Wests Tigers cubs need to step up: Brasher

Balmain great Tim Brasher says it’s time Wests Tigers cubs Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and Curtis Sironen start fulfilling their talent.

The Tigers are in need of inspiration following the Robbie Farah scandal and the departure of Martin Taupau which have threatened to derail their 2016 NRL campaign before a ball is kicked.

Coach Jason Taylor’s one-season tenure has been fraught with controversy and he goes into next season under pressure after the Tigers’ second-last finish this year.

The Tigers have invested heavily in highly-touted youngsters Moses, Brooks and Sironen and Brasher says they need to lead the way for the Tigers if they’re going to improve on last season’s dire showing when they finished 15th.

Brasher himself was a teenage prodigy, debuting in 1989 while still at high school and playing in Balmain’s famous grand final loss to Canberra that year.

Speaking at the Jack Newton Celebrity Classic in the Hunter Valley, Brasher said the talented trio needed to start showing why they had been earmarked as NSW State of Origin prospects.

“They’ve all been touted as future NSW players but they’re not playing like it,” Brasher said.

“I’m not saying individually but as a team they’re not. If they can get that teamwork together and work together they’ll be fine.

“They really need to get their on-field stuff together and not worry about who’s coaching.”

Brasher had some strong words for Taylor, describing his first year in charge as “terrible” and his decision to ask Farah to leave the club as “horrible”.

“He’s got a shovel and he’s digging a hole for himself,” Brasher said.

However he said Brooks, Moses and Sironen needed to lead from the front and it was up to the playing group to put the club’s off-field dramas to the side and unite.

“I think (Brooks, Moses and Sironen) have to do it this year, they’ve got to start making inroads this year into what it’s believed their potential is,” Brasher said.

“They’re definitely players who can do it.”

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