Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Darren Walton and Scott Bailey

Wests Tigers sack NRL coach Maguire

Michael Maguire has been sacked by Wests Tigers after just three NRL wins in 2022. (AAP)

Michael Maguire has been sacked as Wests Tigers coach.

The NRL club informed Maguire on Tuesday his three-and-a-half-year tenure was over, after winning just three of 12 games so far this season.

Brett Kimmorley will take over on an interim basis.

Maguire's exit comes after he only narrowly held onto the job at the end of last season.

A second review in the space of nine months was enough to end his tenure, with the club now on the look out for a full-time replacement.

"Wests Tigers sincerely thanks Michael for all his hard work and effort over the past three and a half years," the club said in a statement.

Maguire was spotted at the Tigers' Concord headquarters earlier on Tuesday, with players fronting the media still unaware of the drama that was about to ensue.

"We haven't been told anything. I guess it's all speculation," five eighth Luke Brooks said.

"Madge has been in and we've all come in and it's just business as usual."

Brooks, though, admitted a decision on the coach's future one way or another would probably be helpful to the Tigers.

"It would be good to have some clarity," he said.

"But as players we're just going to leave that up to the people who make that decision. We can't worry about that.

"We've got to worry about playing footy. We have to win."

Maguire's exit comes on the same day Nathan Brown was axed at the Warriors, potentially opening the door for him to walk straight in as Brown's replacement.

A premiership-winning mentor with South Sydney in 2014, Maguire already has a connection with New Zealand rugby league as coach of the Kiwis, while the Warriors will return to their Auckland home base next year.

The Tigers' decision mean there are now three clubs in the hunt for a coach next year, with Canterbury also looking for a full-time replacement for Trent Barrett.

Cameron Ciraldo looms as the most likely option for the Tigers if the Penrith assistant is interested, having been linked to the club last year.

Ciraldo has served a long apprenticeship under Ivan Cleary and Anthony Griffin at the Panthers, and would likely be in the position to pick whichever job he chooses.

Former Cronulla coach John Morris could also be an option, having previously played for the Tigers.

Shane Flanagan, Paul Green, Kristian Woolf and Jason Ryles are other mentors believed to be caught up in the current coaching merry-go-round.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.