they were going and the momentum they had - and then obviously the Luai situation and him signing with the Chiefs and things changed within the organisation where he’s not gonna be there.
“I just think you need team harmony to flow into your footy and that’s what they don’t have. They don’t have this all-in approach and subconsciously, players there aren’t all-in and it would be a frustrating organisation at the moment.
“I don’t know whether the damage is too far done to get out of it this year. There’s a fair chunk of the season to go, but that light is so dim in the distance.
“Mathematically, they can still make it, but with the way they are playing and the noise around the organisation, they’re not in a great spot.”
Marshall’s men face a reasonable month with games against the Raiders, Eels, and Dragons on the horizon, as well as a guaranteed two points with a bye.
But with clashes against the Roosters and Panthers towards the end of the regular season, the Tigers are at long-odds to make the finals.
As for the Luai situation and his stop-gap deal for next year, Slater admitted there could be reason for Eels fans to be nervous about his arrival.
“I can absolutely see that concern,” he said.
Jarome Luai. Getty Images
“You only have to look at what’s happened over the last two months since Jarome signed with the Chiefs. It gets a bit messy, doesn’t it?
“The game is too hard if you’re not all-in. Jarome will be going to Parramatta with a mindset to be at his best, no doubt about that, but sometimes it’s subconscious.
“I can absolutely see the concern that some people may have, signing a player on a short-term contract, when they’ve got something really big in 12 months.”
