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WESTS TIGERS BEAT WARRIORS 20-12 IN NRL
By Wayne Cousins, Leichhardt Oval
19/03/2011 9:14:40 PM

Wests Tigers had to dig deep to record a hard fought 20-12 victory over the Warriors at Leichhardt Oval tonight in round 2 of the Telstra Premiership.

On a wet and cool night at Leichhardt Oval in front of a crowd of 13, 161 , Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence scored two tries to give his side their first competition points of the season.

Wests Tigers lost second-rower Gareth Ellis (ankle) and prop Bryce Gibbs (knee) before the match, resulting in prop Andrew Fifita coming off the interchange bench for Gibbs.

Alan Schirnack was called into the team for just his sixth NRL match to replace Ellis. Second-rower Jason Schirnack was added to the interchange bench. It was the first time the Schirnack brothers had played in the same NRL team together.

Wests Tigers had a chance of scoring in the 6th minute from 10 metres out but a bullet pass from five-eighth Benji Marshall hit centre Chris Lawrence in the head with the ball going to ground.

The Warriors’ first chance of scoring came in the 14th minute from a grubber kick by full-back Lance Hohaia but the ball was grounded ingoal by right centre Blake Ayshford.

The visitors continued to apply the pressure three minutes later when a grubber kick behind the defence by five-eighth Isaac John was forced dead by Wests Tigers full-back Wade McKinnon.

Wests Tigers got a scrum feed inside the Warriors quarter in the 21st minute after a grubber kick by Marshall was fumbled into touch with winger Lote Tuqiri in pursuit.

A minute later, Wests Tigers right winger Matt Utai dived over in the corner but referee Alan Shortall ruled the final pass from Ayshford was forward.

Wests Tigers finally opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Marshall gave a beautiful ball to centre Chris Lawrence to score in the left corner for a 4-0 lead. Marshall converted from the sideline for a 6-0 lead.

Referee Tony Archer called on video referee Chris Ward two minutes later to rule whether Warriors captain and second-rower Simon Mannering had grounded the ball in a tackle by McKinnon after a drop ball by rising prop Aaron Woods. The try was awarded.

Half-back Brett Seymour converted the try for a 6-6 scoreline after 37 minutes.

Marshall had a field goal attempt from 40 metres out inside the final minute but the ball fell short of the posts.

Seymour followed a few seconds later with his own field goal attempt but it fell short too to leave the scores locked at 6-6 at half-time.

2nd Half
Archer called on the video referee in the 49th minute to rule whether winger Krisnan Inu had snuck his way over from dummy half to score in the left corner. The try was awarded. It came on the back of a controversial play the tackle before in which Inu threw the ball inside despite being over the sideline before Utai touched the ball to give the Warriors six more.

Seymour converted the try from the sideline to give the Warriors a 12-6 lead after 51 minutes.

Wests Tigers got back to trail 12-10 when Ayshford spun his way out of two tackles to score 10 metres from the posts in the 62nd minute. Marshall failed to convert the try from close range.

Hooker and captain Robbie Farah gave Wests Tigers the lead when he stepped inside a defender from 10 metres out before diving over to score next to the posts. Marshall converted to give Wests Tigers a 16-12 lead after 68 minutes.

The try was set up on the previous play when Marshall gave a perfect ball to put second-rower Simon Dwyer into a hole before the forward was tackled 15 metres short of the line.

Marshall then threw a long cut out pass on the next play for Farah to score.
Six minutes before full-time, Lawrence all but sealed victory when he crossed over in the left corner from a short pass for his second try for a 20-12 lead. Marshall’s conversion attempt hit the post and was waved away.

Archer called on Ward again in the 77th minute to see whether lock Chris Heighington was onside from a grubber kick in scoring next to the posts. It was ruled no try as McKinnon was ruled offside.

Wests Tigers now play Canberra Raiders in round three at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Saturday, March 26, at 7.30pm.

Match summary
33rd min: Chris Lawrence try, Beni Marshall goal. Wests Tigers 6 Warriors 0.
37th min: Simon Mannering try, Brett Seymour goal. Wests Tigers 6 Warriors 6.

Half time: 6-6 all
2nd Half:
51st min: Krisnan Inu try, Seymour goal. Warriors 12 Wests Tigers 6.
63rd min: Blake Ayshford try, Marshall no goal. Warriors 12 Wests Tigers 10.
68th min: Robbie Farah try, Marshall goal. Wests Tigers 16 Warriors 12.
74th min: Chris Lawrence 2nd try, Marshall no goal. Wests Tigers 20 Warriors 12.

Wests Tigers team
1 Wade McKinnon
2 Lote Tuqiri
3 Blake Ayshford
4 Chris Lawrence
5 Matt Utai
6 Benji Marshall
7 Robert Lui
16 Andrew Fifita
9 Robbie Farah ©
10 Keith Galloway
11 Simon Dwyer
20 Alan Schirnack
13 Chris Heighington

14 Tim Moltzen
15 Aaron Woods
17 Todd Payten
18 Alan Schirnack

 

[Guest]

Wests Tigers beat New Zealand Warriors 20-12 in NRL Round two match

* Josh Massoud
* From: The Sunday Telegraph
* March 20, 2011 12:00AM

EXPECTED to sign a rich five-year extension this week, Chris Lawrence last night repaid the Tigers in advance with a try double that kick-started their season against the Warriors.

