Wests Tigers NRL Head Coach Jason Taylor believes last week’s second half defensive effort against Melbourne contributed to his side's thrilling 34-26 victory over the Penrith Panthers at ANZ Stadium this afternoon.
“We just defended and defended — it was impressive," he said.
Our defensive performance last week in Melbourne, all be it they got those four tries really early, we took a lot of encouragement out of that game.
“Penrith had a lot of sets on our line — something like 27 plays in our 20m zone compared to our 8 in theirs. We won the game because we defended that,
“We won the game with our defence.”
Taylor also praised the effort of the side’s ability to shut down the creativity of Penrith’s young halves.
“Right across the field we put some pressure on them and they came up with some errors,” Taylor said.
“We shut down some opportunities that were created that previously would have been tries against us,
“It’s great progress for us as a club.”
Both Taylor and captain Aaron Woods were also quizzed on whether James Tedesco should be picked for New South Wales on Monday night.
“It doesn’t need me pushing for it anymore — it’s clear. You only have to watch that game, he’s a class act and should be in the New South Wales team in my opinion,” Taylor said.
Woods threw his support behind current fullback Matt Moylan, but also echoed the thoughts of his coach, believing Tedesco would add some much needed spark to the New South Wales side.
“The way Teddy’s playing is unbelievable, at the end of the day Laurie’s the coach but he’s done himself no harm today with the way he’s played, Woods said.
“He’s come back with a really good attitude and has made a massive difference to our squad.”
In case you missed it, click here to watch all the Match Highlights from tonight's win!
