His side might have faded in the second-half against the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday, but Wests Tigers NRL Coach Jason Taylor was still pleased with his young team – and especially the performance of playmaker Mitchell Moses.
Moses had arguably his best game in the NRL, setting up three tries in an exceptional first half for the Tigers that saw them race out to a 28-4 lead.
It was a breakout game for the 21-year-old, who led Wests Tigers around the park with fellow playmakers Luke Brooks and Robbie Farah missing.
Taylor was clearly chuffed with what his young half produced, but admitted he would have liked to have seen a more complete performance from the entire team.
"His first half was very impressive. But I don't think any of our players are really happy about what we did for the second 40," Taylor said.
"He was classy. He was really composed. And then we lost our way in that area in the second half. I'm sure Mitch would have liked to have kept that rolling for the second 40."
Former playmaker Taylor has enjoyed watching his young protégé's development as a first-grader, and believes the hard work is starting to reap rewards.
"It's been enormously enjoyable [watching him improve]," the Wests Tigers Coach said.
"Mitch has worked so hard at it.
"He was such a rookie this time last year. He'd only played a handful of games. We made it hard for him early on because he wasn't getting to play the footy that he really likes.
"But he earned the right to do that and he's doing that now.
"He ran the team for us today which is a really big step for him and he did it really well."
With Wests Tigers written off by some leading into the new season, Taylor said the playing group had come together during the pre-season and tonight's result showed what they were capable of.
"We're trying to build a team here that enjoys each other's harmony and moves up the ladder. There's a lot of work in progress," he said.
"There's a lot of work being done and there's a lot more that will be done to get this club back to where it should be, and that's playing semi-final football. And being led by Woodsy, we want guys like Luke and Mitch to take us there."
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