The premiership hot shots were in real danger of slipping to an 0-2 record until Lawrence stepped up in the 74th minute with his second try to seal a hard-fought yet mistake-marred win.

Westshad only claimed the lead six minutes earlier thanks to a clever Robbie Farah show-and-go that sent waves of relief reverberating through the 13,161-strong crowd.

Although he is yet to put pen to paper, Lawrence, 22, gave every indication that he would reject interest from several rival teams and remain at his junior club for the long term.

Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys refused to comment on Lawrence's deal, but club insiders are confident it will be finalised ahead of next Saturday night's home game at Campbelltown against Canberra.

"It would be great [to stay]," Lawrence said. "Hopefully we can finalise that in the next week or two.

"I would love to have the opportunity to keep playing for this club and repay them with loyalty. I'm happy here and really believe in the group we've got.

"I wouldn't want to go anywhere else."

Lawrence's first try opened the scoring after a dour opening 33 minutes that featured more rust than the Titanic has accumulated over the past 99 years.

But a mistake from the kick-off gave the Warriors perfect field position and they duly responded through captain Simon Mannering to make it 6-6 at halftime.

The visitors then edged in front nine minutes after the break when big-name recruit Krisnan Inu snuck across in the corner after a cheeky dummy-half play.

But instead of riding the momentum, they chose to protect the lead with a bizarre decision from halfback Brett Seymour to attempt a field goal with 25 minutes remaining.

Seymour's kick sailed wide, and Warriors coach Ivan Cleary threw his hands toward the heavens in despair. The Tigers drew confidence from the conservative play and hit back through centre Blake Ayshford in the 62nd minute, before Farah and Lawrence struck to deliver the home team much needed tonic to soothe last week's painful loss to Canterbury.

"I was not a fan of it," Cleary said when asked about Seymour's premature field-goal attempt.

"We were a bit rudderless tonight. It was just a pretty poor performance really."

Apart from the final quarter, much the same could be said for the Tigers.

However, their young forward stand-ins for injured trio Bryce Gibbs (knee), Gareth Ellis (ankle) and Liam Fulton (shoulder) stood up against the enormous Warriors pack.

Halfback Robert Lui also showed further improvement, particularly with his kicking game and defence.

Veteran winger Matt Utai also proved he still has a future in the NRL after playing park football with Auburn A-Grade last season.

Coach Tim Sheens jokingly described the 80 minutes as "a Panadol night".

"I was happy with the effort, but the execution could have been better," Sheens said. "I thought it was a step up from last week as far as our attitude was concerned."

Despite his side trailing until deep into the second half, Farah maintained faith the home crowd would carry them to victory.

"I knew we would come home with a wet sail, especially at Leichhardt," Farah said. "There were a couple of soft tries we let in, but once we hit the lead the crowd got behind us."

WESTS TIGERS 20 (C Lawrence 2 B Ayshford R Farah tries B Marshall 2 goals B Marshall field goal) bt NZ WARRIORS 12 (K Inu S Mannering tries B Seymour 2 goals B Seymour 2 field goals) at Leichhardt Oval. Referees: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 13,161.

 

[Guest]

Wests Tigers battle themselves and Warriors

* From: AAP
* March 19, 2011 11:59PM

WESTS Tigers were inconsistent but still managed to open their NRL account with a 20-12 victory at Leichhardt Oval tonight.

With an error count that would have had coach Tim Sheens fuming, the Tigers came home the stronger in a four tries to two win that would have done little to convince the 13,161 fans on hand they are the premiership goods.

Three tries in a 12 minute burst in the final quarter of the game ensured the home side victory after they had invited the Warriors into the match by dropping balls at their own end, including a kick-off by captain Robbie Farah.

In the end, the Warriors' handling was probably even worse as the Tigers, who - minus injured forwards Bryce Gibbs and Gareth Ellis - notched the hard fought win, with centre Chris Lawrence bagging a double.

Locked at 6-6 at halftime after it had taken more than half an hour for either side to score, the Warriors took the lead for the first time in the match nine minutes after the break following some freakish work from former Parramatta winger Krisnan Inu.

Inu somehow kept the ball in play as he was tiptoeing down the left touchline before catching the Tigers defence off guard and crashing over from dummy half a play later to make it 12-6.

The Tigers got back to 12-10 when Robert Lui laid on a try for Blake Ayshford in the 62nd minute but Benji Marshall missed the relatively easy conversion attempt and then Farah dropped the kick-off.

The Tigers hung on to fight again and Farah scooted over in the 68th minute to capitalise on a Simon Dwyer bust for a 16-12 lead before Lawrence added his second in the 74th.

The Warriors might have been looking for a “please explain” from the NRL after appearing to score a fair try that wasn't referred to the video referee.

