Match Preview: NRL Trial vs. Storm

After a long off-season break, Wests Tigers will finally take the field for their first NRL trial match of 2016 this Saturday when they take on the Melbourne Storm.

Having been knocked out in disappointing fashion in the group stage of last weekend’s NRL Auckland Nines tournament, Coach Jason Taylor has named a strong squad to travel to the Sunshine Coast, with the likes of Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks, Robbie Farah, Tim Grant and David Nofoaluma all set for their first hit-out of the new year.

New recruits Jordan Rankin, Josh Aloiai and Jesse Parahi have also been named to feature alongside 10 players who took the field at Eden Park last weekend for the Nines.

The same cannot be said for Melbourne, who despite naming several players from their Nines squad, will still be without a host of big-name players including Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Jesse Bromwich Cooper Cronk and Cameron Munster for Saturday’s trial.

Kenny Bromwich will captain the team from the back-row, with Ben Hampton, Tim Glasby and Jordan McLean to feature at some point off the interchange bench.

Having won both of their trial matches in 2015 under Jason Taylor, Wests Tigers will be looking to continue their strong pre-season form this weekend and build some momentum heading into next weekend’s trial match at Campbelltown against Cronulla — something which Taylor alluded to when asked about his thoughts on the trial.

“We’ve done some really good work in training, with plenty of opposed sessions — which aim at putting us under the pressure of game situations — but there’s nothing like actually playing an opposition team to get you prepared,” Taylor said.

“Coming up against a strong side like the Melbourne Storm will give us a much better feel for how things are going once we get this game under our belt.”

“I know the players are really keen to get back out on the field and put in to action what we have worked on over the past few months at training.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of the new guys in our squad this year, particularly some of those new recruits who will get their first run of the year this weekend.”

With no live stream of television coverage of the match available, the best place to keep track of all the scores and details from the match is to follow Wests Tigers on Twitter.

The match will kickoff at 5:15pm local time (6:15pm Sydney time), with a full match report, highlights and post-match reaction on www.weststigers.com.au after full-time.

Tickets are on sale for our trial match against Cronulla! Be there to see the boys in action!

Match Details

Date — Saturday, February 13, 2016

Time — 5:15pm local time (6:15pm AEDT)

Venue — Sunshine Coast Stadium, Bokarina, QLD

Match Officials

Referees — Ashley Klein and Michael Gordon

Touch Judges — Clayton Sharpe and Nick Morel

Confirmed Squads

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