I have to admit, I was really disappointed at how Wests Tigers finished their season last Friday night.
I'm not going to suggest they threw away the game against New Zealand but they just couldn't close it out as the good sides should.
And after last year's finals disappointment, I thought they would have been more ruthless.
If you remember last season, they lost that classic semi-final in golden point to the Sydney Roosters and then were defeated 13-12 in the preliminary final by Saints at Homebush.
I thought those results would have really hardened the Tigers and ensured success this year if they found themsleves in a similar situation.
Sadly for their coach Tim Sheens and the club's fans, it didn't.
The Tigers were poor over the dying stages, their options were bad and they lacked the necessary semi-final composure.
Their energy levels also dropped away badly. The Warriors' completion rate of 18 from 19 also hurt the Tigers.
It just seemed that Wests Tigers didn't learn their lesson from last year.
And it is a long wait until another semi-final series.
Premierships are damn hard to win, despite what some people think.
You really have to take every chance because you never know when the next opportunity will arise. It might be years.
Going into Friday night's match, Wests Tigers had ticked every box. They had won nine in a row and looked as though they could 'all the way'. But they fell away badly.
I thought they actually lacked some ball control even in the first semi-final they won against the Dragons. I counted three failed sets after three of their tries.
Take nothing away from the Warriors though, I thought they were sensational over the final stages.
I genuinely thought Wests Tigers would have troubled Melbourne this Saturday night in the preliminary final at AAMI Park.
They have the skill and speed to really worry the Storm.
It's just a shame we won't get the chance to find out how they would have gone.
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/article/-/10284122/michael-hagan-bitter-end-for-wests-tigers/
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Hard to disagree with his sentiments.
I'm not going to suggest they threw away the game against New Zealand but they just couldn't close it out as the good sides should.
And after last year's finals disappointment, I thought they would have been more ruthless.
If you remember last season, they lost that classic semi-final in golden point to the Sydney Roosters and then were defeated 13-12 in the preliminary final by Saints at Homebush.
I thought those results would have really hardened the Tigers and ensured success this year if they found themsleves in a similar situation.
Sadly for their coach Tim Sheens and the club's fans, it didn't.
The Tigers were poor over the dying stages, their options were bad and they lacked the necessary semi-final composure.
Their energy levels also dropped away badly. The Warriors' completion rate of 18 from 19 also hurt the Tigers.
It just seemed that Wests Tigers didn't learn their lesson from last year.
And it is a long wait until another semi-final series.
Premierships are damn hard to win, despite what some people think.
You really have to take every chance because you never know when the next opportunity will arise. It might be years.
Going into Friday night's match, Wests Tigers had ticked every box. They had won nine in a row and looked as though they could 'all the way'. But they fell away badly.
I thought they actually lacked some ball control even in the first semi-final they won against the Dragons. I counted three failed sets after three of their tries.
Take nothing away from the Warriors though, I thought they were sensational over the final stages.
I genuinely thought Wests Tigers would have troubled Melbourne this Saturday night in the preliminary final at AAMI Park.
They have the skill and speed to really worry the Storm.
It's just a shame we won't get the chance to find out how they would have gone.
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/article/-/10284122/michael-hagan-bitter-end-for-wests-tigers/
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Hard to disagree with his sentiments.
