Wests Tigers CEO Steve Noyce said recently that Tim Sheens has been the best recruit the joint-venture club ever signed. The 7 year old joint venture club kicked off in 2000, with Sheens taking over control in 2003 and guiding them to Premiership glory in 2005.
“Tim Sheens is the best signing this club has ever made” beamed Noyce. “Tim Sheens is contracted to the Tigers until the end of 2008 and we hope he is here for a lot longer than that” added Noyce.
Noyce said any talk of signing to extend the Tim Sheens contract immediately are a bit premature; as Sheens has stated he is keen to leave the contract business until after the 2007 NRL season is over. Naturally the Tigers will be waiting with pen in hand to keep the coach locked up.
Sheens has recruited well himself, hand picking a stack of juniors early in his time and playing a patient game until the players were ready enough to take on the NRL’s best in the years to follow.
Aside from impressive recruitment and nurturing; Sheens instilled plenty of belief. Not only was there marriage problems for the new young club; with Tigers and Wests officials bickering at each other – both clubs had previously been strapped to the NRL cellar and needed a whole new culture to achieve any form of success.
It was this cultural change that really was stunning; the images of Tommy Raudonikis smoking in the coaches box for Wests and the former Tigers team training at an Oval in Leichhardt where the Grandstand was collapsing due to white ants – all forgotten in a new era under Tim Sheens and assistant Royce Simmons.
As the Tigers bid for a return to the NRL finals in NRL 2007; word is that Benji Marshall and Brett Hodgson are ready to return from injury. Coach Sheens stating that if this weeks game against the Warriors was a semi final – then he could probably inject Marshall and Hodgson back into the lineup. However, the two stars will be rested for another week and return for the Tigers match at home against the Cowboys.