WESTS TIGERS MOVE INTO TOYOTA CUP GRAND FINAL
By Wayne Cousins
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wests Tigers have qualified for the Toyota Cup Grand Final following a 36-12 victory over St George-Illawarra Dragons at ANZ Stadium tonight.
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Coach Grant Jones and his team will sit back now and watch the second preliminary final between Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos to see who they will play in the Grand Final at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, October 5.
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Wests Tigers dominated the first half to lead 18-0 at half-time against the Dragons, who finished the regular season in second place. Wests Tigers finished fourth. The team then lost to fifth placed Brisbane in week one of the finals before overcoming premiers Canberra Raiders in week two to set up the clash with the Dragons.
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Wests Tigers were rewarded with a scrum win in the second minute 10 metres out from the Dragons tryline after a kick by half-back and captain Darren Nicholls saw full-back Chris Astill take the ball with a foot on the line.
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Wests Tigers were denied a try on the last tackle when a pass by five-eighth Robert Lui to winger Joel Jackson was ruled forward. The opening 10 minutes saw both teams settle into their plays.
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Wests Tigers winger Sama Sauvao came within an inch of scoring from a Nicholls grubber kick in the 15th minute but the ball went dead as he tried to place his hands on it.
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A charging run by prop Andrew Fifita saw Wests Tigers open the scoring in the 21st minute when he crossed under the posts after sustained pressure.
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Full-back Jake Mullaney converted the try for a 6-0 lead.
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A crossfield bomb by Nicholls was contested by Dragons half-back Beau Henry. The ball bounced up for second-rower Simon Dwyer to catch it and place it down for a 10-0 lead.
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Mullaney converted the try for a 12-0 lead after 28 minutes.
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The first half domination of possession by Wests Tigers paid off again when a short ball by Lui found Dwyer who ran into a gap to score his second try behind the posts. Mullaney converted the try for an 18-0 lead after 34 minutes.
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The Dragons had their best attacking chance in the 38th minute when the ball travelled through several hands before a pass to winger Kalifa Faifai Loa saw Sauvao put him over the sideline.
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Wests Tigers defence remained firm to give them an 18-0 lead at half-time.
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2nd Half
The Dragons had a real tryscoring opportunity in the 44th minute when Faifai Loa raced downed the right flank and had support inside but chose to kick the ball in-goal. Fortunately for the Wests Tigers, the kick was too hard and the ball went dead.
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Wests Tigers took full advantage of the let off when in the next set, Sauvao leaped high to take a crossfield kick by Nicholls to score near the posts. Mullaney converted the try for a 24-0 lead after 47 minutes.
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The Dragons opened their account in the 55th minute when hooker Mitchell Rein showed the ball right before ducking in between Jay Florimo and Aaron Woods to score under the posts. The try came after Jason Schirnack had the ball stripped one on one by Dragons captain and prop Trent Merrin.
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Half-back Beau Henry converted the try for a 24-6 lead.
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Mullaney got the margin back to 20 points in the 58th minute when he kicked a 33 metre penalty goal for a 26-6 scoreline.
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Mullaney took the margin out to 24 when he raced 18 metres to score after an initial break down the left flank by centre Joel Wisbey. Mullaney converted the try for a 32-6 scoreline after 61 minutes. It gave the people behind "Mullaney is No 1" banner even more reason to smile.
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The Dragons crossed for their second try through Astill when he finished off a break by centre Dean Whare after he stepped inside Lui and beat the tackle of Wisbey. Henry converted the try for a 32-12 scoreline after 65 minutes.
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Wests Tigers continued to work hard in defence to keep the Dragons at bay. Their efforts were rewarded in the 77th minute when a long ball by Lui found Wisbey who offloaded to Sauvao to score in the corner for a 36-12 scoreline.
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Mullaney failed to convert the try but it didn't matter. The Wests Tigers were well and truly into the Grand Final.
