Media Reports

[Guest]

WESTS TIGERS LOSE 17-16 TO SOUTHS IN GOLDEN POINT
By Wayne Cousins
1/04/2012 4:59:39 PM

Wests Tigers suffered a heart breaking golden point 17-16 loss to South Sydney at Allianz Stadium today in round 5 of the Telstra Premiership.

In front of a crowd of 25,608, South Sydney full-back Greg Inglis kicked the winning field goal from 30 metres out two minutes into extra time to leave Wests Tigers shattered after the home side led 16-4 with 10 minutes remaining.

The loss leaves Wests Tigers with one win from 5 matches. South Sydney also claimed the inaugural Men of League Cup.

Wests Tigers did it very hard in the end without second-rower Gareth Ellis who left the field with a left foot injury before half-time.

The match saw lock Chris Heighington become the most capped player for Wests Tigers with 185 games. It was also the 650th first grade match for Wests Tigers Head Coach Tim Sheens.

Wests Tigers wore the Western Suburbs Magpies strip for the Heritage Round clash while more than 200 former Wests players attended the annual Pratten Park Magpies reunion.

The game was less than two minutes old when Wests Tigers five-eighth and captain Benji Marshall drifted acrossfield to send full-back Tim Moltzen over in the left corner in the 2nd minute.

The try came off the back of a superb 40/20 kick from Moltzen on the last tackle of the first set of play by Wests Tigers. Marshall failed to convert the try for a 4-0 lead.

Second-rower Gareth Ellis almost pulled off a 'miracle' 40/20 kick at the end of the Wests Tigers set from the re-start only for the touch judge to rule the ball did not go over the line.

Wests Tigers muscled up in defence after South Sydney were piggybacked into their quarter on the back of 3 consecutive penalties before prop Roy Asotasi lost the ball cleanly in a tackle in front of the posts in the 9th minute.

South Sydney lock Michael Crocker was placed on report for using a right elbow on Moltzen's head after he defused a Crocker bomb. Wests Tigers got a penalty - their first for the match and it came in the 21st minute.

Moltzen left the field a short time later with winger Beau Ryan moving to full-back.

The Rabbitohs lost English second-rower Sam Burgess two minutes later with a leg injury.

A minute later, Ellis left the field with a left foot injury and is in doubt to return. The score remained 4-0 at half-time.

2nd Half
South Sydney got back to 4-all in the 46th minute when hooker Isaac Luke burrowed over from dummy half. It came on the back of another penalty to the Rabbitohs, this time for raking the ball.

Half-back Adam Reynolds failed to convert from close range in the 49th minute.
Five minutes later, Marshall delivered a perfect cut out pass for winger Lote Tuqiri to juggle before diving over in the left corner in his first game back from injury for the year for an 8-4 lead.

Marshall nailed the conversion from the sideline for a 10-4 lead after 55 minutes.

Wests Tigers extended their lead to 14-4 in the 68th minute when Marshall sent out a cut out pass to centre Chris Lawrence for makeshift winger Blake Ayshford to step inside a defender to score in the corner.
Marshall converted the try for a 16-4 lead after 70 minutes.

Isaac grabbed his second try when he scored from 10 metres out in the 76th minute. Reynolds converted the try for a 16-10 scoreline.

A grubber kick by forward Dave Taylor in the 78th minute saw winger Dylan Farrell score in the corner. Reynolds converted a pressure goal from the sideline to lock the scores up at 16-all in the 79th minute.

The game then went into golden point extra-time. Souths kicked off and after a Wests Tigers set, Inglis landed the 30 metre field goal to leave Wests Tigers shattered.

Wests Tigers are now just 3 wins from 11 matches in golden point.

 

[Guest]

Souths pip Tigers in NRL golden point
Steve Jancetic
April 1, 2012 - 5:19PM

AAP

Greg Inglis sneaked a field goal in off the upright to hand South Sydney an amazing 17-16 golden point comeback win over Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Trailing 16-4 with four minutes to go, the Rabbitohs scored two late tries before rookie halfback Adam Reynolds nailed a pressure-cooker conversion to send the game into extra time.

