Have the Wests Tigers finally found the players who can put an end to their NRL finals drought?
It’s the most delightful time of the year because the weather is shining, the Christmas leftovers are still edible, and Wests Tigers fans are beginning to believe again.
The signing of John Bateman culminates a major recruiting campaign for 2023, with Api Koroisau, Isaiah Papali’i, and David Klemmer all headed to Concord in what may be the kind of change that generally occurs when a southerly decreases the temperature on a blazing summer afternoon.
Of course, the Tigers have been here before.
Footy optimism is a December ritual, just like cleaning up an unsuspecting younger relative at backyard cricket or forgetting what day of the week it is between Christmas and New Year’s.
It’s never worked out the way they hoped, but there’s a possibility things will be different this time.
This latest renaissance isn’t based on hope; it’s based on cold, hard cash and spending it on the best of what’s available.
There are very few problems in rugby league that can’t be remedied by throwing money around, and after 11 seasons without a finals appearance, the Tigers have nothing to lose and everything to gain by throwing some money around.
The joint venture’s success, in its 22 years of existence, has been founded on either building from within or buying low on players who, for whatever reason, can be grabbed below their market worth.
Both ideas make sense in theory, but it’s not surprising that the club chose a different path. You can’t go a month without seeing an exhaustive list of Tigers players who went on to greatness with other clubs, either as juniors or early in their careers.
And turning value signings into stars is a process that works really well until it doesn’t, at which point you can get locked in a never-ending cycle of starting over.
So why not take out your wallet? If you can’t get out of the transfer market, you should get into it.
The Tigers have had large recruitment efforts in the past, but none like this.
Ben Matulino, Russell Packer, and Josh Reynolds all arrived on big money with bodies that were already breaking down when Ivan Cleary was coach — which feels like a century ago considering what’s occurred since.
Moses Mbye was competent of many things, but they never discovered where he was most capable.
Adam Blair arrived from the Storm in what was intended to be the transfer that propelled them to their second premiership, but instead began a string of dashed hopes that were crushed like cans on the Leichhardt Oval hill.
This, however, is not the case.
Klemmer, Bateman, Koroisau, and Papali’i are all seasoned players with track records and reputations that precede them like lightning does thunder.
Koroisau is the club’s first incumbent New South Wales Origin player signing since Terry Hill joined the Tigers for their inaugural season in 2000.
He’s the type of dummy half who improves the players around him: It’s no coincidence that Nathan Cleary’s ascension began when Koroisau joined the Panthers, and it’s no wonder that Koroisau continued to progress even while Penrith smashed the rugby league globe beneath their feet.
His game is built on intelligence rather than athleticism, so it stands to reason that his style would age well as he got a better awareness of his own abilities.
The three-time Premier League champion is the club’s most crucial addition, but the others are equally outstanding.
Despite slipping out of representative contention for unknown reasons, Klemmer’s production for the Knights remained excellent even as the team suffered — his 155 metres per game last year was the fifth-highest of any forward in the league.
Papali’i’s path to the Tigers may have been bumpy, with reports that the New Zealander was considering returning to Parramatta, but he’s now in black, white, and gold, and given he was seventh in the entire league for metres gained last season — as well as fourth for post-contact metres — it’s safe to say the Tigers have landed one of the best backrowers in the world.
Bateman was in that category with Canberra in 2019-20, and he still has that football in him — although in patches, which could be enough.
The Englishman is strong enough to out-fight a razorback and has the attacking range to make the most of the metres that will undoubtedly be available.
Even if Bateman isn’t the same force he was with the Raiders, his absence won’t be fatal. There is a case of strength in numbers going on here.
It would be disappointing if one of the four failed to live up to the hype, but the responsibility of leading the club back to the promised land is shared among the four.
Nobody is being asked to carry the entire club’s large territory on their back. It’s a hefty load, but they can share it.
Daine Laurie and Adam Doueihi were two bright lights in last year’s wooden-spoon campaign, and Stefano Utoikamanu, who missed much of last season due to injury, was once one of the league’s most promising young props.
Luke Brooks will shoulder the weight of expectations that have ruined his career once more, and he will be the target of a decade’s worth of frustrations.
It would probably be best for both player and club if Brooks began his 11th year in first grade somewhere else, but the Tigers will dance with the one who brought them at least one more time, and Brooks hasn’t been surrounded by this level of quality in a long time.
Add it all together and you’ve got something. It’s not enough for Tigers supporters to get finals tickets right now, but it’s better than nothing.
How much of that something turns out to be significant remains to be seen, but the Tigers have done about everything they can with their roster.
They’ve tried everything else, so why not invest in some of the best and see where it leads them?
What do they have to lose with a wooden spoon in their hands after years in the cold?
