Tigers coach Benji Marshall has hit back at criticism of his mid-season family holiday to Fiji, explaining “it’s important to recharge and refresh”.
The merger club have lost their last eight games, with their last wins coming after upsets against the Sharks and Eels in Round 3 and 4.
The Tigers enjoyed the bye in Round 13, and told The Daily Telegraph that he told all of his staff to “mentally freshen up” and take their minds away from rugby league.
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“I’ve played under a lot of coaches, including Wayne Bennett, and sometimes when you’re going through a rough trot like we’ve experienced with eight losses, doing more isn’t always the answer,” he said.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t care or work less. You want fresh energy.
“We’ve had 11 games straight. Yes, I’m in Fiji. I could have had these days off in New Zealand or even Sydney.
“Is it that big a difference? We’ll get back to work on Sunday and prepare for St George-Illawarra.”
Meanwhile, the club’s chief executive officer Shane Richardson has also been away for two weeks in the United Kingdom hoping to recruit Super League players.
Despite the criticism of the club’s most powerful figures, Marshall believes the bye has been the “perfect” chance for his squad to freshen up and improve in the back-end of the season.
“It’s been tough for all of us (at the Tigers), you know that when you take on the job. I hate using the word improvement, but there’s definitely been some improvement,” he said.
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“At the same time, the results are not coming, and that clouds where we’ve improved.
“We’re definitely getting better in a few areas; there’s others where we need to be way better.”
Meanwhile, rugby league legend Gorden Tallis questioned Marshall’s decision on NRL360 on Monday night.
“Do you think Craig Bellamy, he’s a 20-to-30 year coach, do you think that he goes away to Fiji?” Tallis said.
“Do you think Wayne Bennett does?
“If you’re coaching against those guys and they’re putting in more hours, normally they would do a better job than you, that’s all I’m saying.”