With their names freshly etched into local rugby league history, the Macarthur Wests Tigers celebrate the accomplishment of what many would have called an impossible feat.
Both the Laurie Daley Cup and Andrew Johns Cup Macarthur Wests Tigers squads took the field on Grand Final day with an unbeaten record – an achievement that remained after the final hooter as they claimed their trophies with emphatic performances.
Laurie Daley Cup Head Coach, Daniel Milford was ecstatic after his team scored four unanswered tries in extra time to bring home the silverware, the match ending 40-22.
“It’s all just a little bit surreal.
“They went out there and proceeded to put four tries on... I wish they did that in the first 10 minutes,” he laughed.
The mood was just as light amongst the Andrew Johns Cup crew, who came back after conceding first points to beat the Knights 26-16.
“Been a pretty good weekend. The bus trip home was pretty fun,” said Head Coach, Adam Whitelaw.
I just had all the confidence in the boys that they’d stick to the process, and we did that.
Adam Whitelaw Andrew Johns Cup Head Coach
Whilst the Andrew Johns Cup squad as a whole was exceptional throughout the entirety of the season, there were a handful of names that stood particularly tall.
“It was a massive, massive inclusion for [Denham Tsagalas] to be with us for the majority of the year; he’s just outstanding,” explained Whitelaw.
“Jesse Ropata has been massive for us, not usually a hooker but played hooker for us all season,” he added.
Milford agreed that amongst his exceptional Laurie Daley Cup playing group, a certain few players set the tone week in and week out.
“There’s obviously Kye Penfold, who was man of the match in the Grand Final, he’s been instrumental for us through the middle.
“Daniel Lafolafo has been that alpha through the middle. He’s been the driving force of starting our sets and making those big metres.”
With plenty of praise for a few of the big men through the middle of the park, Milford also had a lot to say about the generals who steered his squad around the field.
“How do you go past the halves, Kai O’Brien and Brock Achurch? The halves are our heart and soul.”
Pathways Coordinator, Brad Speechley says that the talented individuals within the Club’s junior systems are in the perfect place to refine their craft.
“They’re learning the Wests Tigers way.
As they work their way up the grades, they’re playing like a Wests Tigers NRL player.
Brad Speechley Pathways Coordinator
He adds that both sets of players from the Laurie Daley and Andrew Johns Cup squads will be able to return next season and remain a part of the Wests Tigers system, expressing his intention to keep many of them on board.
Whitelaw has nothing but the highest praises for Speechley, revealing how he allows the coaches to instil their own systems and ideologies amongst the playing group.
“Speech gave me and my coaching staff the freedom to pretty much just do us. We run things how we run things and we’ve had a pretty successful crew,” he explained.
Speechley’s impact was felt amongst the ranks, with Milford also sharing the highest of praises for the Pathways Coordinator.
“Speech has been instrumental in allowing us to have weight behind our decisions.
“He’s been phenomenal. It takes a big commitment to step up and do one of these roles.”
Alongside the officials and coaching staff within the Club who cultivated the success, Milford gave credit where it was due to the playing group who put in plenty of work on their path to success, particularly in adopting his defence-first coaching ideology.
“That was probably our biggest strength this year… our urgency in defence, our commitment to protecting that try line like it was our family.”
But the magic didn’t just happen on the field. It was the off-field culture and the philosophy that the squad adopted which laid the foundations of a successful campaign.
“There’s listening to it and trying to follow it and then there’s buying in.
“Buying in is more than a commitment. It’s believing that there’s no other option, there’s no other way,” explained an incredibly proud and passionate Milford.
He adds that it’s no surprise that Macarthur have made history, given the Club's commitment to excellence.
It’s the first time ever in the history of the Laurie Daley and Andrew Johns Cup that a Club has taken out both competitions undefeated.
Daniel Milford Laurie Daley Cup Head Coach
Whitelaw describes how success within the Club starts at the top, revealing that NRL Head Coach, Benji Marshall allowed the junior coaches to take part in a training session to understand how things are done at the highest level.
“For Benji to let us be part of the session and include us, it definitely opened our eyes to how professional the NRL boys are and we sort of embraced that a little bit too.”
Not taking his role lightly, Whitelaw expressed his delight at being able to cultivate the next generation of Wests Tigers and guide them to achieve premiership glory along the way.
“One of my greatest rugby league achievements, that’s for sure.”
