Star Sydney Roosters half Luke Keary believes the Wests Tigers must build their spine around Apisai Koroisau, but hinted the club may need to make changes to get the spine they want.
The Tigers came into the 2023 season full of promise after making a number of signings in the halves, but it has been a case of same old same old to kick-off the new campaign.
The reigning wooden spooners, who haven't played finals in more than a decade and have gone back to their past with Tim Sheens taking over as head coach in 2023, have lost their first four games on the hop this year, falling short against the Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Knights, Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm.
Speaking on Triple M Radio, Keary said the club must figure out who they want and build the spine around Apisai Koroisau, who he labelled one of the best dummy halves in the game.
"The first thing is probably to figure out who you want," Keary said.
"Who is the spine first? Who is the fullback, who is the seven, who is the six, and they have got one of the best nines in the game.
"The first step is to figure out those positions, and create it around Api. He is one of the best nine's in the game, he is creative."
While the State of Origin star himself has struggled to find his feet at the joint venture in his first season away from back-to-back premiers the Penrith Panthers, Keary pointed out that the top teams have a system.
Using the Melbourne Storm as an example, he labelled the team 'clockwork' but suggested the Tigers were more of a guessing game than anything else.
"You see it in the best teams. They are very structured, it's a system. Those players sit in the system. [At the Melbourne Storm], [Cameron] Munster sits on the left, Jahrome [Hughes] sits on the right, [Ryan] Papenhuyzen plays through the middle with [Harry] Grant," he said.
"It's like clockwork. It's predictable, and they know what each other are going to do, and they can move around.
"You watch the Tigers sometimes, and it's a bit of a guessing game. Where's Brooksy [Luke Brooks] going to pop up, where's [John] Bateman going?"
Keary's Roosters have themselves rebounded strongly in the last two weeks, beating the New Zealand Warriors and South Sydney Rabbitohs after suffering a season-opening loss to the Dolphins.
The Roosters play the Parramatta Eels next week after this round's bye, while things won't get any easier for the Tigers with the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels on the menu over the next fortnight before their first bye of the season.
