Robbie Farah’s time as assistant coach at the Wests Tigers looks set to be ending, with reports the club great will be part of a coaching shake-up at the end of the season. The Tigers are once again on the bottom of the NRL ladder and on course to claim a third straight wooden spoon, in what is head coach Benji Marshall’s first full season in charge.
Marshall’s men have shown signs they’re on the improve this year, only to undo much of the good work like they did in last week’s 58-6 thumping by Cronulla. But the brutal truth is the Tigers have only won four games for the entire season – the same amount they recorded when finishing last in 2023. Granted, the Tigers still have seven games left to improve that record and avoid another wooden spoon, but it’s obvious something has to change in 2025.
Questions have arisen about Marshall’s position as head coach but Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has thrown his backing behind the first-year coach, suggesting he deserves time to build his squad and shape the team the way he wants them to play. The big-money signing of Penrith’s three-time premiership winner Jarome Luai from next season will give the Tigers a much needed touch of class but there’s a sense Marshall needs some more experience beside him in the coaching box too.
Speaking on NRL 360 on Monday night, veteran league journalists Brent Read and Phil Rothfield both revealed that Farah is unlikely to remain assistant coach in 2025. Benji also has former Cronulla coach John Morris in his box but Richardson is expected to try and add some more experience to the club’s coaching staff next season, with Farah expected to go as part of the shake-up.
“Benji had an opportunity last year, before Richardson came (when former CEO) Justin Pascoe was in charge,” Rothfield said. “They had an opportunity to get Justin Holbrook and Holbrook is doing some great work under Trent Robinson. Benji knocked that back, Benji wanted the young staff he was going to be comfortable with which is Robbie Farah and John Morris. As part of these changes… I’m, not too sure Robbie Farah will be there. It isn’t a sacking, I think he has other things in his life he wanted to do.”
Wests Tigers CEO throws full support behind Benji Marshall
Despite the proposed football department shake-up, Tigers CEO Richardson said the club had complete faith in Marshall as head coach. “I’ve got no doubt he’s going to get the job done for us. I’m 100 per cent supportive of him moving forward,” Richardson told The Daily Telegraph.
“I’m planning everything around Benji being here long term and helping our younger players come through as better footballers. We’ll be OK.” Marshall found his work ethic under question earlier this year after admitting that he wanted to strike a work-life balance with his coaching role and young family.
Marshall was widely criticised for going on a short mid-season holiday with his family to Fiji while the entire playing squad and staff were given time off during an Origin round bye. There were also suggestions Marshall wasn’t prepared to put in the long hours like many of the top coaches do but Rothfield said he spoke with Marshall after the crushing defeat to Cronulla and those suggestions couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Anyone who has questioned his work ethic… I rang him yesterday to check how he was going and it was a really interesting conversation,” Rothfield said. “The previous night he got home from Cronulla at midnight, he turned his tape on. Two-and-a-half or three hours of making notes, stop, start, pause.
“He jumps into bed, doesn’t get three hours sleep and then he’s over at Concord for a review with the players. Even though he went to Fiji… I think we can say he’s putting in the hard yards but I think there’s much bigger issues there.”
