Wests Tigers have defeated St George-Illawarra Dragons 34-18 at the SCG, with the young superstars of the Club taking centre stage.
The Dragons opened the scoring in the 9th minute when second rower Leeson Ah Mau stepped back against the grain to beat some flimsy defence.
Chase Stanley converted to give St George-Illawarra a 6-0 lead.
Wests Tigers hooker Joel Luani continued the trend of young stars scoring tries when he dived over from dummy half three minute later after Keith Galloway went within centimetres.
Marshall converted easily to lock the scores up.
The game entered a stalemate for close on 20 minutes, with both sides chipping away at each other until Benji Marshall, playing in the centres, came infield to blow the game apart.
Marshall received the ball at first receiver 30 metres from the Dragons line before carving straight through. Braith Anasta loomed in support to score under the posts.
Wests Tigers appeared to have some of the structure missing in recent weeks with Luke Brooks and Anasta in the halves.
And it didn't take long for Brooks to claim his first NRL try assist, going to the line on the left before delivering a sweet short ball to former NYC team mate Curtis Sironen to crash over in the 32nd minute.
Wests Tigers were rolling through the Dragons and James Tedesco almost threw the floodgates open when he burst straight through the heart of the Dragons defence.
Luke Brooks was looming in support and looked likely to grab his first try in the NRL, but a wayward pass from Tedesco killed the young halfback's momentum and led to a knock on.
Momentum turned and the Dragons had a period of possession on the Wests Tigers' line with wide second rowers, Ah Mau, Tyson Frizzell and Bronson Harrison regularly looking likely.
James Tedesco saved the day for his team with a spectacular last ditch effort, knocking the ball loose from Harrison's hand as he looked certain to reach out.
Tim Simona gave Wests Tigers' fans another glimpse to the exciting future at the Club when he went close on one hundred metres to score yet another try for the highlights reel after collecting a loose ball on his line.
That try came right on halftime and set the SCG alight and made the score 22-6 at the break.
The Dragons came out of the blocks strongly in the second half, Adam Quinlan backing up a break down the right side which resulted from a nice offload.
Stanley converted from under the posts to bring the score back to 22-12.
The Dragons were starting to roll and Ben Creagh took full advantage, cutting through easily to score to the right of the posts in the 46th minute.
Stanley grabbed his third for the afternoon and the score was 22-18.
Wests Tigers gave the video referee a work out in the 52nd minute after Brooks bombed nicely, but the officials found a knock on.
It wasn't all bad news though, with Wests Tigers receiving a penalty for a shoulder charge on Brooks as he was kicking.
From the resulting set, Wests Tigers got back in the game Luke Brooks grubbering for Simona to grab his second.
Marshall converted nicely and it was 28-18 in the 52nd minute.
Momentum was a major factor in the game and Brooks was showing why he's had so many wraps in the lead up to his debut, kicking again and following up to trap the Dragons in-goal with a strong individual tackle.
The future had well and truly arrived when Luke Brooks put his name up in lights in the 62nd minute throwing a great dummy to score under the posts after an exciting interchange of offloads on the halfway line.
Marshall made the score 34-18 and Wests Tigers looked to have the game sealed.
Brooks was beginning to lift as he gained confidence and gave Marshall space who sent Ben Murdoch-Masila into a yawning gap, but the second rower could reproduce what he had for the rest of the game, knocking on as he came to the fullback.
Tim Simona almost had his hat trick as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Lote Tuqiri flying down the right touch line, but Simona couldn't find the finish which has had Wests Tigers fans so excited.
There would be no more scoring as Wests Tigers ran out 34-18, the day belonging to the young guns who promise such a bright future at the Club.
The Dragons opened the scoring in the 9th minute when second rower Leeson Ah Mau stepped back against the grain to beat some flimsy defence.
Chase Stanley converted to give St George-Illawarra a 6-0 lead.
Wests Tigers hooker Joel Luani continued the trend of young stars scoring tries when he dived over from dummy half three minute later after Keith Galloway went within centimetres.
Marshall converted easily to lock the scores up.
The game entered a stalemate for close on 20 minutes, with both sides chipping away at each other until Benji Marshall, playing in the centres, came infield to blow the game apart.
Marshall received the ball at first receiver 30 metres from the Dragons line before carving straight through. Braith Anasta loomed in support to score under the posts.
Wests Tigers appeared to have some of the structure missing in recent weeks with Luke Brooks and Anasta in the halves.
And it didn't take long for Brooks to claim his first NRL try assist, going to the line on the left before delivering a sweet short ball to former NYC team mate Curtis Sironen to crash over in the 32nd minute.
Wests Tigers were rolling through the Dragons and James Tedesco almost threw the floodgates open when he burst straight through the heart of the Dragons defence.
Luke Brooks was looming in support and looked likely to grab his first try in the NRL, but a wayward pass from Tedesco killed the young halfback's momentum and led to a knock on.
Momentum turned and the Dragons had a period of possession on the Wests Tigers' line with wide second rowers, Ah Mau, Tyson Frizzell and Bronson Harrison regularly looking likely.
James Tedesco saved the day for his team with a spectacular last ditch effort, knocking the ball loose from Harrison's hand as he looked certain to reach out.
Tim Simona gave Wests Tigers' fans another glimpse to the exciting future at the Club when he went close on one hundred metres to score yet another try for the highlights reel after collecting a loose ball on his line.
That try came right on halftime and set the SCG alight and made the score 22-6 at the break.
The Dragons came out of the blocks strongly in the second half, Adam Quinlan backing up a break down the right side which resulted from a nice offload.
Stanley converted from under the posts to bring the score back to 22-12.
The Dragons were starting to roll and Ben Creagh took full advantage, cutting through easily to score to the right of the posts in the 46th minute.
Stanley grabbed his third for the afternoon and the score was 22-18.
Wests Tigers gave the video referee a work out in the 52nd minute after Brooks bombed nicely, but the officials found a knock on.
It wasn't all bad news though, with Wests Tigers receiving a penalty for a shoulder charge on Brooks as he was kicking.
From the resulting set, Wests Tigers got back in the game Luke Brooks grubbering for Simona to grab his second.
Marshall converted nicely and it was 28-18 in the 52nd minute.
Momentum was a major factor in the game and Brooks was showing why he's had so many wraps in the lead up to his debut, kicking again and following up to trap the Dragons in-goal with a strong individual tackle.
The future had well and truly arrived when Luke Brooks put his name up in lights in the 62nd minute throwing a great dummy to score under the posts after an exciting interchange of offloads on the halfway line.
Marshall made the score 34-18 and Wests Tigers looked to have the game sealed.
Brooks was beginning to lift as he gained confidence and gave Marshall space who sent Ben Murdoch-Masila into a yawning gap, but the second rower could reproduce what he had for the rest of the game, knocking on as he came to the fullback.
Tim Simona almost had his hat trick as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Lote Tuqiri flying down the right touch line, but Simona couldn't find the finish which has had Wests Tigers fans so excited.
There would be no more scoring as Wests Tigers ran out 34-18, the day belonging to the young guns who promise such a bright future at the Club.
