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TAKING THE FIELD EASES THE PAIN FOR ROBBIE FARAH
Story/photo by Wayne Cousins
17/02/2012 10:58:20 AM
Sitting on the sidelines is not the idea of fun for Wests Tigers Captain Robbie Farah.
Quite simply, it is painful. A fierce competitor, Farah did it the hard way at Bluetongue Stadium last Saturday night as he watched his team-mates slice up Parramatta Eels in the side’s first pre-season trial.
He may have been sitting 10 metres away from the sideline but Farah read every play and felt every hit. And in between, he shared a few laughs with his ‘little mate’ in inspirational Wests Tigers supporter Lleyton Giles – a guest of Farah’s in the players’ enclosure.
Having undergone surgery following the Four Nations tour to fix his groins, Farah has worked hard on his fitness under Wests Tigers NRL Rehabilitation Manager Andrew Leeds. He is now ‘itching’ to lead his beloved team onto Campbelltown Sports Stadium against the Sydney Roosters in the annual Foundation Cup trial match tomorrow night.
BUY TICKETS TO FOUNDATION CUP
The two premiership points might not be on offer but the clash against one of their arch-rivals is very important for Wests Tigers as they look to fine tune their game before taking on Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, March 4.
“I know we are playing for the Foundation Cup but I guess the result takes a bit of a back seat as we are just looking for a good performance heading into round one,’’ Farah said.
“I thought we were pretty slick in the first half against against Parramatta. The boys trained hard in the off-season and it was good to see them go out there and put in a real polished performance in the first half.
“The second half fell away a bit when Tim Sheens made a few changes and gave the young guys a go but it was pleasing overall.”
Farah said he was looking forward to working with the exciting halves combination of Benji Marshall and Tim Moltzen.
“Tim understands our game well. He and Benji are probably the two best talkers in the team and that’s what you need in your halves to boss the boys around the park and I thought they did that well last week,’’ Farah added.
“They understand each other’s games and hopefully with myself slotting in, it does make it a pretty potent combination.
“Our short term goal is to start the season well. Last year we didn’t start as well as we would have liked and we chased our tail in the end. Luckily enough for us, we came home strong.
“This year our goal is to start well and put ourselves into a good position coming into the back end of the year.”
Match Day schedule
11.45am: Gates open
12pm: Rd 2 Harold Matthews Cup: Western Suburbs Magpies v Manly Sea Eagles
1.30PM: Rd 2 SG Ball Cup: Western Suburbs Magpies v Manly Sea Eagles
3.30pm: NSW Cup trial: Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers v Newtown Jets
5.15pm: NYC trial: Wests Tigers v Sydney Roosters.
7.30pm: Foundation Cup trial: Wests Tigers v Sydney Roosters.
Story/photo by Wayne Cousins
17/02/2012 10:58:20 AM
Sitting on the sidelines is not the idea of fun for Wests Tigers Captain Robbie Farah.
Quite simply, it is painful. A fierce competitor, Farah did it the hard way at Bluetongue Stadium last Saturday night as he watched his team-mates slice up Parramatta Eels in the side’s first pre-season trial.
He may have been sitting 10 metres away from the sideline but Farah read every play and felt every hit. And in between, he shared a few laughs with his ‘little mate’ in inspirational Wests Tigers supporter Lleyton Giles – a guest of Farah’s in the players’ enclosure.
Having undergone surgery following the Four Nations tour to fix his groins, Farah has worked hard on his fitness under Wests Tigers NRL Rehabilitation Manager Andrew Leeds. He is now ‘itching’ to lead his beloved team onto Campbelltown Sports Stadium against the Sydney Roosters in the annual Foundation Cup trial match tomorrow night.
BUY TICKETS TO FOUNDATION CUP
The two premiership points might not be on offer but the clash against one of their arch-rivals is very important for Wests Tigers as they look to fine tune their game before taking on Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday, March 4.
“I know we are playing for the Foundation Cup but I guess the result takes a bit of a back seat as we are just looking for a good performance heading into round one,’’ Farah said.
“I thought we were pretty slick in the first half against against Parramatta. The boys trained hard in the off-season and it was good to see them go out there and put in a real polished performance in the first half.
“The second half fell away a bit when Tim Sheens made a few changes and gave the young guys a go but it was pleasing overall.”
Farah said he was looking forward to working with the exciting halves combination of Benji Marshall and Tim Moltzen.
“Tim understands our game well. He and Benji are probably the two best talkers in the team and that’s what you need in your halves to boss the boys around the park and I thought they did that well last week,’’ Farah added.
“They understand each other’s games and hopefully with myself slotting in, it does make it a pretty potent combination.
“Our short term goal is to start the season well. Last year we didn’t start as well as we would have liked and we chased our tail in the end. Luckily enough for us, we came home strong.
“This year our goal is to start well and put ourselves into a good position coming into the back end of the year.”
Match Day schedule
11.45am: Gates open
12pm: Rd 2 Harold Matthews Cup: Western Suburbs Magpies v Manly Sea Eagles
1.30PM: Rd 2 SG Ball Cup: Western Suburbs Magpies v Manly Sea Eagles
3.30pm: NSW Cup trial: Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers v Newtown Jets
5.15pm: NYC trial: Wests Tigers v Sydney Roosters.
7.30pm: Foundation Cup trial: Wests Tigers v Sydney Roosters.
