While the club has only won three games so far in 2022, Adam Doueihi will headline a host of stars set to return after the Origin break and help the side in its quest to break its finals drought.
From scintillating attacking movements to courageous cover tackles, Wests Tigers have provided their members and fans with several memorable plays on both sides of the ball this year.
With no game this weekend, we’re taking the opportunity to go back and relive the top five moments from 2022 so far.
5. AJ streaks away
After making his long-awaited return to first grade following a year of injuries, Asu ‘AJ’ Kepaoa was in full flight during the club’s Round 12 clash against South Sydney.
With the Rabbitohs attacking the tryline and dominating the early stages of the match, AJ stepped up to take a momentum-shifting intercept.
Kepaoa goes the distance
Kepaoa shot up out of the defensive line and latched onto a cutout ball from Lachlan Ilias, before running ninety metres to score the opening try of the night.
The try was AJ’s first four-pointer since the final round of 2020 and signalled his return to first grade after back-to-back knee and shoulder reconstructions.
4. Junior scores on debut
When AJ Kepaoa was ruled out of the club’s trip to Magic Round, Michael Maguire rewarded Junior Tupou with his first grade debut against the Cowboys in Round 10.
After representing the Junior Wallabies last year, Tupou made the code switch for the 2022 season and had an immediate impact on the playing squad.
Try on debut for Tupou!
The 19-year-old showed no early signs of nerves, taking a tricky catch under the high ball in the opening minutes before turning his dreams into reality with a stunning aerial try.
Tupou came from the clouds to sneak past four Cowboys defenders and snatch a cross-field kick out of the air.
He then barged past Scott Drinkwater and Murray Tuilagi to plant the ball over the line and score the first of many NRL tries that are yet to come.
3. #Twally100
Wests Tigers returned to Leichhardt Oval for a special night of celebrations in their Round 11 clash against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The fixture was Alex Twal’s 100th match in the top flight and fans remained hopeful that the milestone would inspire their cult hero to crash over for his maiden NRL try.
Much to the delight of the largest crowd at Leichhardt Oval since 2019, Wests Tigers raced out to a fast start with three unanswered tries in the first half.
While he may have struggled getting through the celebratory banner, Twal was back to his barnstorming best as he racked up 116 running metres and accumulated 36 tackles without missing any.
Twal was unable to come up with the fairytale four-pointer but the home side rallied in the second half to give ‘Mr 99%’ a win in his milestone match.
2. Brooks comes up clutch
Just six days after winning their first match of the season in near-identical fashion, Wests Tigers provided their fans with another heart-stopping victory against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Anzac Round.
In a wild clash that saw the lead change hands on five occasions, the home side fought back from a second half deficit to lead by six with time ticking down.
However, when Keaon Koloamatangi crashed over with ten minutes to play, the game appeared destined for Golden Point.
After weeks of intense media scrutiny and a positional shift into the five-eighth role, Luke Brooks stepped up and slotted the second match-winning field goal of his career.
Luke Brooks the man of the moment
The one-pointer placed the cherry on top of a clinical performance from Wests Tigers, who completed 46 of their 48 sets to finish the match with a completion rate of 95%.
1. Hastings with the buzzer beater
In desperate need of a victory to kick start their season, Wests Tigers travelled to Bankwest Stadium on Easter Monday to face the high-flying Parramatta Eels.
Early in the match, David Nofoaluma linked up with Jackson Hastings to cross for two tries in the space of three minutes as the visitors took a surprise halftime lead.
A try to Clint Gutherson kept the Eels within striking distance, but Daine Laurie soon put ‘The King’ in his place with a monstrous hit to force a repeat set.
Both sides traded tries in the second half, with Marata Niukore crossing in the 68th minute to tie the scores.
Former Wests Tigers five-eighth Mitchell Moses had the chance to win the game with a minute remaining but his field goal was waved away, allowing the visitors to march downfield.
Incredible Hastings wins it for Tigers
Returning from a three match suspension, Jackson Hastings received the ball forty metres out and landed a stunning long-range field goal on the stroke of fulltime to win the game and send Wests Tigers fans into raptures.
Team Song: Round 6
