Don’t get excited the cowboys were terrible when we played them , the broncs weren’t much better
This always seems to be the general consensus of opinion in the media and among many fans when we win or play well, the other side was terrible, had an off day.
Admittedly in both cases mistakes were made by both sides, was this because we forced the opposition into errors or did they just take us too lightly, were they rushing and trying to score on every play thinking that they were going to put a cricket score on us?
It's all too easy to say that they played badly but it is pretty rare for anyone to admit that Wests Tigers were the better side on the day or that they played really well.
Forget about those 2 games, take a look at the game against the 'Riff in round 18. We get ridiculed for losing to a Penrith side that has 7 State of Origin players out.
Forget about the Paul Kent type of criticism and hate that pieces of shit like him dish up and look at the facts.
The game ends up 3 tries a piece and the difference is a goal kick losing by a mere 2 points (18-16 scoreline) which in traditional Wests Tigers style, we are leading and lose the lead with 5 or so minutes to go.
Their try scorers, Tago, Kikau and Fisher Harris, 3 of their star players that are still in the team that would get a run in just about any top 17, and there are still even more players playing in that game that get a run as first picks in most teams
The 7 players that are out are replaced by so called reserve graders many of which would probable get a run as first picks in our top 17.
Basically, what I am saying is that their reserve graders are way better than our reserve graders and in many cases better than our first graders.
We run out with a team for most of the year that is probably missing somewhere close to 7 of our so called top pick players but barely a mention ever in the media of our horrific injury toll or suspensions, yet if the top of the ladder teams have players out for whatever reason, the hand wringing and hysteria is never ending.
The reality is that the biggest scores we have had put on us this year have been in the 30's, not 50 type blow outs that we have tended to suffer in previous seasons, then there were some really close heart breakers that should have gone our way with either some smart game management or the fact that there were dud and possibly corrupt calls going against us.
I can be as critical as anyone on here of our team when they perform poorly, and there is nothing wrong with that because you need to be realistic, but I think they deserve a bit of credit when they put in a good performance.