The Bunnies worked downfield to have a shot at the winner with Inglis producing an ugly kick off the boot from 30 metres out which did just enough to get over the posts as the Tigers slumped to a fourth straight loss.

Souths looked down and out, and even when Issac Like scored his second try of the afternoon four minutes from time, a win looked out of reach.

With their last crack at the Tigers, giant forward Dave Taylor grubbered in behind the line with rookie winger Andrew Everingham pouncing on the rolling ball to set up Reynolds' match-levelling conversion.

Earlier, Tigers superstar Benji Marshall had turned in a playmaking masterclass to bring his side to the brink of victory.

With his playmaking partner Robbie Farah still sidelined due to suspension, Marshall took it upon himself to drag the Tigers out of their slump with a pivotal hand in all three of his side's tries.

The Rabbitohs lost star forward Sam Burgess to a knee injury early - with the initial diagnosis being a strained medial ligament which could mean up to a month on the sidelines.

The Tigers didn't escape unscathed either with another Englishman in Gareth Ellis limping off with a suspected fractured foot.

Fullback Tim Moltzen had an opening couple of minutes he'd love to bottle, with a 40-20 off the Tigers opening set backed up with a try off the ensuing scrum, Marshall bamboozling the defence as he schemed across field before finding his teammate in support.

The Rabbitohs were unable to capitalise on three straight penalties as they failed to get on the board before lock Michael Crocker was put on report for a high tackle on Moltzen which was similar to his hit on Brett Stewart in the 2007 grand final.

Having scrambled well in the first half, the Tigers would have been disappointed with the soft effort to concede Luke's first try seven minutes after the restart, but the home side regained the lead when Marshall set up Lote Tuqiri for a try in his first game of the year.

The game seemed over when Marshall and then Chris Lawrence put Blake Ayshford over for a 16-4 lead a lead they maintained until four minutes to go.

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Media continue to wank over Marshall yet he pretty much cost us the game.
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_

 

[Golden]

I am not going to watch 1 minute of this game or the news or NRL fox or anything to avoid seeing these guys fluke yet another win.. its amazing souths have no killer instant at all except when they fluke it against us

 

[Tigerdave]

I hate golden point

 

[Guest]

Very brief video footage of Sheens in the post-match press conference. Did not look happy and his words:

"You've gotta say we blew it".

 

[Guest]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/League/039we-have-to-say-we-blew-it039/video-e6frf3ou-1226315888461?subcat=1225914658670&site=FoxSports

Marshall admitted he took the wrong option towards the end with the scrum win and getting Beau pushed over the sideline.

 

[Mighty_Tigers]

To Late let's worry about next week.We can't turn back time ( if any body does know how let me know but I wouldn't use it to change the result of the game I can think of better things)

 

[Guest]

Tigers left stunned as Inglis wobbler crowns comeback
Greg Prichard
April 2, 2012
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When you see Tim Sheens looking haunted after his Wests Tigers team had gone to bank a win only to lose the two points somewhere between the entrance and the counter, you are motivated to ask - why would anyone be a coach?

But then you see Michael Maguire, looking invigorated and smiling broadly after his South Sydney side had come from 12 points down inside the last five minutes of normal time to rob the Tigers of a win, and you are reminded of the answer - because the good days are bloody great.

Sheens summed it up succinctly when he said: ''We have to say that we blew it.'' So did Maguire, when he said: ''I'm still trying to believe we actually won.''

The Rabbitohs were owed one, though. Not by the Tigers but by this wacky competition that refuses to be predictable. They led Sydney Roosters 20-12 inside the last five minutes of a round-one game only to concede two tries and lose, 24-20.

