Woods' decision depends on new NRL coach

Mar 22, 2017 - 4:32 PM Off-contract Wests Tigers captain Aaron Woods insists he won't be rushed into deciding on his future until the club appoints a long-term NRL coach.

The joint venture is on the lookout for a new mentor after their shock decision to axe Jason Taylor on Monday, leaving caretaker Andrew Webster to guide the team temporarily.

However the club is adamant it won't be rushed on a search that has so far linked them with former Penrith head Ivan Cleary and current North Queensland assistant Todd Payten.

Woods declared last week he would only settle on a new contract once a new coach is in place at Concord, and the latest developments hadn't changed his thinking.

"There's still no certainty with what's happening. I still stand by my comments. I didn't say sack JT or anything, which I think has been misinterpreted in the media," Woods said.

"All I said was JT was off-contract, I just want to know who the coach is going to be. They want me to sign a long-term deal. I'm not going to sign where there's no certainty of what's going on."

The NSW State of Origin representative reiterated he had no say in the demise of Taylor, but was open to lending his opinion on his replacement.

"They can (ask) if they want, but at the end of the day, it's their decision," he said.

"It's out of our hands. All I did last week was ask who the coach is going to be and that's it."

Woods dodged questions on whether he had spoken to other clubs, instead opting to discuss the team's current plight ahead of Sunday's round-four match against Melbourne.

"I haven't thought about anything. I've been pretty disgusted with the way we've performed over the last couple of weeks," he said.

"First of all you need to know who the coach is going to be long-term. I'll sit down with my wife and sort it out, and my management."

Teammate Elijah Taylor admitted feeling frustrated by the club's decision to sack Jason Taylor on the back of what has been a scandalous few months.

Taylor's dismissal comes just a week after disgraced centre Tim Simona revealed some players had used illicit drugs during post-season celebrations a few years ago.

It is the third club in a row where Taylor has watched the head coach get fired.

"They don't teach you how to deal with this in the under 20s. It's very educational. You see true colours of a lot of people. You see the media and how they operate," Taylor said.

"But I've seen it three times. It's very difficult. It definitely disrupts the team, but we just have to move on now and focus this Sunday on the Storm. We've got no choice."

Source: AAP