The Complete History Of The Bizarre and Never-Ending Feud Between West Tigers Coach Jason Taylor And Star Player Robbie Farah

It was meant to be the highlight of Robbie Farah's career. The NSW State Of Origin hooker and one-club man should have run out this Sunday to a packed house at the hallowed Leichhardt Oval and racked up his 250th game for the club. There is no greater honour, especially for a local junior, such as Farah, who played his first game of rugby league just a few streets away at the Leichhardt Wanderers.

Had he been selected, the Lebanese-Australian would have become the first player to rack up 250 games for the Tigers since the indefatigable 1980s guru Wayne Pearce; a milestone the club honoured earlier this by naming of the hill after Wayne Pearce earlier.

Instead Robbie Farah will run out to a crowd of tens in a reserve grade team packed with punters, butchers and NRL hopefuls after he was axed by coach, Jason Taylor. A sacking which marked the latest and most painful a chapter in a complex feud dating back two seasons.

When coach Taylor arrived at the Tigers at the end of 2014 it was on the back of one of the most spectacular coaching combustions in recent memory. His last first grade coaching gig had been at the South Sydney Rabbitohs where, during the annual post-season mad-monday celebrations, he was knocked senseless by one of his own players, polynesian man-mountain, David Fa'alogo. Taylor was dressed as Mr Miaggi from the 1984 classic Karate Kid at the time. CCTV footage also showed him performing the "crane" manoeuvre in front of Fa'alogo just before he was punched out. Bra Boy Sunny Abberton was left to pick up the pieces as Taylor, who was badly concussed and suffering memory loss, struggled to regain consciousness. And yet it was Taylor who was given the sack (Fa'alogo stayed) after CCTV footage revealed the coach was the first to throw a punch (or playful slap, it was hard to tell in the blurry footage).

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He did a stint coaching the Sydney Roosters U'20s team before arriving at the Tigers at the end of 2014. The hostilities with captain and star player Robbie Farah commenced almost immediately.

Farah had already fallen out with, and overseen the departure of, the Tiger's two previous coaches, Tim Sheens and Mick Potter. He was exceedingly loyal to the club, a local junior who wanted to represent the Tigers and only the Tigers for the duration of his career. Such a moral stand can not be underestimated in rugby league, where loyalty and one-club men have all but been killed off by the salary cap. After guiding the club to their first premiership in 2012 (since amalgamating with the Western Suburbs Magpies), Farah showed his stripes when he agreed to take a $200k a year pay cut in order keep the club under the salary cap. In return they would bump his next three year deal up $200k to $950k a season.

But as the Tigers slumped to 15th on the ladder in 2015 tensions between coach Taylor and Robbie Farah boiled over. Former Tigers teammate, Benji Marshall blamed on a clash of personalities. "He's a very bad loser and a very emotional person when it comes to defeat," Marshall said of Farah on Fox Sports at the time.

"After games I think he lets it get the better of him sometimes … They talk about salary cap being the reason why but in my opinion it's got nothing to do with it.

"It's more about the personal battle between him and JT."

Taylor axed Farah to reserve grade for the first time at the end of 2015 much to the shock of Tigers fans. He then none-too-subtly attempted to move the Tiger's great on - a ballsy move for a coach in his first season at the club.

"My feelings are that we need a fresh start and Robbie needs a fresh start," said Taylor.

"We'd love nothing more than to see Robbie play for an opposition club and play really, really well.

"There is every chance he can do that.

"That might put some egg on my face but I think it would be really good for Robbie," he said.

But Farah wasn't going anywhere. The Tigers is his club. He remained, despite several nudges toward the door from Taylor.

The feud continued into 2016 with Farah refusing to play to coach Taylor's directives with the Tigers slumping to just one win from seven games to start the year. Still, Farah was selected in all three State Of Origins in NSW's series defeat to QLD. He starred in the third game, topping the tackle count and getting a mountain of work, in a game won by NSW in front of 60 000 fans at ANZ Stadium.

The next week he was running onto a suburban footy field for a reserve grade fixture against the Newtown Jets after he was axed by Taylor. He was, as you'd assume, ropable.

"I can definitely say I've done my upmost to do what's required of me but it just seems nothing I do is good enough at the moment,'' a tearful Farah told the Daily Telegraph.

"Our biggest problem is our defence. When JT (Taylor) came to the club his priority and he said publicly that in the past we've been an attacking club and I find it ironic now that he's talking about lack of cohesion in attack when we've got the second worst defence in the comp.

"I think the attack is the least of our problems and I think I'm the least of our problems in attack as well.

The Tigers record without Farah speaks for itself. The Tigers have one three from nine when he plays and six from ten when he doesn't.

With the team teetering on the edge of making the finals, Taylor has decided to go with the youthful exuberance of young playmakers, Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and James Tedesco, whom he says are able to do their job better without Farah's domineering presence on the field.

"I believe we're going to be better with Robbie not in the team," Taylor told reporters.

"Which is a tough call because we had moved him to the bench to enhance that cohesion again and I believe that it did that, but I'm comfortable taking that next step now because I believe it's in the best interests of the team."."

Tigers fans loyal to Farah have continued to rally around the player. A couple thousand turned out to watch his reserve grade game against Newtown, some holding signs saying, "We like Farah but LOVE Fa'aologo'', 'F##K JT, we love Robbie' and 'JT is a dog.'

Taylor, for his part, has maintained a clear conscience in light of the Tigers form without Farah. They have racked up two wins since Farah was sent back to park footy, where he continues to earn 18 thousands dollars a week.

Rugby league great Andrew Johns was baffled as to how the whole shit show has managed to stay together.

"How could you play if you and the coach don't get on like that? He can't be at the Wests Tigers, I couldn't imagine how toxic it would be going to training. I couldn't imagine being in that position. It would be awful," he told Channel Nine's Footy Show.

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