Earlier this year the Wests Tigers announced that premiership-winning coach Tim Sheens would be returning to the club in 2022 as the Tigers’ Head of Football Performance.

Since leaving Tigers at the end of 2012, Sheens has taken on multiple coaching roles in Super League, including stints at Hull Kingston Rovers and the Widnes Vikings, with the former Rugby League World Cup-winning coach most recently at the helm of the Combined All Stars side that took on England back in June.

A player that got his start under Sheens in the NRL was Aaron Woods, who is off-contract at the end of the season and has been told by his current club the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks that they will not be re-signing him.

Woods confirmed last month that he would be open to a return to the Tigers when asked by Fox Sports.

“Yeah definitely, you never say no to anything,” Woods said.

“It is obviously all right being in a hotel. You get to speak to a couple of the boys. We have the Dragons and Tigers boys here as well.

 
“So you get to speak to them and ask them a few questions about what is happening at the club.

“It has just been good being around. Being a local junior of the club, you never say no.

“It was a club I loved playing for when I was there so it is quite appealing.”

One must wonder if Sheens’ return could make a move back to the Tigers for Woods more likely, as the super coach always held the former New South Wales State of Origin representative in high regard and if it were up to him would not have let him leave the club in the first place.

Season 2021 has arguably been Woods’ best at the Sharks, scoring three tries, making 12 tackle breaks, notching up 1,133 post-contact metres, averaging 111 run metres per game and making 631 tackles for an efficiency rate of 94.2%.

At this point, a return to the Tigers would have to be the most likely outcome for Woods, as he is confirmed to be leaving the Sharks and has not really been linked anywhere else.