Wests Tigers Intrust Super Premiership side have gone down 44-14 to a spirited Illawarra Cutters side in their Round 14 clash on Saturday afternoon at WIN Stadium.
After both Wests Tigers NRL and Holden Cup sides recorded wins last night against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers Intrust Super Premiership side were unable to make it a perfect weekend for the Club, going down by 30 points in the end.
Playing in perfect conditions at WIN Stadium, the visitors began the match in perfect fashion through Esan Marsters, who grabbed his second try in as many weeks after eight minutes. Jordan Rankin was unable to convert, leaving the scoreline at 4-0.
Wests Tigers would extend their lead moments later to take a 10-0 advantage after 14 minutes, with Rankin adding his first conversion of the afternoon.
Watson Heleta would make it three tries in 10 minutes when he crashed over in the corner, with Rankin's missed conversion giving the visitors a 14-0 lead inside 20 minutes of play.
As both teams continued to chance their hand in attack, Illawarra would begin to fight their way back into the match, with Tommy Carr crossing for his first try after 23 minutes.
Shaun Nona added the extras from out wide to cut the margin to 14-4.
The home side would grab their next try against the run of play, with fullback Adam Quinlan running 85 metres off a Wests Tigers kick — and narrowly avoiding a desperate chase and ankle-tap from Jacob Liddle — to dive under the posts after 35 minutes.
Nona's conversion took the score to 14-10, before the Cutters completed their first half comeback by crossing right as the half-time siren sounded through Mitch Porter.
With all the momentum before the break, the home side would take the lead for the first time in the match after 59 minutes when Sam Coster crashed through the line. Nona's conversion would give Illawarra a 20-14 lead, before Jacob Host capped off a sharp inside move to dart his way over the line and give his team in a seemingly unassialable lead.
Nona's simple conversion would take the score to 26-14 after 66 minutes of play.
Playing in his 100th game for Illawarra, Shannon Wakeman would confirm the result for Illawarra, barging his way over the line after 69 minutes, before Josh McCrone added another Cutters try in the final minutes to take the scoreline out to 38-14.
A disappointing second half for Wests Tigers would come to an end in the final set of the game, with an intercept pass allowing Porter to race away and grab his second try.
Wakeman converted the try from in front to give the Cutters a 44-14 victory.
Wests Tigers will look to end a run of defeats next Saturday, June 18 when they take on the North Sydney Bears in their Round 15 clash at the famous North Sydney Oval.
FULL TIME SCORE — Illawarra Cutters 44 (Porter 2, Carr, Quinlan, Coster, Host, Wakeman, McCrone tries; Nona 5/7, Wakeman 1/1 goals) def. Wests Tigers 14 (Marsters, Unknown, Heleta tries; Rankin 1/3 goals) at WIN Stadium
