Report: Jersey Flegg Round 26 vs Roosters

It was a chaotic start to the contest, with the ground clock failing, and it took only five minutes for the Roosters to strike first when Jaxson Allen snatched an intercept and sprinted 60 metres to the line.

Wests Tigers quickly regrouped, hitting back through centre Peter Taai in the corner, before five-eighth Heith Pritchard crossed from close range to put the visitors in front.

Josese Lanyon then scored on the back of a Max Liles bomb, and Tino Tavana grabbed a trademark acrobatic effort off a Liles cut-out ball as the Tigers surged to a 20-6 lead.

The Roosters, however, showed their grit, with prop Kanaan Magele powering over twice in the final eight minutes of the half, the second on the stroke of half-time, to cut the margin to 20-18 at the break.

After the restart, Tavana weaved his way through on the short side to extend the lead, only for the Roosters to respond with a slick try to Osca Catton in the corner.

The orange, black and white outfit then produced one of their best plays of the afternoon: a sharp move through Liles and Pritchard, finished by Byronn Laupepa, followed minutes later by Logan Brookes backing up a Josese Lanyon break to put the Tigers 14 points clear.

But the contest was far from over.

Magele claimed a remarkable hat-trick with a close-range effort in the 75th minute, before Jeziah Papa crossed late after a miracle flick pass from Ethan Roberts, setting up a grandstand finish.

The Roosters kept throwing everything at the line in the dying stages, but the Tigers held firm to claim the two competition points in their final outing of the season.

The 36-30 result capped off a rollercoaster year for Wests Tigers in the Jersey Flegg Cup, highlighted by patches of attacking brilliance and the emergence of exciting talents like Tavana, Liles, and Lanyon.

It wasn’t enough to push them into finals contention, but finishing with a hard-fought victory ensured the season ended on a high note.

Wests Tigers 36 (Tavana 2, Taai, Pritchard, Lanyon, Laupepa, Brookes tries; Tavana 4/7 goals) defeated Roosters (Magele 3, Allen, Catton, Papa tries; Papa 3/6 goals) at Wentworth Park