Luke
05-03-06, 12:26 PM
Teammates want Titan defector to be skipper
March 5, 2006
TIGERS back-rower Ben Galea has declared he and his teammates would fully support Scott Prince retaining the captaincy this season despite the halfback's decision to go to the Gold Coast next year.
Galea has been touted as one of the favourites to take over the captaincy from Prince, who relinquished the role when he announced he would move to the Titans in 2007.
Galea said coach Tim Sheens had not yet discussed the captaincy issue with the players, but revealed Prince would have the support of his teammates to stay as skipper.
"I don't know what's happened, whether it's simply a decision from Tim or the Tigers board but if they asked the players whether they still wanted Scott as captain, I'm sure all of us would be happy to have him," he said.
Galea, who has been with the Tigers since 1999 and captained the side several times when former skipper Darren Senter was injured, said if the opportunity arose he would be honoured to take on the role full-time.
"It's something every player wants to do, captain their club," he said. "It's always something to look forward to. It's a great honour to captain a first-grade rugby league team.
"I've done it on a few occasions in years gone by but I'm not holding my breath, it's up to the coach to make that decision."
Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce said he was disappointed with Prince's decision to leave the club, but was glad the saga was over and the premiers were rid of off-field distractions before the NRL season opener on Friday.
Noyce pointed to the coaching merry-go-round as a potential source of instability at other clubs.
"We're happy that it has all been dealt with and we can all now concentrate on football," he said.
"We were happy with the process but not happy with the answer and if we had to do it again, we would do it the same way. Now we can focus on what will be a big year ahead and start planning for life after Scott.
"Whether Scott made his decision in March or in June or July, it probably would have been the same. We are still in an amazing position.
"We've got a coach for the next three years, which is a good thing considering what else is going on in the coaching ranks at the moment, and we have three-quarters of our squad signed up for next year, both of which will give us a lot of stability."
The Tigers said they would explore all options in the search for a halfback successor to Prince for 2007 but recruitment manager Warren McDonnell said a replacement for the 2005 Clive Churchill medallist could already be at the club.
"We're going to have a look outside the club, but we have got a lot of good young kids here," he said.
Benji Marshall's manager, Martin Tauber, said the star five-eighth had not been put off by his scrum partner's move to the Gold Coast. Marshall signed a new three-year deal with the Tigers in November.
"He would have liked Scott to have stayed at the club," Tauber said. "But in deciding to stay with the Tigers, the only guarantee Benji wanted was that Tim Sheens would continue to be coach."
SHM.com
March 5, 2006
TIGERS back-rower Ben Galea has declared he and his teammates would fully support Scott Prince retaining the captaincy this season despite the halfback's decision to go to the Gold Coast next year.
Galea has been touted as one of the favourites to take over the captaincy from Prince, who relinquished the role when he announced he would move to the Titans in 2007.
Galea said coach Tim Sheens had not yet discussed the captaincy issue with the players, but revealed Prince would have the support of his teammates to stay as skipper.
"I don't know what's happened, whether it's simply a decision from Tim or the Tigers board but if they asked the players whether they still wanted Scott as captain, I'm sure all of us would be happy to have him," he said.
Galea, who has been with the Tigers since 1999 and captained the side several times when former skipper Darren Senter was injured, said if the opportunity arose he would be honoured to take on the role full-time.
"It's something every player wants to do, captain their club," he said. "It's always something to look forward to. It's a great honour to captain a first-grade rugby league team.
"I've done it on a few occasions in years gone by but I'm not holding my breath, it's up to the coach to make that decision."
Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce said he was disappointed with Prince's decision to leave the club, but was glad the saga was over and the premiers were rid of off-field distractions before the NRL season opener on Friday.
Noyce pointed to the coaching merry-go-round as a potential source of instability at other clubs.
"We're happy that it has all been dealt with and we can all now concentrate on football," he said.
"We were happy with the process but not happy with the answer and if we had to do it again, we would do it the same way. Now we can focus on what will be a big year ahead and start planning for life after Scott.
"Whether Scott made his decision in March or in June or July, it probably would have been the same. We are still in an amazing position.
"We've got a coach for the next three years, which is a good thing considering what else is going on in the coaching ranks at the moment, and we have three-quarters of our squad signed up for next year, both of which will give us a lot of stability."
The Tigers said they would explore all options in the search for a halfback successor to Prince for 2007 but recruitment manager Warren McDonnell said a replacement for the 2005 Clive Churchill medallist could already be at the club.
"We're going to have a look outside the club, but we have got a lot of good young kids here," he said.
Benji Marshall's manager, Martin Tauber, said the star five-eighth had not been put off by his scrum partner's move to the Gold Coast. Marshall signed a new three-year deal with the Tigers in November.
"He would have liked Scott to have stayed at the club," Tauber said. "But in deciding to stay with the Tigers, the only guarantee Benji wanted was that Tim Sheens would continue to be coach."
SHM.com