Rugby League legend Matt Rogers has called for the Tigers to never pick the three players that will front the board over issued breach notices for failing fitness standards again.
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Latu Fainu, Solomona Faataape and Solomone Saukuru will front the board after their weight and skin fold tests fell short of their expected levels.
The trio’s 1.6km time trial numbers upon returning to training after the off-season also fell short of the club’s standards.
Benji Marshall faces a huge task to turn around the club’s culture after three straight wooden spoons and Rogers believes the Tigers now have zero tolerance for unprofessionalism
“I’d be shocked if they wear a Tigers jersey again,” Rogers said on SEN 1170.
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“They are not star players by any stretch. They are in the top 30 squad of the team that came last and rock up to training in that condition.”
Rogers believes the Tigers have the chance to make a line in the sand statement by terminating the contracts of the three players to send a message to the underperforming squad that a lack of commitment to the club will no longer be acceptable.
“Personally, if I was Benji Marshall and Shane Richardson, I’d just get rid of them,” Rogers said.
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“Get three blokes in there that actually want to add value to the place instead of trying to add value to them.
“That’s not how a good club operates. The fact they have to front the board, I will genuinely be shocked if they have a career beyond that meeting at the Wests Tigers.”
Rogers was challenged that young players are allowed to make mistakes, with Fainu just 19, Faataape (23) and Saukuru (20), all capable of redeeming themselves.
“I made mistakes, but I will say this, my commitment to what my job could never be questioned,” Rogers said.
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“I would run until I spewed. My commitment, if you were around me you knew what I was about. I was committed to what I was trying to achieve.
“Making a mistake, this was a prolonged mistake.
“For two months you have been sitting on your arse eating crap food and not training knowing full well you are going back to a pre-season. No, no, no, that’s bigger than a mistake.”
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