Media Reports

[Guest]

Tigers hold off Titans in thriller
July 9, 2010 - 9:43PM

Wests Tigers 15 Titans 14

Wests Tigers have edged out Gold Coast Titans 15-14 in a hugely entertaining NRL clash at Campbelltown Stadium on Friday.

The battle between the third-placed Tigers and the Titans, who sit in fourth, was settled by a magnificent 50-metre field goal from Benji Marshall on the stroke of halftime, which proved to be the difference, as the Tigers held off a late onslaught from the visitors in front of a crowd of 14,050.

Tigers skipper Robbie Farah, who has been snubbed by NSW selectors this season, was the inspiration for this side's second successive win with an outstanding display out of dummy half.

Marshall's audacious effort on the stroke of halftime gave the Tigers a 9-8 halftime lead after the Titans had largely dominated the opening period.

The Queenslanders should have been well clear at the break and were left to rue the spurning of three golden opportunities due to some careless handling from Mat Rogers and Kevin Gordon, that prevented certain tries.

The visitors scored from the opening set of the game through Rogers after just two minutes.

Scott Prince, back in the side after a hamstring injury, provided a well-weighted grubber-kick that was misjudged by Wade McKinnon, allowing the former Wallabies star to scoop up the loose ball and then boot over the conversion.

The Titans were made to pay for those missed chances as the home side restored parity thanks to some great work from Farah that set up Mitch Brown to score.

Rogers restored the lead for his side with a close-range penalty, with Marshall responding in kind for the Tigers, before slotting over from halfway on the siren.

It was evident from the first kick-off that there's no love lost between the sides, and the powderkeg exploded in the 59th minute with players from both sides exchanging blows after Farah claimed he was head-butted in the scrum by Nathan Friend.

The incident earned Titans backrower Mark Minichiello a spell in the sin-bin, but the 12 men showed great determination in defence to repel the Tigers, before Blake Ayshford finally crossed in the left corner in the 67th minute to extend the home side's lead to 15-8.

The try was largely down to some excellent work from Lote Tuqiri who stole the ball from Preston Campbell and Chris Heighington combined with Farah, who released Ayshford.

The Titans, who have made a reputation as the comeback kings of the NRL this season, closed the gap just two minutes later when Kevin Gordon stretched out to touch down Prince's kick.

That try set up a grandstand finish, with the Titans being denied what would have been a certain try to William Zillman in the final minute when Prince was controversially adjudged to have thrown the pass forward.

WESTS TIGERS 15 (B Ayshford M Brown tries B Marshall 3 goals B Marshall field goal) bt GOLD COAST 14 (K Gordon M Rogers tries M Rogers 3 goals) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Referee: Gavin Badger, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 14,050.

 

[Guest]

WESTS TIGERS BEAT TITANS 15-14 IN NRL
By Wayne Cousins
9/07/2010 10:43:49 PM

Wests Tigers have recorded a grinding 15-14 victory over the Gold Coast Titans tonight at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in round 18 of the Telstra Premiership.

The win moves Wests Tigers to 24 points and into third place on a congested competition ladder.

In team changes, Wests Tigers shifted centre Chris Lawrence to five-eighth with Benji Marshall moving to half-back to replace the injured Robert Lui.

Winger Geoff Daniela moved into the centres with Mitch Brown coming off the interchange bench to start on the wing.

The bench was Mark Flanagan, Simon Dwyer, Daniel Fitzhenry and Andrew Fafita.

The Gold Coast opened the scoring in the second minute when half-back Scott Prince put through a grubber kick behind the line for centre Mat Rogers to score out wide.

Rogers converted the try for a 6-0 lead after three minutes.

Referee Gavin Badger called on video referee Sean Hampstead in the 13th minute to determine a try in the corner to winger Mitch Brown from a grubber kick by hooker and captain Robbie Farah. The try was awarded to leave Wests Tigers trailing 6-4.

Half-back Benji Marshall magnificently converted the try from the sideline from 23 metres out for a 6-6 scoreline after 15 minutes.

Rogers converted a penalty goal from 15 metres out to give the Titans an 8-6 lead after 23 minutes. Wests Tigers Prop Bryce Gibbs was penalised for a late tackle around the knees of Prince in a clearing kick.

Marshall then converted a penalty goal from 30 metres out in the 35th minute to level the scores at 8-8.

Wests Tigers took a 9-8 lead into half-time when Marshall, from a standing start, snapped a 50 metre field goal over the crossbar to leave the field to a standing ovation from Wests Tigers supporters. It was a field goal you just had to see to believe.