Yesterday, it was the Tigers up by 16-4 until Souths hooker Issac Luke was inexcusably allowed to score from dummy-half from seven metres out, in the 76th minute, and winger Andrew Everingham scored off a grubber kick from second-rower Dave Taylor in the 78th. Rookie halfback Adam Reynolds converted both tries, included a boomer from out wide off the Everingham try, to make it 16-16.

Reynolds tried to kick a field goal in the dying seconds of normal time but it was a shocker, spraying off the outside of his right foot. He had already done enough, though, and it was left to Greg Inglis to come up from fullback and pot the one-pointer that won the game, in the second minute of extra time.

Inglis stood back even further than St George Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward does to receive the ball for field goal attempts - but his wonky effort was successful. They don't have to look great - they just have to go over.

It was a good contest and it looked like the Tigers had taken their shot at redemption after their woeful performance in losing to Canberra on Monday night. They muscled up in defence, unlike against the Raiders, and showed plenty of imagination in attack. Five-eighth Benji Marshall was on his game and instrumental in the creation of all three of his team's tries with his brilliant reading of the game and pinpoint passing.

For the first, Marshall ran and showed the ball to a couple of inside runners but he was only fooling. Fullback Tim Moltzen, who had loomed up out wide in support, was always going to be his target and the last Souths defender - Everingham - was caught too far inside to stop him.

For the second, Marshall cut out two players with a bullet ball to winger Lote Tuqiri, who dived over in the corner, and, for the third, one player was cut out so Marshall could quickly get the ball to centre Chris Lawrence, who put stopgap winger Blake Ayshford over.

But the Tigers, as they have done all year, were giving too many penalties away and that penchant helped the Rabbitohs get some valuable field position.

Sheens has dragged the Tigers out of messes like this before but they are such awful situations you would think the Tigers would work harder to avoid getting themselves into them in the first place. They are stuck on one win from five games, along with Gold Coast and Parramatta, and are on a four-game losing streak, the same as the Titans.

It was all set to be the Rabbitohs down there with Gold Coast and Parramatta instead, until they pulled off the great rugby league heist.

 

[Guest]

Five things we learnt from yesterday's game
Brad Walter
April 2, 2012

1\. Never bank on the two competition points until the full-time siren.

Tigers fans were entitled to think a 16-4 lead with four minutes to go was enough to guarantee their side a win but, as the Rabbitohs know only too well, nothing can be taken for granted in the NRL. Souths snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in similar circumstances against Sydney Roosters in round one, while the Tigers had a fortuitous golden point win over the Sharks that weekend. Losing to Souths in such fashion is something the Tigers are familiar with after being sunk by a Nathan Merritt field goal at the SCG in 2009.

2\. Issac Luke is an 80-minute player this season.

Under Michael Maguire, Luke is now getting to play the full match and the move paid dividends yesterday. Not only did he score the Rabbitohs' first two tries, including the 76th-minute effort that kept his side in the game, the Souths hooker made seven tackle breaks and ran for 92 metres from dummy half in a man-of-the-match performance.

3\. The Tigers aren't soft, they just let in soft tries on their own line.

Tigers coach Tim Sheens and his players rightly felt they had muscled-up in defence against Souths but the two tries Luke scored from dummy-half belied their efforts in the rest of the game. It was a massive improvement on their performance against the Raiders last Monday night but still not good enough.

4\. When Benji Marshall fires, the Tigers are on fire.

Without suspended skipper Robbie Farah, Marshall took it upon himself to direct play and was so heavily involved that Phil Gould asked Peter Sterling on the Channel Nine coverage whether he had ever seen a busier playmaker. In the lead-up to Blake Ayshford's 69th-minute try, Marshall handled in three tackles on the left-hand side of the field and then raced to the right to call the ball and throw a cut-out pass for the centre to score.

5\. Don't stop Dave Taylor from kicking.

Maguire admitted after Taylor scored off his own grubber at Penrith two weeks ago that he didn't like him kicking but the 120kg forward came up with the play that set up yesterday's win when he toed ahead for Andrew Everingham in the 78th minute.

