Madge blasts ‘embarrassing’ Tigers in furious dressing room spray

The Tigers find themselves in 15th place after nine rounds and the wooden spoon is looking more likely than breaking the longest finals drought in the NRL stretching back to 2011.

The Tigers came back late in the second 40, but Maguire was furious at his side’s defence in the first half, which cost them any chance of victory.

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Round 10

Madge blasts “embarrassing” Tigers

0:47

CASUALTY WARD: All the latest injuries and return dates from Round 9

“We should never have been in that spot,” Maguire said.

“It was a game of touch footy in the first half, so to let simple little tries in off kick-offs and things like that is not acceptable.

“I’ve sat here a few times and said the same so all of us need to fix it. It is straight forward what needs to be sorted out.

“We turned up last week and found our shoulders and defended strongly and tonight the Titans are a team that throw the ball around and we got scattered.”

Braith Anasta called the Tigers out for sleep walking in the first half when the Titans ran in three tries in five minutes and Maguire agreed.

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0:44

“Sleep walking? Well I guess you can’t fault what he says when you have tries scored like that,” Maguire said.

“You have got to have a look at where we are at the present moment and not think that you can just turn up and things are going to get done defensively.

“We have got to learn how to do it week in and week out if we are going to be a fair dinkum team here.

“We have to find a way to fix that because it was pretty embarrassing there today.

“I’m not going to come up with any excuses. We as a group need to find out how to fix it and do it fast.

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Tigers press conference

7:42

“Everyone’s jobs are accountable around what we do on the field and how we train and we have some good young players coming through in reserve grade, so I have to have a look at the dynamics of what we are doing because we have to do something to fix this consistency around what has been going on for quite some time.”

Maguire was particularly disappointed with the inability of his team to address issues on the run during a game so that they don’t concede three tries in five minute stretches as they did against the Titans.

“At the start of the game we made it hard for ourselves with a few errors and then they scored a try and the tries came fairly quickly after that,” Maguire said.

Ref and Titans clash over dubious call

0:48

“We have to get together and sort that out. That has been something that has happened over quite a few games.

“That’s leadership. It is what is being said behind the tryline and owning it. Those are the things that need to happen while you are behind the tryline. Our older guys need to take control.

“Shifting off a kick-off they did that last week. We spoke about it but we have to be able to defend it. Those are the things we have to own as a player for us to not be where we are.”

Maguire challenged his players to take more pride in every play if they are to match the best teams in the NRL on a consistent basis.

“You look at the top teams in the competition and every play counts,” Maguire said.

“I shouldn’t have to tell players to be like that. They have to want to be like that. They have got to want to be the players and the staff that want to get the Wests Tigers out of this position we are in.

“If we own that then we can change that inconsistency. And they have got to want it more than anything they have ever wanted.

“I guess I’m talking to my players at the moment and I’m talking to the fans because they would be frustrated. I get that. That is what we are working towards fixing and building here.”