It has only been one week of pre-season, but the Wests Tigers have already reportedly issued breach notices to five players after they failed to meet strict fitness guidelines.
Aiming to climb off the bottom of the ladder for the first time in three years, the Wests Tigers have ushered into a new era under Benji Marshall and Shane Richardson and will enter the second year of their 'Five Year Plan' next season.
Having made it clear that the Tigers demand the highest standards from the playing group, the club's CEO Shane Richardson confirmed toย The Daily Telegraphย that five players were issued official warnings after they failed to meet expectations upon their return to the club.
It has been reported that during their exit interviews at the end of the 2024 NRL season, the entire playing group agreed to uphold the highest acceptable fitness levels.
โPlayers have to live up to what the standards are of a team that's going to be successful,โ Richardson told the publication.
โThere's no stone unturned about the discipline the club requires to be successful. I've got to say overall, I've had no major pushback on that.
โSo the players have got to understand that Benji's way is the way. It's as simple as that.
"And if they want to play first grade at the club, they have to understand it is under what Benji's rules are. It's got nothing to do with between young players and older players.
โWe have won three straight wooden spoons. We are just not going to accept anything that is not absolutely of the higher standards for culture and for training and everything else.โ
The report of the breach notices comes after Benji Marshall reportedly met with Terrell May earlier this week, per News Corp, as they are one of three teams that are in the hunt for his signature along with the Canterbury Bulldogs and St George Illawarra Dragons.
It is understood that the meeting between the two parties went extremely well, with May walking away impressed. Terrell, the brother of Tyrone May and Taylan May, is also very close to new recruit Jarome Luai.
Re-signing with the Sydney Roosters in April, the news surrounding May being granted permission to leave the club came as a surprise, with the 2024 NRLย season arguably being the best of his career to date.
Playing 27 games, predominantly off the interchange bench, he finished the year with 110 metres per game, 40 offloads, 64 tackle busts and a tackle efficiency of almost 98 per cent and has now become one of the most sought-after forwards in the competition.
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On Tuesday, Trent Robinson spoke about the reason why May was granted permission to explore his options immediately.
โThey're difficult ones,โ Robinson said.
โTerrell is a really, really good player. That's why I played him in so many games this year. But it does give opportunities to some guys underneath that to play more.
โTerrell is not going to have trouble finding a club, the quality he plays with. He is not of bad character, he has not done anything wrong.
โI think that has been thrown out there. He has been a value add to our group and there are just some small bits there around how we want to play and also the longevity of Terrell.
โWe felt like it was time to move in a different direction and expressed that to Terrell. The difficult thing has been that people have questioned his character around that and that shouldn't be the case.โ
