Tigers legend Steve Roach has challenged upstart halves Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks to prove their worth or walk away from the troubled NRL club.
Believing the club's board made the right call to controversially sack coach Jason Taylor just three rounds into the 2017 season, Roach has swiftly written off the Tigers as finals contenders.
"They're going to struggle. I mean, have a look at the personnel," Roach told Fox Sports' NRL 360 program.
"The new coach is going to come in there and he's going to make a little bit of a difference but not enough to make them make the semi-finals.
"I'm a Tigers man, as you know, but I doubt whether they can make the eight."
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Now the enforcer known as Blocker has taken aim at Moses and Brooks, who are commanding $700,000 and $600,000 a season respectively despite having yet to even help the Tigers to the finals.
Roach doesn't believe Moses and Brooks deserve the same status as skipper Aaron Woods and fellow NSW State of Origin incumbent James Tedesco, the other half of the Tigers' so-called big four also off-contract at season's end.
"These kids, the two halves I'm talking about, it's not their fault they're being called that. They don't go around and tell everyone to call them the big four," Roach said.
"They're good young players but the big two, if they started talking about the big two, then I'd be on board with that.
"The other two (Moses and Brooks) have played some good footy. They haven't played rep footy yet. They need to get teams to semi-finals."
Roach delivered the young playmakers a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum as they continue to baulk at the Tigers' offer, which was tabled last year.
"I'm putting a timeline (on it). Boys, you've got a deadline," Roach said.
Former Blues hooker and 2016 premiership winner Michael Ennis said what Moses and Brooks were seeking was "ridiculous".
"If you're going to ask for representative money, you've got to play like a rep player and you've got to player like it week to week," Ennis said.
"The last two weeks they haven't."
