Maguire axed, Tigers eye coach for future
Cameron Ciraldo looms as the most likely target for Wests Tigers next coach after they axed Michael Maguire just hours after he finished an NRL field session.
Tim Sheens has all but rolled out the red carpet for Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo, declaring Wests Tigers want a “development” coach to replace Michael Maguire.
Maguire’s three-and-a-half-year tenure at the NRL club came to an end on Tuesday, told by Tigers bosses his contract was terminated just hours after running a training session and picking this week’s team.
Brett Kimmorley will take over as interim coach ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manly, but head of football Sheens already has eyes on securing the next full-time coach.
Sheens would not discuss names, but indicated he wants someone adept at working with the club’s array of promising juniors as well as guiding senior players.
That is something Ciraldo has become renowned for at defending premiers Penrith.
“Of course (Ciraldo’s) name is going to be speculated,” Sheens said.
“At the end of the day the usual names will be thrown around
“We’re talking about a development coach here who is prepared to work with young ones as well as give the senior ones a go.”
Maguire’s exit came as Penrith engage with Ciraldo’s management on a contract extension to stay at the club for next year.
The Panthers know Ciraldo will be in great demand given both the Warriors and Canterbury are also searching for replacements after axing their coaches.
But they want to hold on to their defensive mastermind until he believes the right club is there to jump to.
And the Tigers believe they can be an attractive option with the talent in their pipeline.
While Sheens was all but resigned to the club missing the finals for an 11th straight season after winning just three of their opening 12 games, he insisted the future was bright.
Pleading for patience from long-suffering fans, he pointed to the fact Western Suburbs had won the under-17s Harold Matthews Cup this year, while the under-19s were also finalists.
“We need someone for at least three or four years to take control of that and bring the kids through,” Sheens said.
“We’re going to have highs and lows as they gain experience.
“We’ve got a couple of good guys coming in next year.
“We just need to make sure there are spaces there for our good kids to develop into.”
If Ciraldo is not the man to take over, former Cronulla coach John Morris would loom as another option given his work with juniors there.
Shane Flanagan and Paul Green also remain on the look out for jobs, while Tonga coach Kristian Woolf and Sydney Roosters assistant Jason Ryles are other options.
Ciraldo was briefly approached by the Tigers at the end of last year as part of an earlier review into the joint-venture’s poor performances, before they decided to stick with Maguire.
Sheens was not in Australia with the club then, but said time had run out on Maguire after the poor start to this season and with the need to ramp up recruitment for 2023 and beyond.
“It’s not only results, it’s about our future,” Sheens said.
“I couldn’t see or recommend that Michael would be here in three or four years’ time.”
Maguire could be as an option for the Warriors, with his axing coming just hours after Nathan Brown was pushed out of the Auckland-based club.
A premiership-winning mentor with South Sydney in 2014, Maguire already has a connection with New Zealand rugby league as coach of the Kiwis.
Comments on RugbyPass
The URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to comments