Get rid of them - Great's shock call on Tigers trio

Dual international Mat Rogers has urged the Wests Tigers to "get rid of" players who failed to return for pre-season in shape. Latu Fainu, Solomona Faatape and Solomone Saukuru will front the club's board after their weight and skinfold tests weren't at the expected level, while their 1.6km time trial numbers also fell short in the first week of training. The message sent by coach Benji Marshall has been applauded by those within the game, with the trio breached for their lack of fitness. But according to Rogers, who represented Australia in both league and union, the coach and chief executive Shane Richardson need to take it a step further. "I'd be shocked if they wear a Tigers jersey again," he said on SEN Radio. "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. "Personally, if I was Benji Marshall and Shane Richardson, I'd just get rid of them. Get three blokes in there that actually want to add value to the place. "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." Along with being a former player, Rogers is also an accredited agent, working with a host of young players vying for spots on an NRL roster. His comments come after Roosters star Brandon Smith also took aim at the misfiring group of players, labelling their attitude as "disrespectful" towards the club. Fainu is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game, while his older brother Samuela took out the club's Player of the Year award in 2024. Faatape played a handful of first grade games this year, while Saukuru is yet to debut.

Teen star among Tigers players breached for fitness issues

Young gun Latu Fainu has been revealed as one of five Wests Tigers players who were reportedly reprimanded for their fitness standards. According to a report from The Sydney Morning Herald, five Tigers players were issued official warnings by the club after returning to training last week out of shape. It has since been reported by the Herald that the 19-year-old Fainu was among the group and produced a poor performance in a time trial. Fainu played nine games for the joint-venture in his rookie 2024 season. The news comes after Roosters star Brandon Smith took a bold swipe at the players for turning up lacking fitness after the side's third-straight wooden spoon. "If I'm (Tigers coach) Benji Marshall, geez I find it disrespectful on the players' behalf," Smith said on The Bye Round podcast. "Three wooden spoons in a row, a new coach and you're going to come back out of condition. It begs the question, do you really want to play this game and what do you want to play for? "Do you want to play it because it looks cool and you want to make money, or do you want to play it because this means something to you and you want to win championships and you want to do great things in this game? "That is just not what it's telling me. Senior players like Jarome Luai, Api Koroisau, what are they thinking as well? "Are they thinking … are these players that we need around? Are these players that are going to help me win games and not be wooden spooners? "I'm not gonna be a, you know, nice guy about it, but you can't have three years in a row (finishing last) and that's not motivation for you to want to come back and put your best foot forward for this team and for Benji as a new coach." Podcast co-host James Graham agreed with the sentiment. "It is disrespectful," the retired Bulldogs and Dragons forward said. "It's a slap in the face to the whole organisation to say we agreed on this and you failed on something, on a variable, that is totally and utterly in your control." The strict new stance from the Tigers comes as the club looks to avoid a fourth-straight wooden spoon in 2025 and give Benji Marshall some breathing room as head coach.