By Matt Trodden
Balmain Tigers have extended their unbeaten run in the SG Ball Cup with a dominant 52-10 victory over the WA Reds at Concord Oval.
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Balmain Tigers 52 (Mitchell Moses 3, Leva Li 2, Max Dimarco 2, Daniel Rakvin, Manaia Cherrington, Mason Farrell Tries; Mitchell Moses 3/5 , Matthew Woods 3/5 Goals) defeated WA Reds 10 (Waqa Blake, Anthony Poi Tries; Steven Komene 1/2 Goals) at Concord Oval.
The Tigers weren't at their best, at times looking dis-jointed, but were simply too classy for the Reds as they ran away with the game in the second half.
After taking a 20-0 lead into the second half, the Tigers gave up momentum early in the second as the Reds closed the gap to 20-10, but the Tigers were too good in the end, running out big winners.
Again five-eighth Mitchell Moses was the star, with a second straight hat-trick, while centre Leva Li and backrowers Salesi Funaki and Daniel Rakvin all put in good efforts.
The Tigers looked a bit rusty to start the game in tough conditions, but were the first to cross, with Daniel Rakvin running off a good Mitchell Moses ball to score. Moses missed the kick, but the Tigers held an early 4-0 lead.
Hooker Manaia Cherrington again showed his class as he split the Reds through the centre of the park to set up the next try. After breaking through the middle, Cherrington sent the ball to the right, where good hands from Funaki sent Li over for his first.
Cherrington then got himself onto the scoreboard, scooting from dummy half to score. Moses converted his second try, extending the lead to 16-0.
Max Dimarco was the next to cross in the corner, with Mason Farrell and Rhys Armstrong combining well in the lead up to give Dimarco the space down the touchline. Moses missed the conversion, but the Tigers took a 20-0 lead into the break.
It was the Reds who came back from the break firing, scoring two tries in the first seven minutes of the second half to get themselves right back into the game.
It was centre Waqa Blake who got over first in the right corner, before forward Anthony Poi barged his way over, with conversion narrowing the gap to 20-10.
As the Reds started to gain momentum, the game got more physical, something that was to the Tigers advantage.
After Funaki forced an error with a quality tackle, Mitchell Moses broke free with a beautifully executed scrum play, outpacing the Reds defence to score. Matt Woods grabbed the conversion and extended the lead to 26-10.
Mason Farrell then got in on the act, stepping past Ben Whitley to score, with another Woods conversion pushing the lead to 32-10.
The Tigers continued to lay on the points, with Moses grabbing another two tries with some good support play, while Dimarco and Li both grabbed doubles, crossing out wide.
Coach Andrew Webster was slightly disappointed with the Tigers lack of intensity early in the game, but was still very happy with the result, which leaves the Tigers atop the SG Ball ladder alongside Manly and Penrith.
The Tigers travel to Melbourne next week, while the Harold Matthews team return from their bye to Leichhardt Oval to take on South West Sydney Academy.
