Kent: Tigers’ find roar aggression

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THERE are any number of way to measure the new steel in Tiger Town.

There is Adam Blair, last Sunday, against a Manly pack long on memory and short on forgiveness.

Blair knows the Sea Eagles haven't forgot or forgiven his role in the Battle of Brookvale in 2011, when he and Glenn Stewart went toe-to-toe while heading to the dressing room.

So last Sunday Blair was not only ready, but went after the Sea Eagles first, as aggression met aggression.

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Adam Blair of the Tigers is tackled by Dunamis Lui, Anthony Watmough and Jason King. Source: Getty Images

And there's Aaron Woods, at home watching the night Jason King took on the Souths pack in round two, making it personal with the Burgess boys and, ultimately, setting the platform for Sea Eagles' win.

A quick study, Woods repeated the tactics the following week when it was the Tigers that played Souths.

He rolled George Burgess back in a tackle and Sam Burgess came with a rush, and as Woods rose with a defiant smile his Tigers teammates came like Indians over the hill.

"Let's give it to these ..." could be heard in the background, the rest of the sentence best left on the ground.

The Tigers knew they were on to something then, something the Sea Eagles long ago realised. And so last Sunday two packs, one looking for what the other already has, came together at Leichhardt Oval.

It surprised many that the Tigers came out on top.

The Tigers, after all, were supposed to be soft.

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We all knew of it two years ago when Matt Johns put it to Robbie Farah on NRL On Fox, calling a performance "soft".

Farah got offended, and what followed was an argument some still talk about.

But Johns was right and, like a bad itch, it stayed in the back of Farah's mind.

Last year other clubs talked openly about the way to beat the Tigers: "Straight through the middle," was the general consensus, and was said more than once.

It also showed that their rivals feared them so little they openly spoke about the Tigers being soft.

In the NRL it was suicide.

Sadly for the Tigers, though, over the summer they realised that it was a reputation that worked from the inside out.

So rather than fight the label, they addressed it.

For too long the club didn't have a culture of hard work.

When players turned up late for training, they got a paltry $50 fine. Few players did extras. They sugar coated performance reviews, and generally found the easy option in whatever they did. The soft option, other clubs might say.

Tigers Adam Blair looks to pass the ball. Source: News Corp Australia

Over the summer, though, something happened and the Tigers got sick of being called soft.

Earlier this year the leadership group Farah, Blair, Woods, Braith Anasta, Liam Fulton, Chris Lawrence and Dene Halatau came together for an honesty session that changed everything.

While there wasn't quite blood on the floor, honest words were spoken.

They emerged from their meeting with a message for the rest of the squad. There was a new attitude in Tiger Town, one being driven from the top down.

They were going to put some steel in the middle. They came up with a set of values they refuse to budge from, qualities they won't speak about or compromise on.

No favours were given according to age or reputation.

It got its first test the day a player was late for training.

There was no $50 fine.

Instead, Farah texted every player and told them that their day off the following day was now cancelled.

When a player lets himself down, he lets his teammates down.

So with no coaches or staff, just driven by the players, the players were ordered to training on their day off.

They started at 6am.

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CONFUSED LEAGUE IN NEED OF LEADERSHIP

IN times of crisis, communities want leaders, not committees.

Nobody knows quite what to do about the NRL's cautious inactivity over its interpretation of what constitutes "beyond horizontal" and a "dangerous position" in a tackle, as players get off for this tackle but not for that tackle. One week for this tackle but six for that.

That's why Melbourne sought clarification. Players are confused.

Only yesterday did the NRL get around to fining Canterbury for flouting the concussion rule in round two, three weeks ago. Several incidents have happened in the meantime, in apparent defiance of the NRL's seeming inactivity.

Cronulla continue to test their nerve, negotiating with a suspended Shane Flanagan.

It's time the NRL stops checking and double checking, legally insulating itself with countless reports, submissions and requests to belligerent clubs.

Just get it done.

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