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Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire says he has identified the players who are willing to put in the hard work to turn the club around.
Coach Michael Maguire has warned only hard work can turn the Wests Tigers around and only players who put in will be part of the set-up.
Maguire has endured a difficult week amid suggestions he is losing part of the dressing room and telling Benji Marshall his career at the Tigers ends this season.
He also admitted on Friday he was disappointed details of a team talk had been leaked to the media, where players said they felt they were walking on egg shells.
Maguire is known for his tough and uncompromising style.
He trained South Sydney to the limit to win the 2014 title, and has routinely axed underperforming players this year.
But with the Tigers missing the finals for the last nine years - the club's longest stint out - he said they had little choice but to do the hard yards to turn things around.
"There is a change in the expectations of standards at the Wests Tigers is what we're about," Maguire said.
"Sometimes that makes people feel a little uncomfortable or challenged in a different way.
"I have identified the players who want to be a part of that and if they do they'll get rewards.
"Hard training? Well yeah we train hard, that's part and parcel of success. If you train hard you get rewards. It's pretty straight forward."
Maguire labelled the Marshall decision one of the toughest he's ever had to make and still believes the 35-year-old can have a future elsewhere in the NRL.
He continually referenced defence as the team's biggest issue, with the team having not conceded below 460 points in a season since 2011.
In the time since, no side has made the top four with such a record.
While the abundance of already-contracted halves at the Tigers prompted Marshall's exit, his defence has also had its moments this year.
According to Fox Sports Stats, Marshall averages the fourth most try causes per game of all halves in the competition heading into Saturday's clash with Manly.
"We need to become a stronger defensive team, so that plays a part (in the changes)," Maguire said.
"The history of grand-final winning teams is they are the best defensive teams in the competition. We're pushing that."
Marshall's exit is likely to be one of many at the Tigers this off-season.
Chris Lawrence has already retired while Chris McQueen was released on Friday.
Oliver Clark, Matt Eisenhuth, Robert Jennings, Sam McIntyre, Chris McQueen, Alex Seyfarth and Elijah Taylor are the other names off contract.
The club has been linked to strike power in Josh Addo-Carr and Charlie Staines as well as some grunt up front in James Tamou.
"We've got to make the right decisions for the right reasons," Maguire said.
"Sometimes they are big decisions."