Talk about swings and roundabouts. A decade after being unceremoniously sacked by the Tigers, there was Tim Sheens on Tuesday dropping the guillotine on Michael Maguire.
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The irony of the situation wasn't lost on the club's current director of football, who made reference to that fact a number of times through his media conference.
It involved some eyebrow-raising comments - primarily the insistence it wasn't the result a "review" but merely "a look back at where we were."
What the? All in all though, Sheens should be applauded for coming out and owning the decision.
It's something that's been decidedly lacking at a club that's had more CEO's and board members over the last decade than Kickoff's had cold schooners.
It did pose the obvious question - why now? Why not at the end of last season when Maguire was last under the pump?
It's fair, but as Sheens pointed out, it's not about being several steps behind. Sacking a coach mid-season is actually about getting a head-start.
Fans and observers are rightly sceptical of the end-of-season review. It's why Sheens was so keen to distance himself and his decision from that term.
In reality, those reviews are merely a flak jacket for decision-makers after what's typically been another forgettable season that's left long-suffering fans irate.
It's rare for such end-of-season reviews to end a head coach's tenure.
They quite rightly leave assistant coaches and support staff shaking in their boots given they become the sacrificial lambs. That's how it went down at the Tigers last season.
In politics they call the last sitting week of parliament 'the killing season'. It's inevitably when party leaders, even elected Prime Ministers, get knifed by their colleagues.
The NRL's killing season is typically the State of Origin period from May to July.
Trent Barrett was sacked last month while on Tuesday this week - the day before Origin I - two coaches were sacked on the same day.
It makes sense from a PR standpoint. Origin swallows everything at this time of year so sacking a coach will not attract the same level of prolonged scrutiny it otherwise might.
Beyond that though, there's a degree of pragmatism to it, even if it's somewhat Machiavellian.
COVID saw the 2020 Origin series played at the end of an NRL season that saw five coaches sacked.
Stephen Kearney was punted in June, while Dean Pay and Paul Green were sent packing in July.
Anthony Seibold and Paul McGregor survived until August, but probably would have gone sooner had Origin offered up its usual May-July buffer zone to their respective clubs.
It left the Broncos and Dragons in a mad scramble to appoint a head coach in time for the upcoming preseason.
In a preparation window that limited, you're never going to attract any of those highly sought after assistant coaches on the rise.
The field will inevitably be made up of 'experienced' coaches out of work after being sacked from their previous job (or jobs).
The Dragons shortlist was a choice between the in-house promotion of Dean Young, while the final choice was one between Anthony Griffin or David Furner.
The Cameron Ciraldos' and the Jason Ryles' - before that Adam O'Briens' and Craig Ftizgibbons' - wouldn't go near it.
The Sharks went early on John Morris last year and gave Fitzgibbon a running start on this season. His side is currently showing the benefits of that.
The current Tigers are hardly a more attractive proposition than the Dragons, Broncos or Bulldogs were in late 2020, but the club now has time on its side.
The Tigers can offer the same head-start Fitzgibbon was afforded to a Cameron Ciraldo or a Kristian Woolf.
That's how dramatically the landscape has shifted. Where it was once prospective coaches who made their pitch to a club, it's now the other way around.
There's also been significant changes in the way recruitment and salary caps are managed.
As Sheens pointed out on Tuesday, current rules allow players to negotiate with rival clubs a full year before their existing contract expires.
It drives the fans - supposedly the most important stakeholders - nuts, but it's unlikely to change.
Fresh CBA negotiations loom and the RLPA has given every indication it will fight hard to retain the status quo in that regard.
Sack a coach late or at the end of a season and you lose the entire next season to cap and roster clean-outs. The Dragons are a case in point.
As Sheens also said on Tuesday, that becomes an excuse for club and coach alike. In those circumstances, the impact of the wrong appointment is simply prolonged.
"Why not do it at the end of last season?" is a question that will continue to be asked, but don't expect the NRL killing season to shift far from its present place on the calendar.
If it moves anywhere, it'll be more toward autumn than spring. Swings and roundabouts indeed.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
