Why former CEO believed the Tigers could turn their form around

Following Benji Marshall's successful start to 2026, former Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has spoken about how the club was able to turn things around.

It seems hard to believe that a side that won the wooden spoon just two years ago now finds itself comfortably within the top four.

But one man who was confident in Benji and the Tigers' ability to turn things around was Richardson.

Having been in the role between 2024 and 2025, Richardson had confidence that the club legend could succeed despite some initial struggles.

And once the problems within the side were identified and resolved, it was only a matter of time before the pressure around the club dissipated.

“When you're Benji Marshall, and you're taking over that job, the pressure's not about doing the job of coaching the players,” Richardson explained on SEN’s Sportsday with Rat and Jarrod.

“The pressure is making sure that you inherit a roster that's strong enough or, more importantly, loyal enough to carry it forward.

“The second thing is, is the coach good enough?

“Is he smart enough? Is he intelligent enough?

“And I found it in Benji, I did (think that). So, I believed in him straight away.

“Then it was a matter of making sure that we put systems around him.

“We didn't change the people around him. It's still the same high-performance people that lost (three wooden spoons) in a row.

“It's still the same assistant coach that lost (three) in a row.

“We didn't change all that cause they weren't the problem.

“What the problem was...was the interference and the lack of confidence amongst each other.”

Richardson doubled down on this view, noting that sides towards the bottom usually only need a little boost in confidence to rise up the ladder.

"When you're at the bottom of the ladder, it's funny, people think you're a million miles away, but you're not,” he continued.

“You're (only) a little way away. That little way is (just) confidence.

“That's all, when you turn that 14-12 loss into a 14-12 win, and it gets (you) to 8th and 9th on the ladder. It's (the) little incremental steps from the top.

“But what you've gotta do, you've gotta have a plan (and)  you've gotta stick to it."

The Tigers next feature on Sunday when they face Cronulla at Ocean Protect Stadium.

Kick-off is at 4:05pm AEST.