 

[Guest]

Marshall: Crime count won't make us change style
Chris Barrett
April 2, 2012

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Shock loss … Benji Marshall looked to have the win sealed. Photo: Quentin Jones

A SHATTERED Benji Marshall said Wests Tigers would not tinker with their tactics despite being on the wrong end of another lopsided penalty count in a shock golden-point defeat to South Sydney.

The Tigers lost the penalty count 9-5 at Allianz Stadium and coach Tim Sheens said later he would have his ''usual head-butting'' with referees boss Bill Harrigan this week on a couple of them after slumping to a share of last place.

''We're the most penalised side in the comp so we have to do something about that,'' Sheens said.

Marshall, the stand-in Tigers captain, looked to have led his side to victory with another vintage second-half performance but was left stunned by the late turn of events.

He said the Tigers would not be changing the way they play because of the penalty count. ''I said the same thing last week - it's not panic stations yet,'' Marshall said. ''The difference is we have to work our way out of it again.

''Because we're the most penalised side doesn't mean we have to start jumping up quickly and let them play the ball quickly. We have to keep playing the way we're playing. Today I thought we took a step in the right direction and we really should have won that game. Next week we have to step up again - it gets harder against the Broncos.

''As you can expect we're pretty disappointed. We tried our heart out today in terms of defence. Our middle really stood up today.''

Sheens brushed off criticism of the Tigers, who have won only one of five games this season after being pre-season premiership favourites. The issue came to a head last week when regular captain Robbie Farah took offence at Matthew Johns's description of the Tigers as ''soft'' during a television interview between the pair.

''Our business is winning footy games, not listening to what people are saying,'' Sheens said.

''They say that about you every year, you're going to cop something. Some of it is justified, some of it is not. We just gave too many penalties away. As I said, we talked about it before the game.

''They're a very good side when they reorganise themselves from set pieces.There were very few line breaks, if any, on us. It was just where their big men are more dangerous - near the line. .''

 

[Guest]

English duo set for stint on sidelines
Brad Walter
April 2, 2012
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WESTS TIGERS prop Aaron Woods described how he heard Sam Burgess screaming when the South Sydney star injured his knee during yesterday's match at Allianz Stadium.

Burgess and fellow England forward Gareth Ellis are both expected to be sidelined for about six weeks after being forced from the field in the Rabbitohs' 17-16 golden-point win.

Rabbitohs medical staff have diagnosed Burgess with a grade two or three medial ligament tear, which usually means a recovery period of either four to six weeks or six to eight weeks. Ellis has a fractured foot and estimates are the Tigers back-rower will also be out for about six weeks.

''I feel sorry for Gaz as well,'' Burgess said. ''It's just disappointing. We'll get scans tomorrow and try and be as positive as possible.''

Burgess suffered the injury after tackling Woods around the ankles while he was being held by two other Souths defenders. Woods fell on top of Burgess, landing on his left knee, and said he knew immediately the Rabbitohs forward had suffered a serious injury.

''I just heard him scream and I got out of it quick for him,'' Woods said. ''Straight away he yelped so I just tried to look after him … I just fell on his knee and he landed awkwardly.''

Burgess said he feared the worst. ''I could tell I'd done something to my knee. It was quite painful,'' he said. ''I've done it tough now the last two years. Fingers crossed. Hopefully the [scan] results are OK.''

Burgess left the field in the 24th minute and Ellis followed three minutes later. With England coach Steve McNamara present yesterday, Burgess joked that he was a ''jinx''.

Ellis's absence is a big blow to the Tigers, who are already without Test prop Keith Galloway for another four weeks but will welcome back captain Robbie Farah from suspension for Friday night's match with the Broncos.

''It is a big loss but we have got pretty good depth this year so another bloke is just going to have to fill his shoes,'' Woods said.

Souths skipper Michael Crocker will learn today whether he has a judiciary case to answer after the match review committee study footage of the 24th-minute incident in which he appeared to hit Tim Moltzen high as he fielded a kick.