The Wests Tigers put on a show for the Leichhardt Oval faithful this afternoon, defeating the North Queensland Cowboys 44-16 in their season opener.
It took the boys in orange, black and white 11 minutes to get points on the board, which saw them come to life, tallying eight tries in front of a sold-out crowd.
New signing Kai Pearce-Paul impressed on his Club debut, scoring a first-half double, while 19-year-old Luke Laulilii made an impact, getting two tries of his own.
The Tigers carried their strong pre-season form into the Round 2 clash, picking up where they left off a few weeks earlier. Jarome Luai tallied three try assists and a try of his own, while Adam Doueihi added 16 points through a try and six conversions.
Second-rower, Samuela Fainu had a standout performance for his 50th NRL game, scoring the opening try and running for 145 metres.
The Tigers played an exciting brand of football, producing 21 of the game’s 30 offloads, keeping the fans entertained throughout the afternoon.
The moments:
5th minute: A dangerous tackle from Apisai Koroisau gives the Cowboys an early penalty. Jake Clifford converts, putting North Queensland ahead 2-0.
11th minute: Kai O’Donnell is sent off for 10 minutes due to not being square of the marker, leaving the Cowboys down to 12 men. The Tigers take advantage with Jarome Luai assisting Samuela Fainu to get the opening try in his 50th game. The try is converted, Wests Tigers lead 6-2.
15th minute: Taylan May leaves the field with a suspected injury, replaced by Jeral Skelton.
17th minute: Luai assists his halves partner Adam Doueihi, who powers through the Cowboys defence, scoring under the posts. Doueihi converts his own try, extending the lead 12-2.
26th minute: Tigers continue their momentum with Jahream Bula finding Kai Pearce-Paul who crosses the line for the first time in Tigers colours. Wests Tigers lead 16-2.
35th minute: Pearce-Paul gets his second try of the afternoon, picking up a grubber off Jarome Luai. This pushes the Tigers ahead 22-2.
39th minute: Off a 20-metre scrum, Luai gets the ball to Bula, who finds Luke Laulilii on the wing to score. Doueihi converts and sends the Tigers into halftime leading 28-2.
47th minute: Braidon Burns brings the Cowboys back into the game, with a try on the right edge from a Scott Drinkwater assist. Clifford was unable to convert, leaving the score at 28-6.
52nd minute: A strong run from Pearce-Paul helps set up good field position for the Tigers. This led to a magical Jarome Luai self-assisted try, regathering his own kick after bouncing off the goal posts. Doueihi converts, making the score 34-6.
56th minute: Cowboys reapply pressure with Jake Clifford chipping it for Jaxon Purdue. An unsuccessful conversion attempt makes it 34-10.
60th minute: The Cowboys continue their momentum, with a converted Tom Chester try, narrowing the score to 34-16.
64th minute: Luke Laulilii halts the Cowboys momentum with an intercept, running 70 metres for his second try of the afternoon. Doueihi converts, helping the Tigers reach 40.
72nd minute: Sunia Turuva offloads to Jeral Skelton, who crosses in the right corner after an earlier attempt was ruled in touch. The try is unconverted, with the Tigers securing a 44-16 victory.
What they said:
NRL Head Coach, Benji Marshall
“I’m happy with the two points. I think it's just a great way for us to start our season.
“There's a lot to like about the way we played a lot of our game today, but there's also a lot that we can learn and take away. It's round one for us, so we've got to be happy with two points and realise we’ve still got a lot to work on.
I liked our intent and the way we started with our mindset in the game.
Benji Marshall NRL Head Coach
“I like the way our leaders lead on the field and off it during the week. I liked the way our spine connected.
“I thought Adam was really good at seven for us today and I thought Jarome was outstanding as well.
“The platform they got from our outside backs in our middles was probably the most impressive. So if we can get that sort of play the ball for guys like Api around the ruck that gives us a really good chance.”
