Tigers want Sheens decision - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Tigers want Sheens decision

David Beniuk 28/04/2011 06:29:42 PM Comments (0)

Wests Tigers players have joined the calls for Tim Sheens to decide his future quickly as the veteran coach heads into one of the biggest weekends of his career.

Captain Robbie Farah warned on Thursday continual speculation about where Sheens will coach from 2012 could become a distraction for players if the decision drags on.

Sheens has been offered the job at NRL rivals Penrith to be vacated by Matt Elliott at season's end - reportedly for a deal worth up to $2 million over four years.

The Tigers' offer to retain Sheens is rumoured to be around $400,000 a season, with the final two years of a four-year term in the role of coaching director.

Fans of the club received some relief, though, with confirmation superstar Benji Marshall has no get-out clause if Sheens leaves, meaning the five-eighth is tied to the club until the end of 2015.

"I don't think it's a distraction as yet but if it does drag on for weeks and months heading into the next few games it probably will become a distraction, so hopefully Tim will make his mind up soon," Farah told reporters on Thursday.

"(A quick decision) would help out the players, it would help out Tim and it would help out the club."

A huge weekend is in store for the 60-year-old, who took the helm of the Tigers in 2003 and led them to the 2005 premiership.

As well as Farah, chief executive Stephen Humphreys has expressed hope the decision can be made this weekend, when the Tigers will attempt to stem a two-match losing streak in their clash with the Raiders in Canberra.

Test boss Sheens will also be involved in the selection of the Kangaroos squad for next week's international against New Zealand on the Gold Coast, the squad to be named on Sunday afternoon.

Farah said he still had plenty to offer the Tigers.

"He's changed, he's always changing, and that's why he's survived in the game for so long," Farah said.

Sheens cancelled a scheduled media appearance on Thursday morning, instead sending assistant Peter Gentle out to face a large pack of reporters.

"Quite often he'll throw me in if he's busy or whatever but I think he's avoiding the questions you're going to ask, so that's why I'm here," Gentle admitted, while refusing to comment on whether he would seek the top job at the Tigers.

Former St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown, NSW boss Ricky Stuart and Panthers assistant Steve Georgallis have also been linked to the Penrith job.

"If the right club comes along and there's an interest from a club, obviously I would look at it, but all my focus now is leading into a very busy period," Stuart told Sky Sports Radio.

"I've got a big job on behalf of NSW so I'm putting all my focus and attention into that now."

A sweeping review of the Blues set-up after a fifth straight Origin series loss last year strongly recommended a full-time coach, but NSWRL boss Geoff Carr said that could depend on talks with Stuart if he returned to the NRL.

"If he gets offered a Nathan Tinkler deal and he comes to see us we'll talk about it then," Carr told AAP.

"He's got a two-year deal with us and if he gets a huge offer we always said, and we've got it in writing, that we'd talk to him about his future and our future."

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