Second Half
Wests Tigers appeared certain to score in the 48th minute when lock Chris Heighington found open space to send a pass to centre Blake Ayshford. Unfortunately Ayshford dropped the ball 10 metres out with winger Lote Tuqiri unmarked outside of him.

A fight erupted from a scrum in the 59th minute between hookers Robbie Farah and Nathan Friend.

Farah claimed to referee Gavin Bagder that he was headbutted. Titans second-rower Mark Minichiello was sin-binned for 10 minutes for being third man in after throwing punches from the back of the scrum.

Ayshford made up for his earlier mistake when he crossed over in the 66th minute in the corner after Heighington offloaded a desperate pass to Farah who dummied before passing to Ayshford to score.

Heighington had Aysford and Turiqi on his outside before going back inside after brushing off winger William Zillman.Marshall converted the try to give Wests Tigers a 15-8 lead after 68 minutes.

The Titans struck back four minutes later when a Prince grubber kick saw winger Kevin Gordon fly through to dive on ball to score in the corner. Rogers converted the try from 23 metres out for a 15-14 scoreline.

Badger ruled a pass forward from five-eighth Greg Bird to Zillman forward in the 75th minute just when the winger was in open space and 60 metres away from the tryline

Wests Tigers kept charging forward towards the Titans tryline inside the final minute to record victory in front of a crowd of 14,050.

 

[benjibrotown]

Friend accused of headbutt on Farah
GREG PRICHARD
July 10, 2010

WESTS TIGERS hooker Robbie Farah claimed his Gold Coast counterpart Nathan Friend had headbutted him. Farah had allegedly said something nasty to Friend as a get-square for being targeted earlier. Friend said he was merely packing into the scrum and that Farah must have been in a bad mood because he didn't make the NSW side.

Whatever triggered it, their scrum brawl certainly raised temperatures on a cold night at Campbelltown. For a while, it really was the wild west out there, after the scrum erupted in the 58th minute with Farah and Friend trading punches. Titans second-rower Mark Minichiello made the foolish move of getting involved in the fisticuffs as the third man in - a decision that would later prove costly.

 

[Guest]

Wests Tigers beat Gold Coast Titans 15-14 in NRL match at Campbelltown

By Ian Mccullough
July 09, 2010

A miraculous 50-metre field-goal by Benji Marshall on the stroke of half-time set up Wests Tigers' thrilling 15-14 NRL victory over Gold Coast Titans at Campbelltown Stadium.

The match between the third-placed Tigers and the fourth-placed Titans was settled by some Marshall magic, but not before the Tigers had to endure a late onslaught from the visitors in front of a crowd of 14,050.

Tigers captain Robbie Farah, who has been snubbed by New South Wales selectors this season, was the inspiration for his side's second successive win with an outstanding display out of dummy half.

Marshall's audacious effort on the stroke of half-time gave the Tigers a 9-8 lead after the Titans had largely dominated the opening period.

Tigers coach Tim Sheens said the football gods were smiling on Marshall, who also slotted home two sideline conversions and a penalty, when he scored the decisive field-goal.

"I started off by saying 'what the hell is he trying to do' and then it bounced off the crossbar and you say 'you beauty','' Sheens said.

"We have been practising field goals a bit this season and we have more field goals than anyone in the comp."

The visitors should have been well clear at the break and were left to rue the spurning of three golden opportunities due to some careless handling from Mat Rogers and Kevin Gordon that prevented certain tries.

The visitors scored from their opening set of the game through Rogers after just two minutes.

Scott Prince, back in the side after a hamstring injury, provided a well-weighted grubber-kick that was misjudged by Wade McKinnon, allowing former Wallabies Rigers star to scoop up the loose ball and then boot over the conversion.

The Titans were made to pay for those missed chances as the home side restored parity thanks to some great work from Farah that set up Mitch Brown to score in the 13th minute.

Rogers restored the lead for his side with a close-range penalty, with Marshall responding in kind for the Tigers, before slotting over his field-goal from halfway on the siren.

Tensions exploded in the 59th minute with players from both teams exchanging blows after Farah claimed he was head-butted in the scrum by Nathan Friend.

"He was at me all game, hitting me after I had passed so I had a little dig at him .. when we packed in the scrum he led with his head which I wasn't too happy about so I stood up for myself,'' Farah said after the match.

The incident earned Titans back-rower Mark Minichiello a spell in the sin-bin, and Tigers centre Blake Ayshford finally crossed in the left corner eight minutes later to extend the home side's lead to 15-8.

