Match Preview: NSW Cup Round 21

Wests Tigers’ NSW Cup side will look to make it back-to-back wins when they take on the Newtown Jets this Saturday at Henson Park for their Round 21 clash.

The visitors this week took the points when these two teams met earlier in the year at Leichhardt Oval, but this match is likely to be a lot closer than it was in Round 15.

Newtown are gunning for a top eight spot — recently knocking off competition leaders Penrith Panthers and their 10-game winning streak in the process — and will likely be boosted by a strong crowd at their “Reunion Day” this Saturday.

Wests Tigers managed to get back in the winners circle with a tough win against North Sydney last week, but Paul Fletcher’s side will need to improve drastically if they are to maintain their position inside the competition’s top four.

It’s therefore an important match for both teams this Saturday, and one that could have serious implications for the rest of the NSW Cup season.

Who will get the two points on offer? Read on for a full preview of the match including key details, team news, match analysis and more.

Get your tickets to our Simon Dwyer Tribute match in Round 21 here. $5 from every adult and family ticket will go to Simon. 

Match Details

Date — Saturday, August 2

Time — 3:00pm AEST

Venue — Henson Park, Newtown

Twitter — Follow Wests Tigers on Twitter for all live scores and commentary

Live Stream — Watch the game via LiveStream here.

Confirmed Squads

Wests Tigers

1. Kurtis Rowe 2. John Sila 3. Asipeli Fine 4. Jy Hitchcox 5. Setefano Taukafa 6. Jack Madden 7. Michael Stevens 8. Jack Buchanan 9. Joel Luani 10. Nathan Brown 11. Brenden Santi 12. Jarred Farlow 13. Kyle Lovett (Interchange: 14. Michael Bullock 15. Sitaleki Akauola 16. Sam Hollis 17. Inno Inosesio 18. Corey Brown 19. Andrew Vela)

Newtown Jets

1. Nathan Stapleton 2. Brett Lane 3. Samisoni Langi 4. Junior Vaivai 5. Matt Evans 6. Arana Taumata 7. Scott Dureau 8. Kane Evans 9. Kurt Kara 10. Ryan Verlinden 11. Ray Moujalli 12. Rhyse Martin 13. David Harris (Interchange: 14. Andrew Pearn 15. Jackson Hastings 16. Josh Davis 17. Saulala Houma 20. Jack Siejka)

Last Five Matches

Wests Tigers

R16 — Mounties RLFC 30 def. Wests Tigers 26

R17 — Penrith Panthers 40 def. Wests Tigers 20

R18 — Wests Tigers 42 def. North Sydney Bears 24

R19 — Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 28 def. Wests Tigers 18

R20 — Wests Tigers 30 def. North Sydney Bears 22

Newtown Jets

R16 — Newtown Jets 40 def. Wyong Roos 26

R17 — Cronulla Sharks 36 def. Newtown Jets 16

R18 — Penrith Panthers 36 def. Newtown Jets 20

R19 — Newtown Jets 31 def. Penrith Panthers 30

R20 — Newtown Jets 38 def. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 20

Coach’s Comment

“We’re just still making those silly errors that have hurt us in the past few weeks. The boys are aware that we need to improve and I’m looking forward to a good performance this weekend. We need to improve on our discipline and our attention to detail. We’re giving away too many penalties late in the count… we just need to get those little things right. Newtown will be big and strong in the middle third, but our forward have done the job week in and week out this year. We completed at 90 percent when we met them the first time, so if we can do that again, we’ll be in the game for a long time…”

(Paul Fletcher, NSW Cup Coach)

Numbers to Know

·      2030 — Metres made by Asipeli Fine this year (fourth in league)

·      71 — Tackle breaks made by Saulala Houma this year (second in league)

·      60 — Tackle breaks made by Setefano Taukafa this year (fourth in league)

·      603 — Tackles made by Kurt Kara this year (sixth in league)

Team Stats