Ayshford appeared on television replays to have not grounded a 14th minute Lance Hohaia grubber kick in his in-goal before Warriors forward Feleti Mateo dived and grounded the ball.

Referees Tony Archer and Alan Shorthall were satisfied Ayshford had planted the ball and didn't refer a decision to video referee Chris Ward.

With Marshall and Robert Lui pulling out enough plays to ensure the Tigers got over the line, Sheens praised the composure of his playmakers.

“Robbie (Farah's) kicking game, Benj, young Robert Lui played with plenty of composure for a kid and Wade McKinnon was strong at the back so the spine, the key players were very good,” Sheens said.

“Everyone else contributed.”

But Sheens conceded he'd seen his share of coach-killers.

“It was a Panadol night, I can tell you,” he said.

“Conditions were tight and tough with the rain all day and it's no secret we're down a number of senior players.

“Overall I was happy with the effort, execution can obviously be better and it will be.”

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary could find no positives in his side's showing, apart from them having “a game next week”.

“Unfortunately we were a bit rudderless tonight,” he said.

“A lot of guys put in tonight but unfortunately we didn't get it from everyone … when that happens it makes life hard.”

 

[Guest]

Farah on his knees

* Josh Massoud
* From: The Sunday Telegraph
* March 20, 2011 12:00AM

LOSING makes Robbie Farah feel gravely ill at the best of times, so after suffering from a vicious stomach bug yesterday the last thing the ultra competitive Tigers captain needed was back-to-back losses to start his team's campaign.

After scoring a late try that put Wests back in control against New Zealand last night, Farah revealed he had spent most of the lead-up to the game over a porcelain bowl.

The hooker has also been battling a painful bout of tendonitis in his groin for the opening two weeks, and suffered cramp late in the game.

"I was really crook," Farah told The Sunday Telegraph. "I had a stomach bug and I was vomiting all day. When I got to the ground I just had to smash the electrolytes to get ready to play."

Farah had a considerably bigger impact in last night's game than in the Tigers' opening round loss to Canterbury. He kicked and ran more often, and on each occasion the Tigers looked more like their old, entertaining selves.

Farah said his groin complaint would not prevent him from continuing in the coming weeks.

"Its OK, it's just tendonitis," he said. "It's not a tear or anything like that. It just gets a bit sore but when I'm warm and running around it feels fine."

 

[Guest]

Tigers beat themselves, and Warriors
David Beniuk
March 19, 2011 - 10:24PM

AAP

They had to beat themselves as well as the Warriors, but the Wests Tigers somehow managed to open their NRL account with a far from convincing 20-12 victory at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night.

With an error count that would have had coach Tim Sheens fuming, the Tigers came home the stronger in a four tries to two win that would have done little to convince the 13,161 fans on hand they are the premiership goods.

Three tries in a 12 minute burst in the final quarter of the game ensured the home side victory after they had invited the Warriors into the match by dropping balls at their own end, including a kick-off by captain Robbie Farah.
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In the end, the Warriors' handling was probably even worse as the Tigers, who - minus injured forwards Bryce Gibbs and Gareth Ellis - notched the hard fought win, with centre Chris Lawrence bagging a double.

Locked at 6-6 at halftime after it had taken more than half an hour for either side to score, the Warriors took the lead for the first time in the match nine minutes after the break following some freakish work from former Parramatta winger Krisnan Inu.

Inu somehow kept the ball in play as he was tiptoeing down the left touchline before catching the Tigers defence off guard and crashing over from dummy half a play later to make it 12-6.

The Tigers got back to 12-10 when Robert Lui laid on a try for Blake Ayshford in the 62nd minute but Benji Marshall missed the relatively easy conversion attempt and then Farah dropped the kick-off.

The Tigers hung on to fight again and Farah scooted over in the 68th minute to capitalise on a Simon Dwyer bust for a 16-12 lead before Lawrence added his second in the 74th.

The Warriors might have been looking for a "please explain" from the NRL after appearing to score a fair try that wasn't referred to the video referee.

Ayshford appeared on television replays to have not grounded a 14th minute Lance Hohaia grubber kick in his in-goal before Warriors forward Feleti Mateo dived and grounded the ball.

Referees Tony Archer and Alan Shorthall were satisfied Ayshford had planted the ball and didn't refer a decision to video referee Chris Ward.

With Marshall and Robert Lui pulling out enough plays to ensure the Tigers got over the line, Sheens praised the composure of his playmakers.

"Robbie (Farah's) kicking game, Benj, young Robert Lui played with plenty of composure for a kid and Wade McKinnon was strong at the back so the spine, the key players were very good," Sheens said.

"Everyone else contributed."

But Sheens conceded he'd seen his share of coach-killers.

"It was a Panadol night, I can tell you," he said.

"Conditions were tight and tough with the rain all day and it's no secret we're down a number of senior players.

"Overall I was happy with the effort, execution can obviously be better and it will be."

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary could find no positives in his side's showing, apart from them having "a game next week".

"Unfortunately we were a bit rudderless tonight," he said.

"A lot of guys put in tonight but unfortunately we didn't get it from everyone … when that happens it makes life hard."