For what feels like an eternity, all the noise around the Wests Tigers has been negative.

Three wooden spoons in a row, boardroom fighting, players walking out on contracts – it has been a never-ending cycle of bad news for the joint venture.

Who could have possibly imagined the solution was simply winning football games?

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The turnaround in public perception when it comes to the Tigers has been incredible, especially given just a few months ago there were fans marching the streets demanding change when Shane Richardson left and the mess at board level had reached new lows.

But with four wins from their opening five games of the season, that all feels like a distant memory as the Tigers look to snap a 15-year finals drought.

Compare it to the NRL’s other joint venture, St George Illawarra, who contrary to popular belief have been far more stable off the field in recent years than the Tigers could ever imagine being, but have continued to go backwards under the guidance of head coach Shane Flanaganand head of football Ben Haran.

The old quote “winning starts in the front office” is a crutch used far too often in the NRL, usually to try and divert attention away from on-field results.

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The reality is, the Tigers are far from perfect at board level and the dissension between the Wests and Balmain factions is still present – but when the team is winning games and the hill is packed at Leichhardt or Campbelltown, all of that is quickly forgotten.

So why are the fractured Tigers going better than the hapless Dragons?

The two most obvious factors are the playing roster, filled with representative-level stars and coach Benji Marshall

Let’s start with the latter.

Benji Marshall. Getty

No person has been more synonymous with the Wests Tigers in their 26-year history and it’s exactly why Marshall’s influence is paying off more than his predecessors according to Billy Slater, who was full of praise for the Kiwi legend.

“I love what Benji is doing with that club,” he said on Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast.

“We all hear about the fracture between Balmain and Wests – the one person who can bring it all together is Benji. He has no allegiance to either, he is an out-and-out Wests Tiger … he’s not a Tiger, he’s not a Magpie, he is the joint venture.

“It’s way more than an appointment as a coach.

“He’s not focusing on the past, he’s not focusing on the future – he is focusing on what they are doing right now and getting the buy-in from the players. I think it’s a wonderful journey they are on at the moment and Benji is at the forefront of the reason why.”

Marshall is still very early in his career and it feels like only now has he found his voice and seems to be juggling the balancing act between friend and coach with his squad.

Footage posted by the club in pre-season showed a far more stern Marshall addressing the players and drawing a clear line in the sand about the club’s standards.

“Honestly, he’s evolving so much as a coach,” Api Koroisau said on Nine’s 100% Footy.

“He came into it pretty novice as well, so to see his growth and where he’s taking the team … he has really cracked the whip this year and he needed to. 

“I grew up watching him and think he was the most incredible player. For him to be coaching me and the way he interacts with all the players, it’s really special.

“When I hear him screaming my name from the sideline, I get a bit of extra energy to do my job and having him on the sideline is actually a big thing for us.”

Jarome Luai and Benji Marshall. Getty

Away from the coach, the Tigers have managed to grow into a quality football team – but it has taken plenty of time to reach this level of balance on the roster.

Their spine – Jahream Bula, Jarome Luai, Adam Doueihi and Koroisau – are all, on form, top-line players in their positions.

They have quality strike in the outside backs with Taylan May and Sunia Turuva, while the rapid rise of Heamasi Makasini is only going to continue.

“He’s got a big future in this game,” Koroisau said of the teenage centre.

“He’s still very young and very raw, he has a few things he needs to work on. He’s one of those guys who just wants to learn and puts his best foot forward every single time.

“We have some really high standards at training and he’s upholding them.”

In the forwards, Marshall has managed to get the best out of a guy like Alex Twal, who for most of his career has been a solid front-row toiler that, with all due respect, would struggle to have found a way into most other teams in the competition.

Twal has played like a man possessed this season and he’s the perfect foil for offload machine Terrell May and young tearaway Fonua Pole.

The back-row tandem of Samuela Fainu and Kai Pearce-Paul is one of the most dangerous in the competition, while Sione Fainu and Royce Hunt pack punch off the bench through the middle at a time when impact is as important as ever.

Again, compare them to the Dragons, who have clearly mismanaged their roster in the same amount of time that Marshall has been at the Tigers – it’s night and day.

Perhaps the most impressive indication of Marshall’s coaching ability and the way the Tigers have gradually built a finals-worthy squad is their depth.

Jock Madden is the prime example, coming back to the same club he started his career at – playing lower grades behind Marshall, funnily enough – and filling the void left by an injured Luai in recent weeks with ease, so much so that many are questioning the best way to fit all three playmakers, Doueihi included, into the same team.

Jock Madden in action for the Tigers. Getty

“It’s an incredible thing for a guy like Jock, who has just stepped in and really taken the team by the horns,” Koroisau said.

“He’s one of those guys who is just a great bloke, so to be able to have him out there and having all this depth in the team is really good.

“I think Doueihi has earned his spot there as well, but at the end of the day I think we’ve got to find a spot for Madden … it’s a good headache to have for Benji.”

Other vacancies have opened up early in the season too and Marshall has continued to find ways to replace them.

This past weekend, Patrick Herbert returned from the rugby league wilderness like he never left, ending a four-year absence from the top grade.

Herbert was plucked out of obscurity by Marshall and worked his way into a top-30 contract before making his club debut against the Newcastle Knights, putting a horror injury history in the rear-view mirror and starring in the 42-22 win.

The 29-year-old scored a try, set up another, made a linebreak and ran for 184 metres, proving that it’s never too late for a second coming in the NRL.

“It’s really incredible, to be out of the game that long and with the types of injuries he had too, they’re really hard to come back from,” Koroisau said.

“He ripped in at pre-season and showed everyone that we could trust him. He’s come back onto the field like he never left, it was really impressive.”

Bulldogs boss Phil Gould revealed he planned to sign Herbert a few years ago, but was unable to get a medical clearance, such was the extent of his knee problems. 

“I actually interviewed him twice two or three years ago when he was at the height of his injury status and we talked about an opportunity,” Gould said.

“We couldn’t get one doctor to clear him and approve him to go back to play and he kind of vanished … it’s a marvellous story, because he’s always been a great athlete.”

Patrick Herbert celebrates a try. NRL Imagery

If a relatively inexperienced coach like Marshall can get the best out of players like Herbert, Madden and Twal – what’s the excuse for more experienced coaches?

While there’s certainly still improvement needed before the Tigers become legitimate premiership contenders, Marshall has dragged the carcass of a club he loves from the depths of despair back towards the promised land in less than two years.

If a day comes when Luai, Koroisau or someone else is lifting up the trophy on the first weekend of October, we’ll all know who the true catalyst for change was at a club that for too long had done nothing but get in their own way.