The Wests Tigers have defeated the Parramatta Eels 22-20 in a golden point classic on Easter Monday, with Benji Marshall’s side securing their third win of the season in a hard-fought contest.
Jock Madden was instrumental in the victory, finishing with a perfect night off the tee, converting all three tries and slotting two penalty goals – including the match-winner in extra time.
Kai Pearce-Paul was a standout at both ends of the field, registering two try assists while making 46 tackles.
Api Koroisau led through his actions, and was instrumental in attack while racking up a team-leading 57 tackles.
It was a strong defensive performance in all from the Tigers, with their resilience under pressure earning strong praise from Marshall post-game.
Key stats:
- Defence: The Tigers made 366 tackles, with Api Koroisau (57), Alex Twal (51) and Kai Pearce-Paul (46) leading the way.
- Run metres: The backs made a strong impact, with Luke Laulilii leading the side with 227 metres, alongside Jahream Bula (203), Heamasi Makasini (197) and Sunia Turuva (157).
- Tino Tavana scored his second career try in just his second NRL appearance.
The moments:
11th minute: Parramatta shifts the ball from left to right, with Sean Russell finding Bailey Simonsson, who scores to give the Eels a 4-0 lead.
15th minute: The Eels go back-to-back, with Junior Paulo crashing over. Mitch Moses converts for a 10-0 lead.
29th minute: Kai Pearce-Paul offloads to Adam Doueihi, who scores the Tigers first. The conversion is successful, narrowing the margin to 10-6.
35th minute: Kai Pearce-Paul gets his second assist of the afternoon, setting up Jahream Bula to bring the scores level, with the conversion giving the Tigers a 12-10 lead heading into halftime.
43rd minute: A bomb kick from Jock Madden is collected by Tino Tavana, who scores. Madden converts, extending the Tigers’ lead to 18-10.
60th minute: Luke Laulilii is sin-binned for a mid-air tackle, reducing the Tigers go down to 12 men.
60th minute: On debut, Apa Twidle scores with his first touch to bring the Eels back into the contest 18-14.
62nd minute: 21-year-old Twidle scores a double, putting the ball over the line on the right wing, bringing the scores level at 18-18.
77th minute: Tigers give away a penalty for a dangerous tackle on Mitch Moses, who takes the penalty kick, putting the Eels ahead 20-18.
78th minute: The Tigers receive a penalty shortly after, with Jock Madden levelling the scores from 40 metres out, leveling scores at 20-20.
80th minute: Scores remain locked, sending the match into golden point.
84th minute: Parramatta are penalised for being offside, giving the Tigers an opportunity 20 metres out. Jock Madden kicks the penalty goal, securing a 22-20 Tigers victory.
What they said:
NRL Head Coach Benji Marshall:
When talking about his side’s resolve
“I thought the way they've applied themselves to start the season, the way they trained in the preseason, I was pretty relaxed the whole time, to be honest, and confident that regardless of the way the result went, they would fight their way back into it to either be a chance to win it or win it.”
When talking about Kai Pearce-Paul
“I'm not worried about the tries, to be honest, more worried about what he brings to us defensively. We know what he can do in attack. It’s what he's added to our right edge defensively that has probably been most impressive thing to me, and his team-first mindset, where he's prepared to do whatever it takes for the team without any fuss. Never complains if he doesn't get the ball, trains hard out. We love having him in our team.”