The try was largely down to some excellent work from Lote Tuqiri, who stole the ball from Preston Campbell before Chris Heighington combined with Farah to set up Ayshford.

The Titans, who have made a reputation as the comeback kings of the NRL this season, closed the gap just two minutes later when Kevin Gordon stretched out to touch down Prince's kick.

That try set up a grandstand finish, with the Titans being denied what would have been a certain try to William Zillman in the final minute when Prince was controversially adjudged to have thrown the pass forward.

Titans coach John Cartwright was seething at the late forward pass decision and the sin-binning, but said his side would be guaranteed a finals spot if they demonstrated the same spirit for the rest of the season.

"It was a great effort and probably a great game to watch, and a tremendous effort from my guys, but I am not talking about referees - just the football,'' Cartwright said.

AAP

 

[stryker]

Cartwright is a friggen sook….I really dont like the bloke.

 

[Beavis]

Headbutt brawl as Tigers beat Titans
>
by Tyson Otto The Daily Telegraph July 09, 2010 10:10PM
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A REMARKABLE 50m field goal from Benji Marshall proved the difference in an uninspiring game as the Wests Tigers held off the Gold Coast for a win that consolidates their place in the top four.
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The Tigers snuck home in front of 14,050 fans, with Marshall's kick giving the Tigers a hard-fought win.
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The game exploded with 20 minutes to play when an ongoing niggling duel between hookers Robbie Farah and Nathan Friend sparked an all-in brawl which resulted in Titans forward Mark Minichiello being sin-binned.
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With the game in the balance at 9-8, a scrum dissolved into anarchy when Farah took offence to an alleged head-butt from Friend. Minichiello stormed forward from the back-row and began throwing haymakers at the Tigers No. 9.
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When the dust settled it was the Tigers who pounced when Chris Heighington dished off to Blake Ayshford, who strolled over to give the Tigers a seven-point lead with 12 minutes left - finally making the Titans' right-side defence pay after being caught short several times in the 80 minutes.
The Titans struck back five minutes later when winger Kevin Gordon pounced on a grubber in the 70th minute to give the Titans a sniff of a comeback as Mat Rogers' sideline conversion had them trailing 15-14.
>
Tim Sheens said it was his side's defence that propelled them to the victory that lifts them into outright third.
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"We've added a little bit more steel in us," Sheens said.
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"We scrambled well. They didn't throw anything at us that we didn't expect but they did still get us.
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"Our depth is better. We have had quite a few injuries so that's been our rep football in respect to key players out."
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Sheens revealed that his side had done a lot of field goal practice during training, but not from where Marshall nailed his attempt from on the halfway line.
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"I started to say, 'What the hell is he trying to do?' and then it bounced from the crossbar," Sheens said. "Maybe the football gods smiled on us. He struck it well, it was a fair way out.
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"We've kicked more field goals than anyone. So we have done a bit of work on that. Not from that far out, though."
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Titans captain Scott Prince praised his players' defence but hinted that his side was on the wrong end of crucial refereeing decisions.
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"The effort was certainly there," Prince said. "Fifty-fifty calls seemed to go one way on most occasions, which obviously makes life difficult but that's footy.
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"We created the opportunities we just couldn't capitalise on those. Our effort was great tonight, especially when we were down a man. We'll take a lot out of the way we defended our line tonight."
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The Titans opened the scoring in just the second minute through Rogers, before Mitch Brown hit back for the Tigers.
Wests Tigers 15 (B Ayshford, M Brown tries; B Marshall 3 goals, field goal) Gold Coast 14 (K Gordon, M Rogers tries; Rogers 3 goals). Referees: Gavin Badger, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 14,050.

I don't know that it was uninspiring.

 

[Yossarian]

Tigers hold off Titans in thriller
July 9, 2010 - 9:43PM

That try set up a grandstand finish, with the Titans being denied what would have been a certain try to William Zillman in the final minute when Prince was controversially adjudged to have thrown the pass forward.

WESTS TIGERS 15 (B Ayshford M Brown tries B Marshall 3 goals B Marshall field goal) bt GOLD COAST 14 (K Gordon M Rogers tries M Rogers 3 goals) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Referee: Gavin Badger, Ashley Klein. Crowd: 14,050.

Certain try? Controversially adjudged? Who wrote this dribble? John Cartwright?

For starters they had 60m to go with plenty of cover coming over and secondly the pass was clearly forward. The author must have lost some cash on the Titans.