LIVE GAME Round 2 v Cowboys

[EllisFan]

Phenomenal after so many disappointing years the fans keep turning up

Coach and captain both talked about how the players really want to pay the fans back this year, in the presser. 💪

 

[innsaneink]

And what about the turn up!

CROWD: 17,637 at Leichhardt Oval

It was epic...looked great and inspired the boys.....but we dont like travelling to Cambo....many that went yesterday wont go to Cambo for whatever reason, needs to change

 

[upthetigers]

This is the best team we have had for a very long time

On paper, top 8 and pushing for top 4

I just hope they can deliver

Luai and AD seem to be gelling well

Bula needs to have a break out season and he has the arsenal to do it

I was talking to an old fella at the club, he was saying it was our best team since 2011?

 

[innsaneink]

Fox giving me a heart attack with a pic of Api and CHARGED!

Click the story to find....
JUDICIARY WATCH

Tigers skipper Api Koroisau was fined $1000 for dangerous contact on Cowboys prop Griffin Neame.

Cowboys back-rower Heilum Luki was hit with a $1000 fine for his careless high tackle on Alex Twal.

 

[batboy]

It was epic...looked great and inspired the boys.....but we dont like travelling to Cambo....many that went yesterday wont go to Cambo for whatever reason, needs to change

Cambo has been on fire since spoonbowl mate - hopefully it continues.
Shits me no end - far better facilities than LO, just can’t get the numbers there.

Pretty sure the numbers are up across the game as a whole post covid - hopefully that continues.
A full cambo is just one less argument / excuse,

 

[king_sirro]

Doueihi showed some decent signs regarding straightening the attack

 

[Yossarian]

Thought our linespeed was poor the whole game. Hopefully that’s attitude and not fitness.

Yeah they were marching up the field pretty easily even in the first half.

 

[tiger_one]

 

[Mighty_Tiger]

On re-watching the game, was disappointed in a few of Pole's tackling efforts. Fell off 2 or 3 straight up that ran at him. Covered by team mates but will need to lift his standards in this area.

Watching it live was noticeable, on replay it looked worse. If Benji is serious about standards then Pole has to lift otherwise will be relegated. He just looked unfit.

 

[liltiger]

Yeah they were marching up the field pretty easily even in the first half.

The cowboys strung a few tries together in the second half, but im not too fussed about it. Theyve had a game, this was our first hit out for the year. All the thrashing in training doesnt compare to an actual game. Reckon we were just gassed and they were a bit more match fit. Great first hit out for us. If were playing like this in round 15 with a bit more defensive resolve, which i think we will have, were on for a really good year.

 

[Tiger_Fanatic3]

Luai & Turuva are on the Matty John’s tonight

 

[innsaneink]

Luai & Turuva are on the Matty John’s tonight

Better work out how to put the sub-titles on my TV

 

[Spartan117]

New era dawns as Tigers win their first season opener in six years

The Wests Tigers are off to a flyer after a Jarome Luai-led demolition of the Cowboys left a pulsating Leichhardt Oval crowd in raptures.

www.smh.com.au

New era dawns as Tigers win their first season opener in six years​

By Billie Eder
March 14, 2026 — 5.27pm

Wests Tigers have buried their reputation as serial slow starters to a season with a sensational 44-16 victory against the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Having not won a season-opening match since 2020, nor played finals football since 2011, the Tigers not only showed promise in front of a sold-out home crowd but also the finesse and flair of a team ready to shake off the dire record that has plagued them for more than a decade.

Koroisau waves goodbye to Cowboys forward

Kai O'Donnell is sent to the bin before Apisai Koroisau waves him off.
This was their biggest win to start a campaign in the club’s 27-year history.

Whether it was Jarome Luai sidestepping the slow Cowboys defence, recruit Kai Pearce-Paul bursting through to score a double, or Jahream Bula breaking through the line, the Tigers’ attack had it all.

“There’s a lot to like about the way we played a lot of our game today, but there’s also a lot that we can learn and take away,” coach Benji Marshall said.

“I liked our intent and the way we started with our mindset in the game. I like the way our leaders led on the field and off it during the week. I like the way our spine connected, I thought Adam [Doueihi] was really good at seven for us today ... but the platform they got from our outside backs and our middles was probably the most impressive.”

Tigers winger Luke Laulilii scores against the Cowboys.Credit: Getty Images

A second-half defensive lapse, with the visitors scoring the first three tries after the break to strong-arm their way back into the match, took some of the gloss off an otherwise hugely encouraging display.

But when winger Luke Laulilii intercepted a ball from Scott Drinkwater and ran just over 70 metres to score his second try of the afternoon with 17 minutes left, the Tigers went 40-16 up and the visitors’ hopes of victory were well and truly extinguished.

For the most part, North Queensland were terrible. That was never more obvious than when Doueihi fell across the line under the posts for the softest of tries as Scott Drinkwater watched on.

But Benji Marshall’s men deserved every point, and proved the club could be a big mover in 2026.

“We started on the back foot, the sin bin put us under pressure, brought fatigue into the game,” Cowboys coach Todd Payten said.

“Every time we got the smallest amount of momentum, whether it’s one or two plays or one or two sets, we’d come up with the error, which again, compounded things.”

It was the Cowboys who opened the scoring after Api Koroisau conceded an early penalty for a dangerous tackle on Griffin Neame.

But the door was opened for the Tigers when Kai O’Donnell was sin-binned in the 11th minute for not being square at marker following repeat offences.

Adam Doueihi celebrates his try for the Tigers.Credit: Getty Images

Koroisau gave O’Donnell a wave on the way off, and it appeared the team’s hopes went with him, as the Tigers rolled through the visitors to lead 28-2 at half-time.

Koroisau and Luai completely controlled the match, and while Braidon Burns, Jaxon Purdue and Tom Chester managed to win back some self-respect for the Cowboys with tries in the second half, it was all about the Tigers on Saturday as a sea of orange had Leichhardt pumping.

Samuela Fainu stormed through to score the first try of the match, before Doueihi and Pearce-Paul added to the tally while O’Donnell was in the bin, before Laulilii and Luai added to the Tigers’ tally.

After a Jeral Skelton try in the corner, the Tigers were a threat of bringing up 50 points, but had to settle with 44 in the end.

The biggest concern for the Tigers was Taylan May’s shoulder injury, which he suffered early in the match.

May came from the field and will be sent for scans in the coming days.

 

[swag_tiger]

Api on getting a fine. Will be good to go for next week.

 

[mike]

Turuva makes me smile. Telling the Cowboys to “Challenge it, Challenge it”. Cracked me up.