Former Broncos and Queensland star Corey Parker has claimed that the Wests Tigers would be best served ending their relationship with embattled head coach Michael Maguire and throwing the keys back to club stalwart Tim Sheens.
With Wests sitting winless after three rounds and a horror schedule ahead, Parker believes that the time is now for the frustrating franchise to take a turn to the past to amend the future.
“Cut him now and Tim Sheens goes in as caretaker and then assess it at the end of the year,” Parker said of Maguire's prospects on The Fox League podcast.
While Sheens hasn't held the reigns at Concord since departing in 2012, the 71-year-old went on to hold posts at Hull KR and Widnes before returning to the prowl last season.
Still, the 347-gamer believed Sheens could make a near-immediate impact once Maguire was shown the door.
“Initially there will be an initial change straight away,” Parker continued.
“If Tim Sheens was to take over there would be an initial change straight away from the players’ perspective. From the coach. From the sponsors. From the fans. All this there is change."
However, Parker was willing to concede that his contention was not constructed as part of a vendetta.
“There has been a directive and things aren’t working for whatever reason. It is nothing personal with 'Madge' Maguire," he clarified.
“He is a terrific guy. I know him personally. He is a terrific coach. It is just not working.
“Let’s remove him out of that. Tim Sheens the figurehead. He is like Wayne Bennett at the Broncos.
“So immediately the playing group have a different outlook when they go to training."
Parker went on to laud Sheen's nous and suggested that the Tigers' out-of-sorts prowl could benefit from his pedagogical wisdom.
“I’m sure Tim being the thinker . . . he is the best thinker I have ever come across in the game. I’m sure he is still that," Parker claimed.
“They turn up to training with a different mindset. There would only be a few different things here and there."
Although Wests have given no inkling that they are at all keen to pull the trigger on their contracted coach, the 13-time Kangaroo expressed that elevating Sheens to his former post posed no risk whatsoever.
"I know that Tim Sheens if he would want to be the figurehead and lead that team. You look at the risk. What is the risk if he does? There is none is there? Where can they go? They can only go up," Parker delineated on the Tigers' incumbent Director of Football.
“And it can happen quite quickly. They can win one game and get this feeling within the group. A new voice and it could happen really quickly.”
Wests are fixtured to face the Gold Coast Titans on Thursday night, with clashes against the Sharks, Eels and Rabbitohs set to round out their next month.
