Wests Tigers' coach Michael Maguire described it as a training run for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
On Sunday afternoon, Round 16 finished with a bone-jarring loss for the Tigers as the Rabbitohs became the latest team to put the cleaners through them in a 38-22 victory in front of zero fans at Leichhardt.
In the middle of the Sydney lockdown, Tigers fans would have wanted nothing more than to see their team turn things around. The big loss, where they were down 26-0 at halftime before saving face with a respectable second half, came a fortnight after being wiped out to the tune of 66-16 against the Melbourne Storm in the worst defensive performance of the year so far.
The week off hasn't helped the Tigers though, who ran out of the sheds at Leichhardt yesterday only to be hit by a barrage from Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker. It almost seems insanity that both missed out on the Origin arena for Game 3, while Jack Wighton at the struggling Raiders, and Mitchell Moses whose Eels lost to the Panthers on Friday, were selected.
Things could have been even worse for the Tigers, had Adam Reynolds not made a lowlight which will last for ever when he waltzed through for an easy try, only to stand on the dead ball line.
And while Michael Maguire gave his team the silent treatment against Melbourne at halftime, he came out swinging in the post-game press conference on Sunday evening.
"It's sad to say that our start looked like a training run for Souths," he said.
"It was very disappointing to see us start like that.
"We've done a lot of work and I need to find men that are going to be accountable for what we're doing."
Maguire clearly alluding to radical change at the Tigers will have some of their underperforming stars on edge.
It'll ring truest for James Tamou and Alex Twal, with neither afforded a second stint yesterday. It meant both starting props sat on the bench for the entirety of the second half, Tamou playing 27 minutes and Twal just half an hour.
Even in the midst of a late onslaught, Maguire couldn't find reason to stop Thomas Mikaele, Joe Ofahengaue and Stefano Utoikamanu from playing 50, 62 and 41 minutes respectively.
Maguire said he wants to see a different mindset from his team after their bye.
“I’ll be definitely having a look at the team,” Maguire said.
“They’ve got a week now where they can go away from footy for a while.
“I want to find the ones that are ready to take Wests Tigers forward.”
The Tigers will next in Round 18 when they travel to face the Brisbane Broncos.
